Preview video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wx4MRHjOQLE

2015 record: 7-4 (3-2 Heart, T-2nd)
Starters returning/lost: 9/17 (including special teams)
Letterwinners returning/lost: 29/42

Notable returners:
Hunter Barry                  Sr.        Morris, Ill.
(First-team all-Heart, 27 tackles, 2 sacks)
Jake Baptiste                Jr.        Salt Lake City, Utah
(Letterwinner, 80 tackles, 3 fumble recoveries)
Nate VanVeldhuizen       So.       Oskaloosa, Iowa
(Letterwinner, 608 rushing yards, 4 TDs)
Van Parker                    Jr.        Muskegon, Mich.
(Letterwinner, 4 receptions, 74 yards)

Notable losses:
Hea Tuifua
(Two-time All-America)
Tyler Hafner
(Second-team all-Heart)
Jatavius Stewart
(Two-time all-conference)
Isaac Samek
(Three-time all-conference)

Notable newcomers:
LeeAndre Fisher            Jr.
Sage Ehresman             Fr.        Lynnville, Iowa

Talent looks to trump inexperience as the Statesmen football team prepares for the 2016 season.

William Penn is coming off a solid debut in the Heart of America Athletic Conference, going 7-4 overall (3-2 North) last year.  A large group of gridiron stars have since graduated, but Head Coach Todd Hafner is excited to see which of his young talents will step up and win those open spots this fall.

Senior defensive lineman Hunter Barry (Sr., Morris, Ill., Physical Education) is the most decorated member of the navy and gold posse with two first-team all-league honors and is poised to lead WPU.

Quarterback

No matter who takes over the role behind center for the August 27 season opener at home against Missouri Valley, that individual will be taking his first collegiate snap.  Van Parker (Jr., Muskegon, Mich., Physical Education) moves over from wide receiver to face off with fellow newcomer Eric Cooper (Jr., Aguanga, Calif., Human Services).  While he has not trained as a collegiate quarterback until recently, Parker is not at all foreign to the option attack as he was the QB of his high school’s option offense.

A quartet of newcomers will vie for time as well.

Slot Back

The most polished positions on offense will be behind the signal caller as returners Jonathan Ward (Sr., Terry, Miss., Undecided) and Carl Sivels (Jr., Washington, Iowa, Physical Education) lead the slot crew.

Sivels rushed for 221 yards and a score, while Ward ran the ball for 68 yards (also one TD).

Loads of depth will also come from new Statesmen.

Fullback

The 1-2 punch of Nate Van Veldhuizen (So., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Mechanical Engineering) and Amos Johnson (Jr., Rock Island, Ill., Mechanical Engineering) also returns to bolster the William Penn running game.

Van Veldhuizen gobbled up 608 yards (most of all returners) and four touchdowns, while Johnson managed 519 yards and five TDs (tops for returners).

2015 redshirt Lyle Jennings (Jr., Toronto, Ohio, Exercise Science) is also deep in the mix at fullback.

Another returner, Brandon Polito (Sr., St. Louis, Mo., Psychology), will bunch in with several more capable young men, including 2015 redshirt Jake De Hamer (Sr., Des Moines, Iowa, Physical Education) to produce incredible strength at fullback.

Wide Receiver

While not utilized much in the Statesmen offense, the receiving corps has the ability to be a stout one with Desmond Douglas (Sr., Decatur, Ala., Physical Education) headlining.  The senior hauled in 10 catches for 117 yards and two scores a year ago.

Hunter Anfinsen (So., Farmington, Utah, Undecided), who is transitioning from quarterback, is part of a sizeable group who may get their numbers called from time to time as well.  Topping that list is Tyler Wood (Fr., Newton, Iowa, Education), Tyler Phillips (So., Altus, Okla., Physical Education), and Jeremiah Benson (Fr., Kansas City, Mo., Physical Education).

Tight End

Cory Fitzjarrell (Jr., Anderson, Calif., Industrial Technology) hits the turf as the incumbent at tight end, but is expected to get a push from newcomer Tanner Krieg.

Offensive Line

Two-time All-American Hea Tuifua is gone as is the rest of the 2015 line, but WPU’s coaching staff is pleased with the individuals who have been waiting in the wings.

Sione Mafua is ready to take over at center, while the likes of Nick Jackson (So., Broken Arrow, Okla., Biology), Beau Picard (So., Ozark, Mo., Biology), Michael Ott (So., Broken Arrow, Okla., History/Government), Hunter Dailey (So., Texarkana, Texas, Biology), Haydn Stender, and Joe Reschman (Jr., Poteet, Texas, History/Government) are busy battling for the other starting roles.

Defensive Line

While Barry will undoubtedly receive a lot of attention, his fellow defensive linemen should also make life difficult for opposing offenses.  Barry stopped 27 ball carriers and sacked two quarterbacks.

Malik Young (Sr., Peoria, Ill., Physical Education) is on the mend and the ETA for his return is unknown, but Marcus Bell (Jr., River Rouge, Mich., Business Management) andAzia Seei (So., West Valley City, Utah, Undecided) are available to pick up the slack in the middle.  Seei is moving across the line from a fullback spot last season.

Cooper Gosch (So., Reeds Springs, Okla., Education) is slated to be the class leader on the outside, while Resean Coleman (So., River Rouge, Mich., Exercise Science),Dalton Haddock (So., Reeds Springs, Mo., Education), Anthony Jackson (So., Detroit, Mich., Physical Education), and others will also compete for snaps.

Linebacker

Jake Baptiste (Jr., Salt Lake City, Utah, Psychology) enters 2016 as the best tackler on the squad with 80 stops a year ago.  Mason Rohr (Jr., Nixa, Mo., Biology) (48 tackles) and Mason Wisse (Jr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Physical Education) (11 tackles) have waited and are also ready to finally put their own stamps on the Statesmen program.

Aaron Allen (Sr., Bolivar, Mo., Secondary Education), Justin Beener (So., Prairie City, Iowa, Physical Education), and newcomer LeeAndre Fisher have also made the short list of those will should make big impacts in 2016.

Defensive Back

Depth may be a bit of a concern early on for the navy and gold secondary, but a lack of talent is not.  Antonio Brown (Sr., Midwest City, Okla., Undecided) (41 tackles, four interceptions) and Dajon Shaw (So., Highland Park, Mich.,  Undecided) (27 tackles) both return from last year as do safeties Walter Eastwood (Sr., Garden City, Mo., Computer Science) (56 tackles, four interceptions) and Kyle Baldassarre (Jr., Webb City, Mo., Industrial Technology) (41 tackles).

Newcomer Winston Green is on the radar for playing time as well.

Special Teams

Samson Tamijani (So., Houston, Texas, Communications) will be lifted by a big 2015 campaign (48 extra points, four field goals), but newbie Hunter Behm is bringing in a big foot that should, at the very least, improve the Statesmen’s kickoff coverage.

Aaron Allen will partner up with Tyler Wood to return WPU to a two-punter formation.  Limited to just one punter hamstringed the coverage team a year ago, so Hafner is pleased to put a second rugby-style kicker back into play.

Delivering the ball to his team’s kickers will once again be longsnapper Cody Brigham (Sr., Spencer, Iowa, Elementary Education).

Conference

With a schedule identical to last year (only the locations have switched), William Penn opens with six North-South crossover games within the Heart.  The Statesmen finally play a ‘league’ game on October 15 when they host Peru State for Homecoming.  Navy and gold fans will get to see their gridiron stars at home six times this year.

Defending North champion Grand View has the preseason nod from the coaches, but WPU figures to be in the thick of it at season’s end.

Story provided by Wade Steinlage

Today, we take a look at Class A District 5 in high school football.

BGM is the only area team in this district, and it will not be easy for the Bears to duplicate their outstanding 11-1 season a year ago.

The Bears lost in the third round of the playoffs to eventual state champion Gladbrook-Reinbeck, who they will have to face in District 5. G-B finished last year 12-2 with that state title, and will be among the favorites to be competing for the title in 2016.

BGM will have to scratch and claw to make the playoffs as a pair of teams in this district went 8-3. Colfax-Mingo and Hudson had deep runs before bowing out in the second round of the playoffs. C-M lost All-State QB Jared Myers from last season, but will still have a solid team. Hudson comes from Class 1A and will be looking to keep up their positive momentum in 2016.

Those four teams will be duking it out, but there are two more teams in this district that had winning records in 2015.

Belle Plaine and Grand View Christian School both went 5-4 last season. BP has shown the capability to beat top teams in their district, and should not be taken lightly. GVC is coming up from 8-Player football, which could prove to be a tough transition, but they do have some great athletes that have led the Thunder to success in recent years in several sports.

Rounding out the district is GMG (1-8) and North Tama (0-9). These two teams will have a hard time beating anyone except each other in this district in 2016.

It is going to be a ultra-competitive race in Class A District 5 and every single week will have a marquee matchup or two that could go a long way to determine who will claim a playoff berth.

Also, with the current wild card system, with as many good teams as this district will likely produce, there is a solid chance one of those wild cards could come from this district.

We’ll keep rolling with our district previews next Tuesday by looking at Class A District 6, which includes Cardinal, Lynnville-Sully, Montezuma, North Mahaska, and Pekin.

Preview video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4q3DRfGwIM

2015 record: 6-23 (1-10 Heart, 11th)
Starters returning/lost: 4/3
Letterwinners returning/lost: 13/6

Notable returners:
Savanna Hartman          Sr.        Morgan Hill, Calif.
(Letterwinner, 254 kills)
Shawni Wills                  Sr.        Oskaloosa, Iowa
(Letterwinner, 169 kills, 173 digs)
Claire Simmons             So.       Williamsburg, Iowa
(Letterwinner, 227 kills, 241 digs)
Ashley Miller                 So.       Kalona, Iowa
(Letterwinner, 177 digs)

Notable losses:
Leyra Jusino
(Honorable-mention all-Heart)
Danielle Breeher
(Honorable-mention all-conference)
Erika Getz
(Two-time letterwinner)

Notable newcomers:
Kathleen Steffen           So.       Vinton, Iowa
Lilly Martinez                 Jr.        Oakland, Calif.
Raquel Toy                   Fr.        Elizabeth, Colo.
Nesreen Iskandrani        Fr.        Lawrence, Kan.

With the foundation set, a versatile William Penn volleyball team will seek to make a move up the league ladder in 2016.

Head Coach Jennifer Carlson and her Statesmen were just 6-23 last year (1-10 Heart), but the skipper believes a lot was done to set the groundwork for a bright future on the court.

WPU’s depth is its strongest in years, led by returning all-Heart of America Athletic Conference performer Savanna Hartman (Sr., Morgan Hill, Calif., Psychology).  Several other letterwinners are also back to bolster a squad filled with individuals who are capable of finding success at numerous positions.

Right Side Hitter

The most versatile of everyone in the navy and gold, Hartman is among a trio who will pace the right side.  She managed 254 kills a year ago and is expected to see time on the other pin as well as in the middle.

Fellow senior Shawni Wills (Oskaloosa, Iowa, Biology) is set to go out with a bang as well after posting a 169-kill, 173-dig campaign in 2015.

Karissa Wilcoxson (Jr., Ottumwa, Iowa, Education) is poised to break into the varsity lineup as well.

Outside Hitter

Claire Simmons (So., Williamsburg, Iowa, Psychology) has done great work to build on a productive freshman year that included 227 kills and 241 digs.

Newcomer Raquel Toy (Fr., Elizabeth, Colo., Undecided) has looked solid in preseason camp and should also earn swings.

Middle Hitter

Lilly Martinez (Jr., Oakland, Calif., Psychology) finally makes her Statesmen debut after redshirting last season and is ready to headline the middle attack.

Nicole Harrison (Sr., San Diego, Calif., Biology), with 46 kills, and Sawyer Woodworth (Sr., Parsons, Kan., Physical Education) are pushing for time, while freshman newcomer Nesreen Iskandrani (Lawrence, Kan., History/Government) is turning heads with her athleticism.

Setter

Haley Smith (So., Adrian, Mich., Elementary Education) has the inside track at the setter slot by recording 88 assists in 2015, while returner Katelyn Crothers (So., Mishawaka, Ind., Biology) and newcomer Kathleen Steffen (So., Vinton, Iowa, Biology) are right in the mix.

Libero/Defensive Specialist

Ashley Miller (So., Kalona, Iowa, Exercise Science) has continued to improve and will be leading a deep corps of defensive players.  She had 177 digs, while Haley Vampran(So., Fort Worth, Texas, Exercise Science) is also near the top with 37 digs last year.

2015 redshirt Rafaela Macias (Jr., Hanford, Calif., Physical Education) is throwing her proverbial hat in the ring as are Brittany Weikel (Sr., Remsen, Iowa, Undecided) andIsabella Potter (So., Spokane, Wash., Undecided).

Schedule/Conference

William Penn will takes its first collective steps onto the court on August 19-20 with three matches at the Huntington Tournament.  Three more tournaments and a handful of other single matches will cap the non-conference slate as the Statesmen ready themselves for work in the Heart.

Evangel and MidAmerica Nazarene both made deep runs at last year’s NAIA Nationals.  The rest of the league, which appears to get stronger each season, will make for tough battles each time out for WPU.

Story provided by Wade Steinlage