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Now the Wolves are back for an encore, with another trip to the UNI-Dome not an unrealistic expectation for 2009.
There is much work to be done, however, for IKM-Manning co-head coaches Floyd Forman and Tom Casey. Although the Wolves do return 15 letter winners - all seniors - among their 54-man roster (up four from last year), all but four starters from '08 were lost to graduation.
The list of departed includes four all-staters who were valuable two-way starters: Ryan Halbur (1,522 rushing yards, 24 total TD's); Jason Kienast (team-high 144 tackles, 2 fumble recoveries); Eric Croghan (16.5 tackles for loss, 2 FR, 1 TD); and Zach Jahn (45-50 on PAT's, 3-4 on FG's, including two game-winners in the final 15 seconds).
"Those were really good football players, and we lost some all-district players also in that (senior) group," Forman noted.
But when you look at the roster for 2009, there is still an abundance of talent back in the fold, led by senior quarterback Bryce Irlbeck - a third-year starter - and senior wingback Jerad Croghan, who is a Pre-season All-State selection by the Iowa Football Coaches Association. Senior Jarad Gaskill made that same All-State list as a punter, but he also returns at linebacker and will join the offensive backfield as well. The fourth returning starter is linebacker Jason Opperman, who might miss the first game or two due to a shoulder injury, but is projected as a two-way starter down the road.
Forman says the Wolves' chief strength is their experience in the backfield, and not just on the offensive side. Both Irlbeck and Jerad Croghan are experienced veterans in the defensive backfield as well, although Irlbeck will play more linebacker this year.
"I think we have a good defensive secondary. We've got some kids back with some decent speed and some good coverage abilities," Forman said. "Tradition helps us - I think that's always a strength. If you have good tradition, that sometimes gives you a little advantage when you step on the field.
"Our O-line and our D-line are kind of the question marks right now. How are those kids going to respond in game situations, are they going to be able to handle the pressure and are they going to be able to dig down deep when they need to? We'll have to figure that out."
The tradition Forman speaks of is not just confined to last year, either, and it's not just confined to one sport. Irwin-Kirkman-Manilla and Manning both won Class A football titles earlier this decade. In girls sports, Manning's strong volleyball tradition and I-K-M's powerful girls basketball program came together last year and thrived, with the Wolves reaching the state volleyball semifinals and winning a state championship in girls basketball. The school also fielded strong teams in boys basketball, girls and boys track, baseball and softball.
"We got off to a great start last year in practically every sport, so that set the bar quite high," said Forman, who is also the school's athletic director. "We know that's going to be tough to duplicate, but certainly I know the kids have high expectations. I'm kind of taking a wait-and-see approach."
Considering both I-K-M and Manning had solid programs prior to consolidation, coupled with last year's instant success together, should make the football program that much better for years to come.
"Pretty good tradition from both schools, that's really helped, and I think the kids expect to be successful. They expect to have good seasons," Forman added. "The kids like football and they want to be good at it, so that tradition from the past has really helped."
The Wolves' attempt to repeat as District 8 champs will be tested by the likes of Kuemper Catholic, Missouri Valley and Odebolt-Arthur-BCIG. Kuemper and Mo. Valley, who both lost to IKM-Manning by just three points in the regular season last fall, return a combined 38 lettermen and will have revenge on their mind. Mo. Valley also lost to the Wolves in the playoff quarterfinals, 25-0. Kuemper has four players on the Pre-season All-State list.
"I pick the top two teams to be Missouri Valley and Carroll Kuemper," Forman stated. "Kuemper has a lot of kids back. Their quarterback (Brandon Bolott) is back, they're tough to defend, they spread it out all over the field and do a lot of different things out of that. They're kind of a defensive coordinator's nightmare at times.
"Missouri Valley has Nick Monzu back who is an excellent running back, and their quarterback, Dustin Nelson, also is a very excellent player. They've got a few key starters back in the offensive line so that's kind of a good starting point for them, and I think they (were) kind of knocking at the door last year.
"I expect those to be the teams to beat, and hopefully we can be in that mix a little bit. We'll have to wait and see."
Wolves' Offense:
The skill positions are an area of strength for the IKM-Manning offense, but the key to the whole double-wing machine, Forman says, will be how fast the new offensive line comes together. Lane Robinson, a 278-pounder in contention for the starting center job, along with 241-pound left tackle Kyle Vetter, add some bulk, while 6-foot-4 and 6-foot-5 tight ends Colten Ramsey and Rick Blake should provide good protection on the outside and good receiving targets downfield.
Forman also expects to start Denim Schechinger and Jay Petersen at the guard positions and Jacob Dreier at right tackle. Tom Saunders (6-1, 215) is in the running at center.
"We don't have the quickness in the offensive line that we had last year, so along with the experience factor - that's a big question mark for us," Forman said. "We're trying to get those guys playing together as a group, and it's going to be an on-going process. We have a couple non-district games to open up with and we hope that will give us a little time to gel together and become a more polished unit by the time we get into district play."
Taking the snaps again will be the experienced Irlbeck, a strong athlete at 5-11, 192 pounds who provides stability and leadership. A capable runner (323 yards in '08), Irlbeck may be called on to pass a few more times this season. Forman is hopeful to improve on last year's 50 percent completion mark and 689 yards (3 TD's, 4 INT's).
"I think he's grown into that leadership role every year, and this year we hope that he can put everything together," Forman said. "He's an aggressive kid and he takes charge in the huddle. By now, he knows the offense pretty well and what we expect out of him from that position. He's worked hard on his throwing, so we hope that maybe we can throw the ball a little more effectively this year. We think we've got some kids that can catch the ball pretty well and be good targets for him. We hope that will pan out for us."
The Wolves' bread and butter will still be the ground game, led by the 6-1, 186-pound Croghan, who will move from fullback - where he rushed for 894 yards and 18 TD's last year - to left wingback. He will be joined in the backfield by Gaskill (6-2, 174, sr.) and fullback Matt Vogel (6-0, 168, sr.), who rushed for a combined 281 yards and three scores last season. Junior Josh Ertz looks to be an excellent back-up.
Can Croghan duplicate Halbur's lofty numbers from a year ago?
"Well, we hope so," Forman said. "Again, you can only goes as far as that line takes you. Ryan had the advantage of having a quick, fairly experienced line, where Jerad does not have that advantage, at least starting out. But he's really a tough, competitive kid and he brings a lot to the table with his running style, so we plan on him having an excellent year for us."
Wolves' Defense/Special Teams:
Coach Casey is once again in charge of the IKM-M defense, returning four starters from a unit that shut out four opponents last fall.
Three-fourths of the linebacking corps - Gaskill, Opperman and Irlbeck - are seasoned, along with Croghan at cornerback. The toughest players to replace will be defensive ends Eric Croghan and Zach Jahn, and Kienast at linebacker.
"Our D-ends play important roles in our defensive make-up and that's going to be key to replace those guys," Casey said. "Rick Blake (this year's starting left defensive end) got quite a bit of varsity time in there last year because he rotated in; it's just a matter of getting a couple of these other guys up to game speed.
"We graduated a lot of linemen so there's some work that needs to be done, but we have a good group of players to work with and to keep each other fresh. I think that's going to be very important this year."
The tight ends on offense, Blake and Ramsey, will also start at the defensive ends, while Vetter and Dreier will man the tackles. Casey also plans to rotate in Saunders, Brandon Schechinger and Ian Erickson on the interior, keeping everybody rested.
"We have a good group of boys there at tackle," he added. "As long as they go hard while they're in there, that's going to be more than adequate."
Denim Schechinger will join Gaskill, Opperman and Irlbeck as the linebackers - a group Casey believes will be his strongest. Irlbeck was a safety last year and could drop back to that spot again.
"I know we lost Jason Kienast, but we do have three guys back there that played quite a bit of varsity football," Casey said. "Jason Opperman played next to Kienast and I think he learned a lot from him. We have Jarad back also, and Bryce . . . I think we have enough experience there and a good nucleus to build from and give the other kids confidence."
Croghan will be joined in the secondary by Vogel at cornerback and Tyler Bruck at safety. Bruck can also play defensive end, an example of versatility that Casey likes with this year's defense.
"We have enough experience and athletes where we can move some guys around and do some different things," he said. "You don't want to move too fast at the beginning. You want to be sure you've got the basics first and then go from there, but I think we can be a little more versatile with what we do, once we get things going."
When practices began earlier this month, Casey was impressed by how well the Wolves' players retained knowledge of defensive schemes and assignments from a year ago. That bodes well, he hopes, because intelligence was a strong suit of last year's formidable defense as well.
"We had some pretty football savvy kids last year. They understood football and they could pick things up pretty quick," Casey said. "So these guys I think will be okay. It will just take a couple games to get under our belt."
In the kicking department, Gaskill returns at punter after averaging 38.1 yard per attempt in 2008 (7th in Class 2-A). Jay Petersen takes over the place-kicking duties, replacing the All-Stater Jahn.
IKM-Manning Probable Starters
OFFENSE
LTE: Colten Ramsey (6-4, 185, sr.)
LT: Kyle Vetter (5-10, 241, sr.)
LG: Denim Schechinger (5-9, 181, sr.)
C: Lane Robinson (5-10, 278, sr.) or Tom Saunders (6-1, 215, sr.)
RG: Jay Petersen (6-1, 174, jr.)
RT: Jacob Dreier (6-0, 193, sr.)
RTE: Rick Blake (6-5, 180, sr.)
QB: Bryce Irlbeck (5-11, 192, sr.)
LWB: Jerad Croghan (6-1, 186, sr.)
FB: Matt Vogel (6-0, 168, sr.)
RWB: Jarad Gaskill (6-2, 174, sr.)
Kicker: Jay Petersen (6-1, 174, jr.)
Top Reserves
WB: Josh Ertz (5-10, 170, jr.)
OL: Brandon Schechinger (6-0, 173, sr.)
TE: Tyler Muhlbauer (6-3, 151, sr.)
QB: Tyler Bruck (6-0, 164, sr.)
DEFENSE
LDE: Rick Blake (6-5, 180, sr.)
DT: Kyle Vetter (5-10, 241, sr.)
DT: Jacob Dreier (6-0, 193, sr.)
RDE: Colten Ramsey (6-4, 185, sr.)
OLB: Jarad Gaskill (6-2, 174, sr.)
ILB: Jason Opperman (6-2, 176, sr.)
ILB: Denim Schechinger (5-9, 181, sr.)
OLB: Bryce Irlbeck (5-11, 192, sr.)
S: Tyler Bruck (6-0, 164, sr.)
LCB: Jerad Croghan (6-1, 186, sr.)
RCB: Matt Vogel (6-0, 168, sr.)
Punter: Jarad Gaskill (6-2, 174, sr.)
Top Reserves
DT: Tom Saunders (6-1, 215, sr.)
DT: Brandon Schechinger (6-0, 173, sr.)
DT: Ian Erickson (6-1, 211, jr.)
LB: Josh Ertz (5-10, 170, jr.)
CB: Robert Tank (5-10, 146, so.)
2009 IKM-Manning Football Schedule
(VARSITY)
Aug. 28 vs. Audubon, 7:30
Sept. 4 at East Sac (Wall Lake), 7:00
Sept. 11 at MV-AO (Mapleton), 7:30*
Sept. 18 vs. Kuemper Catholic, 7:30*
Sept. 25 at O-A/BC-IG (Ida Grove), 7:30*
Oct. 2 at Missouri Valley, 7:30*
Oct. 9 vs. Red Oak, 7:30*
Oct. 16 vs. Clarinda, 7:30*
Oct. 23 at Shenandoah, 7:30*
* District Games
2-A Playoff Dates: Oct. 28 (Substate), Nov. 2, Nov. 6, Nov. 16, Nov. 21.
Class 2-A, District 8 - 2008 Standings
Dist. All
IKM-Manning**** 7-0 13-1
Missouri Valley*** 5-2 9-3
Odebolt-Arthur/BC-IG** 5-2 8-3
Kuemper Catholic* 4-3 5-5
Clarinda 4-3 6-3
Maple Valley/Anthon-Oto 2-5 3-6
Red Oak 1-6 3-6
Shenandoah 0-7 0-9
**** Playoff Semi-finalist
*** Playoff Quarter-finalist
** Playoff Qualifier
* Substate Qualifier
2008 IKM-Manning Scores
8/29 IKM-Manning 48, Audubon 7
9/5 IKM-Manning 35, East Sac 6
9/12 IKM-Manning 21, MV/A-O 0
9/19 IKM-Manning 16, Kuemper 13
9/26 IKM-Mann. 31, O-A/BC-IG 14
10/3 IKM-Mann. 17, Mo. Valley 14
10/10 IKM-Manning 41, Red Oak 0
10/17 IKM-Manning 47, Clarinda 16
10/24 IKM-Mann. 61, Shenandoah 0
SUBSTATE & PLAYOFFS
10/29 IKM-Mann. 42, PCM Monroe 12
11/3 IKM-Manning 34, O-A/BC-IG 7
11/7 IKM-Manning 25, Mo. Valley 0
11/17 Central Lyon/G-LR 31, IKM-M 14
(at UNI-Dome)
