Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – For the past decade and half Regina has operated as a football factory like few schools in state history.

The Regals have cranked out state championships and all-state players at a rate rarely seen in Iowa high school football.

Jason Dumont has been around for all of it, first as defensive coordinator and now in his first season as head coach.

With the long list of standouts and all-staters that have thrived under Dumont when the long-time coach puts a current player among the best he has seen you take notice.

Especially when the player mentioned is a lineman, a spot where Regina has excelled throughout its run of seven state titles in 11 seasons.

That is exactly how Dumont described senior two-way lineman Josh Gaffey.

“He is going to be one of the best linemen we’ve had in 15 years,” Dumont said of Gaffey. “I’m going to put him in the top five of all the lineman we’ve had here and we’ve had some pretty good ones. He’s got the ability to do some good things.”

Gaffey has everything that is looked for in a high school lineman.

At 6-foot-3, 230-pounds he is strong and physical in the run game and has the explosiveness and athletic ability to pass block.

On defense Gaffey is a nightmare for opposing lineman with his combination of speed, length and strength.

“He is a big, strong, physical kid and he’s a smart kid,” Dumont said. “Those are some components as a lineman that will allow you to do some things.”

Gaffey got an early look at what it took to succeed in the trenches in high school football.

His older brother Daniel was an all-state lineman that helped Regina win three consecutive state titles before continuing his career at the University of Iowa.

“It’s definitely different looking in from the outside and then going through it,” Gaffey said about what he learned from following his brother at Regina. “You get to see what they all did and it helps you value the tradition and the success of all those teams. It helps you understand what you need to do.”

Gaffey has already carved out his own legacy at Regina.

A starter since his sophomore season he has made 65 tackles over the past two seasons ranking in the top seven on the team both years.

“Aidan (Udell) and Josh both played as freshman and sophomores so they took some lumps but I think anytime you have 15 years of consistency in a coach staff that helps a lot,” Dumont said. “These kids that were in the system have been getting the same thing from seventh grade on.”

Gaffey was a third-team all-state selection as an offensive lineman last year after helping Regina to an 11-1 record and the Class A state title.

He spent the offseason focused on getting stronger as Regina looks to lean on an offensive line that returns four of its five full-time starters this season.

“One thing that I worked on was trying to get stronger and have more power up front to run the ball better and protect our quarterbacks,” Gaffey said. “I think we all made leaps and bounds in our strength and I feel like we are going to be pretty good up front.”

Gaffey ranked fifth on the team with 36.5 tackles last season and headlines a stout group of returners in the front seven that was impressive during the Regals’ postseason run a year ago.

“Our defensive front seven I think they are going to be really stout,” Gaffey said. “They stop the run and we have a few new guys stepping in but I think they are ready to go.”

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