Alex Eller
WAVERLY- A senior-heavy starting lineup has been the recipe for success for the Waverly football team over the last few years. In that time span, they have lost just four football games and have reached the semifinals in the Class B State Football Playoffs the last two years.
The Vikings will use that same formula in 2024 as they bring in another relatively inexperienced senior group who looks to put their stamp of success on the program.
“We don’t have a lot of returning starters this year and because of that, there are always going to be question marks in certain areas that you got to fill new people in,” Waverly head coach Reed Manstedt said. “But at the same time like anything in years past, it’s really good that we’re going to be replacing a lot of the spots with seniors. We will still be very senior heavy this year and hopefully, those young men are ready to make the most of their opportunity like the classes before them did.”
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A big source of strength for this year’s Viking squad will be their lines. They do return some starters up front including 6 foot 0 inches, 270-pound Chase Dittenbur, who has gotten offers from Division II, Division III, and NAIA schools to play football.
Behind the starters, there is a second rotation of athletes that can fill in on the line that Manstedt also likes. The depth in the trenches should be key, especially as the Vikings bring in a new quarterback this season.
“Our offensive line I think is going to be a big strength for us,” Manstedt said. “We do return a couple of starters up front there, but on top of that, we feel we have got 10 to 12 kids that we are very comfortable with if we had to roll out at any given moment to play for us. Some teams out there are lucky to have four to five kids they feel comfortable with, and we are fortunate to have 12 or so kids that if we had to start any one of them, we would feel comfortable with that.”
Another bright spot is the athleticism that Waverly has across the board.
It all starts with Nathan Axmann who — at 6 foot 0 inches, 180 pounds — will be the starting running back for the Vikings. The junior is one of the best players on the squad and looks to have a breakout season in the backfield.
“Our overall athleticism as a team I think is a big strength and we have good size,” Manstedt said. “Last year we were extremely athletic but didn’t have a lot of size. This year we’re going to have some size and the athletes to go with it, so that is going to be a nice little combination there.”
Heading into the season, Waverly has put in a lot of work to continue and get better as a whole. They want to prove once again that they belong near the top of Class B.
In his six years as the Vikings head coach, Manstedt is always impressed on how coachable and hardworking the kids within the program are.
“It’s hard to believe it’s going to be my sixth year here,” Manstedt said. “One of the things that I’ve always been really impressed with and very proud of is our young men’s work ethic in the weight room as well as the time they put into being successful in all the stuff we ask of them in the offseason. This class is no different from the classes before them. Those classes laid the foundation of the expectations of hard work and commitment that you need to be successful, and this group is picking up right where they left off.”
After two straight semifinal appearances, Waverly hopes this is the year where they get a chance to play for a State Championship. They know the road won’t be easy with schools like Bennington and now Gretna in the way, but the Vikings are confident they can play with the best of them.
“That’s always the hard part,” Manstedt said. “Anytime you get to those semifinals you’re going against teams who are the four best teams, so the margin for error is so small in those games. Just continuing to focus on those little details and I also am a firm believer that you can’t put too much pressure on yourself as players to try and go out there and win that game. We got to go out there and treat it like any other game. When we finally get past that point, I think it will be something that we can easily do.”
Waverly starts off the season with a massive test against the three-time defending Class B State Champions Bennington on the road at 7 p.m. on Aug. 30. The Badgers have a 39-game winning streak on the line going into the contest.
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