The WACO Warriors are set to make their return to the Friday Night Lights with an intrasquad scrimmage at Roth Field on KCII3.
The Warriors sport plenty of experience in the trenches, bringing back their full defensive line from last season while returning three offensive linemen and two tight ends with starting experience, but will look to replace nearly all of their skill positions after losing their starting quarterback and running back, top two wide receivers, and their entire starting linebacker and secondary units to graduation.
Last year, WACO was led offensively by senior quarterback Clayton Miller, who passed for 23 touchdowns to just 7 interceptions while finding the end zone four times on the ground. Miller’s top weapon, Louden Huisenga, lead the team with 1072 rushing yards on 7.7 yards per carry while scoring 23 rushing touchdowns.
Last year’s kick returner, junior Hayden Shelman, will look to replace Huisenga’s production, with WACO Head Coach Chad Edeker highlighting the senior as an early candidate to get a high quantity of carries. The then-sophomore housed four kick returns in the Warriors’ 2024 campaign.
Passing targets last year were split almost evenly between Huisenga and wide receivers Gage Samo and Isaac Rich, all three of whom were seniors. Rich led the way for the WACO receiving corps with 11 touchdowns and 572 yards.
Senior Adam Stafford will look to set the tone for WACO’s line on both sides of the ball. Joining him offensively will be senior Nic Pacha and junior Sam Meyer.
On defense, Stafford will be alongside seniors Tyler Rogers and Trey Edeker as the leaders of a new look defense. Stafford led the charge against opposing run games with 16 tackles for loss last season, while Trey dominated opposing quarterbacks with a team high nine sacks.
WACO Head Coach Chad Edeker discussed Stafford’s impact on the team’s performance, “If we can keep Adam on the defensive side of the ball and causing trouble, he is just a monster of a man to block at 6’8 320. Just a force. Offensively he’s a force moving people out of the way, defensively he takes up the whole center and allows Trey and Tyler to work on the outside.”
Shelman looks to be a critical piece of WACO’s new secondary as well, owning the teams lone returning interception following the graduation of Rich and Miller, who combined for seven picks a year ago.
Niles Reichenbach returns as WACO’s starting kicker on special teams. He made 45 of his 52 extra points a season ago. He also has the lone returning punt attempt for the Warriors following Huisenga’s graduation.
The Warriors are coming off of a 7-1 regular season, with their lone loss coming to district champ Iowa Valley. Their season ended in the second round of the playoffs in a 48-7 loss to then-undefeated Don Bosco.
Just three years removed from their run to the state championship game in 2022, this year’s senior class will be the last group of players who were in high school when the Warriors last played in the UNI Dome. The team’s path back to the playoffs this year is a familiar one, with only one team on the schedule that WACO didn’t face last season in district newcomer Belle Plaine, who knocked Iowa Valley out of last year’s playoffs.
The KCII Football Friday Preview Show will lead off the evening’s festivities at 5 p.m. The Area Game of the Week pregame show will begin on the KCII3 stream and app at 6:20 p.m., and kickoff from Roth Field in Wayland will be at 7.