The Pleasant Valley football team wrapped up their season with three wins and six losses. During the latest season, the team faced difficult opponents in their schedule, resulting in a significant downgrade from previous season records.
The Spartans were led by junior quarterback Ryan Mumey. In the nine games he played this year, Mumey passed for 709 yards on 64 completions with 119 attempts. He also threw for six touchdowns to his four interceptions. Mumey gained instant success, displaying his talents in a loss to Bettendorf. Mumey had a strong rushing season to help pad his passing stats, proving he isn’t a so-called “one trick pony”.
The leading rusher of the Spartans was junior Caden Kipper. Kipper was hindered by an injury, which kept him from participating in a few games which resulted in a weakening of the offense. On 104 rushes, Kipper gained exactly 600 yards. Kipper’s strong performance gave the fans a glimpse of the upcoming team’s offense, which looks to have greater success than the latest season.
Junior Kellen Hornbuckle caught this year’s receiving title with 186 yards on 18 receptions. Hornbuckle had multiple highlight-worthy catches. He brought in two one-handed snags and showed the Spartans the talents he honed on the Team USA U18 football squad over the summer.
The juniors played a major part on offense. The talents they brought to the team was enough to bump the seniors out of starting spots. This allowed the juniors to get time under the lights on Friday nights in order to prepare them for future seasons. Although the offense had its shining moments, the team sputtered when star players were out or injured.
On the defensive side of the field, seniors reigned over the juniors. The defense was the major factor in the Spartans’ success this season, keeping the opposing teams to minimal points throughout the year.
Sadly, many seniors faced their last year of playing competitive football. Senior Hunter Pieper said, “I can’t pick one thing I would miss more than the feeling prior to running out on the field,” he said “The fun times at practice, the coaches, and everything about football season was extremely fun to me and I’m going to miss it all.”
Additional seniors also recalled some of their favorite moments of the season, such as fun practices and victories. Senior Ali Francois added, “No memory will beat our victory over Linn-Mar, because it was in such a tight game.”
Senior corner back Blake Sherman led the team in solo tackles with 35 through the nine games this year. His total tackle tally was at 41. Jack Young, who is also a senior, swarmed the ball carriers all year long, racking up 44 total tackles and leading the team by three tackles. The corner backs were led by the top ten corners in the state duo: Ali Francois and Blake Sherman. The two athletes were ranked by the state as top ten defensive backs in the state for their overall impact in the game. Francois and Sherman were locked-down opposing wide receivers all year long, through pass deflections and tackles.
With the run-heavy offense, young offensive linemen A.J. Tappa, Aiden Kilstrom, and Cane Zemo look to master their position, in hopes of opening up the running more for the upcoming season. The juniors have multiple components of their game to improve, however, they show great potential in having a deep playoff run next year is high.
