City High Ready to Move on From 2-7 Season
Ryan Murken
Your Prep Sports
IOWA CITY – The three 2018 City High captains unanimously agree that virtually everything about last season was unacceptable.
Seniors Liam McComas, Quincy Wells and Max DePrenger didn’t need much discussion to declare last season a disappointment.
The 2-7 record, the four consecutive losses to end the season, the offense, defense and special teams all were below City High standards according to the trio of Little Hawk leaders.
DePrenger wanted to make one more thing crystal clear about last season.
It’s over.
“I put it way behind me and I did that immediately,” DePrenger said. “I knew once I put that behind me I could focus on this season and make sure it becomes the best season we can make it.”
The 2-7 season was a shock to the system for a proud City High program.
It came one year after City High went 8-3 and advanced to the Class 4A quarterfinals and marked just the third time since 1991 the Little Hawks missed the playoffs.
“I learn from things too and sometimes as coaches especially with our tradition you get caught up and you lose sight of the whole process to get there,” City High coach Dan Sabers said. “Then when it doesn’t go quite so well things can kind of really go bad.”
For any program a 2-7 season isn’t one to remember. For a program with the history of success of City High a 2-7 season stings.
The trick for the Little Hawk is making sure that sting doesn’t linger.
That’s where DePrenger and his fellow captains come in.
“That winning tradition that we preachto the underclassmen and that we had preached to us when we were young, this year being the seniors, being one of the captains I want to bring that back,” McComas said. “We are hopefully going to come out and beat Liberty and get on a roll and bring back winning tradition.”
Step one for City High in returning to its winning ways is tightening up a leaky defense.
City High allowed 34 points or more in six of its final eight games and gave up better than 39 per game and 372 yards per game.
Former Little Hawk Mark Mitchell will take over as defensive coordinator after stints at Clear Creek Amana and Regina.
“We brought in coach Mitchell to take over the defense, I fired myself I wasn’t getting the job done and he’s done a great job of organization and getting everybody going 9-12 on similar things,” Sabers said. “I feel good about our defense.”
City High has the talent returning on defense to make a big step.
DePrenger returns at outside linebacker after leading the Little Hawks in tackles a year ago and joins McComas and senior Kyle Hefley in what should be a stout linebacking corps.
“We have guys that can fly around,” McComas said. “I lost weight over the offseason just getting ready for the role that I need to take on this season and it’s looking good because the guys that we have there are ready to get the job done.”
Jack Bacon, Garrett Rosenow and Jacob Murry return on the defensive line and Malik Kimber is back with experience at outside linebacker.
“Murry and Jack Bacon are good wrestlers and they will be tough up front,” Sabers said. “We have some guys that we feel pretty good about.”
The Little Hawks have holes to fill on offense namely at quarterback and receiver but Sabers likes the running back duo of DePrenger and junior Tonka Hickman.
Kimber is the top returning receiver for City High and Sabers believes senior tight end Evan Gunder is in for a big season.
Those players will all be weapons for Wells who is expected to take over at quarterback.
“Max is one of the fastest guys and Tonka is working really hard and Malik is working hard at receiver too,” Well said. “We are going to have some weapons.”
City High believes it has the players in place to make last season a distant memory.
More importantly the Little Hawks say they have the right attitude for a turnaround.
“It would mean a lot not only to get that winning tradition back but to be more of a team,” Wells said. “If we can come together as a team and be positive with each other I feel like that would help us bring that winning tradition back.”