Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – There is a fair amount of change at Regina this season.

The Regals have a first-year head coach and must replace a three-year starter at quarterback, their top receiver and top tackler from last year’s quarterfinal team.

Even with all changes things still feel the same at Regina where the expectations never move.

“There have been some changes but it feels the same,” Regina senior linebacker Leren Fernandez said. “We’ve kept the traditions, what this team is about, and we’ve added some thing news. Our expectations haven’t changed at all.”

The big change is on the sideline where former assistant coach Dustin Elsbury takes over as head coach.

A first-time head coach, Elsbury has kept the changes to a minimum by design.

“I tried to keep a lot continuity, I’m not coming into a program where I need to revamp everything,” Elsbury said. “Regina has strong tradition, has won state titles and has a really good program so coming in it’s how can I keep the same foundation, the same tradition that made Regina great but still put my twist on it with my experiences.”

The changes on the field may be more noticeable.

Regina returns just six starters from a team that finished 9-2 last season and lost to MFL Mar-Mac in the Class 1A quarterfinals.

Gone from a year ago are starting quarterback Gentry Dumont, all-state receiver Jackson Naeve and five of the Regals’ top six tacklers a year ago.

Despite the noticeable losses to graduation there is plenty of talent returning.

Senior Will Aitchison (5-10, 180) led Regina with 567 rushing yards last season but is making the move to receiver this fall due to depth in the backfield.

Junior Edwin Gangba (5-9, 154) and sophomore Savion Miller (5-11, 180) will handle a majority of the running back carries.

“We have a lot of talented players at running back,” Aitchison said. “Knowing the plays, knowing the routes, that’s a lot to handle and being an upperclassmen I know the playbook well and that’s the number one thing that coaches have to know about you to feel comfortable move you to a new spot.”

Junior Kyle Tracy (5-10, 175) will take over at quarterback and will have solid receiving options in Aitchison and sophomore standout Tate Wallace (6-2, 225) who caught 35 passes for 430 yards and three touchdowns last season.

“Kyle has been stepping up a lot as a leader,” Elsbury said. “He’s worked hard, he was one of our captains of our weight room teams over the summer and he’s put in a ton of work from his freshman year to now. He can run, he can throw and the game is starting to slow down a little bit for him so I’m looking forward to him stepping up and having a big year.”

Seniors Noah Clark (6-0, 225) and Matt Colony (6-2, 240) return to lead the way on both the offensive and defensive lines.

Regina should be stout defensively again led by a linebacker crew headlined by Wallace and Fernandez.

Fernandez (5-11, 190) ranked second on the team with 45 tackles last season and Wallace had 22.5 stops.

Aitchison had 28 tackles last season from his hybrid linebacker spot.

“I think we can be one of the best groups in the state,” Fernandez said of the linebackers. “I think we are all physical. Tate has gotten bigger, stronger and more physical and Aitchison has always been physical so we have an exciting group.”

Senior Spencer Winders (5-10, 170) returns in the secondary after making 26.5 tackles last season and junior Drew Greve (6-0, 150) also returns after picking off four passes a year ago.

“With a small group of seniors it really piles the leadership into a few people,” Winders said. “If we can get everyone on the same page we can do good things. We have a lot of talent here.”

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