Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – For a budding baseball prospect like John Klosterman the allure of testing himself against top-level competition was too appealing to pass up.

Klosterman appeared on the path to football stardom after cracking the lineup at linebacker as sophomore at City High but opted to spend his junior year of high school focused on baseball and how he stacked up against elite competition.

It was the bonds he built with his teammates on the football field that brough Klosterman back.

“The atmosphere and the brotherhood with a football team is like none other,” Klosterman said. “Nothing replaces that.”

Klosterman has made an immediate impact in his return to the gridiron.

The senior linebacker has emerged as a leader in an aggressive City High defensive front seven that has been at the center of what has already been an impressive turnaround season for the Little Hawks.

Coming off four consecutive two-win seasons City High has outscored opponents 152-5 during a 3-0 start to the year while rising to fourth in the Class 5A Associated Press poll.

City High (3-0) will host perennial power West Des Moines Dowling (1-2) on Friday at Bates Field in Iowa City in the most anticipated regular season contest for the Little Hawks in recent memory.

“He practices like he plays the game and when you have a guy that does that, he brings that attitude to practice every day it elevates our team on a daily basis,” first-year City High coach Mitch Moore said of Klosterman. “He elevates our coaches. He is a special player that didn’t play last year that is really making our program better.”

Klosterman showed flashes of the type of player two seasons ago when he made 23.5 tackles including 17 solo stops as a sophomore.

After that season Klosterman shifted his focus to baseball, playing against top-level competition in Florida during the offseason.

A big-time baseball prospect, Klosterman hit .319 with 15 extra-base hits including two home runs and drove in 28 runs last summer for City High while also posting a 4-2 record and 1.64 ERA with 52 strikeouts in 38 1/3 innings.

Klosterman just missed football.

“It’s awesome to be back on the football field,” Klosterman said after a season-opening win over Liberty High. “It’s been so fun to be playing. I am glad to be back on the field.”

Moore is more than glad to have Klosterman back manning his inside linebacker spot.

In his return to the field the 5-foot-10, 205 Klosterman racked up a team-high 9.5 tackles against Liberty High several of the bone-jarring variety.

Of his 9.5 tackles against the Lightning 3.5 came behind the line of scrimmage including a strip sack that resulted in a City High touchdown.

In two games this season Klosterman has 15 tackles, 12 solo and 4.5 tackles for loss.

Klosterman has joined with junior Ben Kueter at linebacker to give City High an imposing presence in the middle of its defense.

“He just brings so much energy,” Kueter said. “I’d run through a wall for that kid and anybody else on the team would say the same thing as well. He brings so much energy and that’s something we needed and he brings it.”

The play of the defense has been a big reason for the 3-0 start for City High.

Led by Klosterman and Kueter the Little Hawks are holding opponents to 1.7 points and 147 total yards per game while allowing just 2.8 yards per play.

The City High defense led by coordinator Todd Mcghghy opened the season with back-to-back shutouts and has scored four touchdowns while allowing just three points in three games.

“Coach Mcghghy is a defensive guru, just a genius,” Klosterman said. “Working with him, talking with him, just picking his brain. He knows so much about the game of football and defense it’s unreal.”

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