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| Durant's Brandon Dykes will return next season as will two others - Gavin Blake and Conrad Hoover to give the Wildcats a strong group of running backs next season. |
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Wildcats Win Early, Late in 2014
DURANT — The Durant Wildcats won their first game and last game of the 2014 season and finished the year 3-6. The Wildcats were in the class 1A district 5 playoff chase for over two-thirds of the season. The Wildcats losses to Wilton and Alburnett took away any chance of the postseason. Despite that, Durant had plenty to be excited about.
Quarterback Will Bentley set a new school record in passing yards and on special teams, Bentley backed up a 1st team All-State 2013 season punting by averaging 48.2-yards a punt this season.
Defensively, Gavin Blake led the state (1A) in tackles at the end of the regular season.
What to look forward to in 2015:
1. Durant will have a leg up on many of the district teams with starting quarterback Will Bentley back along with starting running backs Gavin Blake, Brandon Dykes and Jacob Conley.
2. One more home game. 2015 will flip the home schedule to five games after the Wildcats played four home games in 2014. With one of the road games 5-miles down the road at Wilton, on the 'off' five years, the Wildcats nearly can say that they have five home games.
3. Opportunity knocks. Many key guys graduate on defense and on special teams. There will be opportunity to earn playing time. It will be fun to see who steps up next season and where.
4. 10 seniors to be and 9 juniors to be could give the Wildcats some much needed depth and subs. Add nine more sophomores to be and Durant could have some solid varsity numbers next season.
Question marks in 2015:
1. Who will step up and be the #1 wide receiver? Leading receiver Alik Lorenz graduates after having over 60 receptions and 1,000 yards combined in his junior and senior seasons combined.
2. Who will handle the placekicking duty? 2014 placekicker Nathan Paulsen graduates. Paulsen handled kick-offs, kicked PAT's and field goals for the Wildcats.
3. Can the Wildcats win the close games in 2015? Durant's playoff chances were hurt in 2014 by close losses to district foes Wilton (14-13), Alburnett (20-17) and Bellevue (27-19). Two of those teams made the playoffs.
4. How will the Wildcats take advantage of five home games instead of four games. Rival Wilton will play in Durant as will district foes North Cedar, Alburnett and non-district teams Mid-Prairie and Camanche.
2014 Results:
August 2014
8/29 @ Mid-Prairie W 7-6
September 2014
9/5 Tipton L 27-17
9/12 Wapello W 34-14
9/19 @ Wilton L 14-13
9/26 @ Alburnett L 20-17
October 2014
10/3 West Branch L 53-13
10/10 @ North Cedar L 47-8
10/17 Bellevue L 27-19
10/24 @ Camanche W 43-0
2014 Roster:
Seniors — 6-Nathan Paulsen; 23-Conrad Hoover; 25-Austin Bartenhagen; 51-Kyle Lafrenz; 78-Levi Novinski; 79-Brad Burton; 83-Colton Sloan; 88-Alik Lorenz.
Juniors — 7-Will Bentley; 17-Chris Saley; 21-Lake Koenig; 22-Shane Harris; 28-Gavin Blake; 31-Noah Cawiezell; 36-Brandon Dykes; 44-Tanner Kleppe; 50-Jacob Mangels; 69-Drew Larion.
Sophomores — 10-Reece Bird; 11-Leo Callison; 20-Jacob Conley; 52-Jacob Prunchak; 60-Drake Miller; 63-Nathan Heick; 66-Denver Feuerbach; 75-Chase Beverlin; 75-Alan Hammel.
Freshmen — 12-Curtis Lilienthal; 18-Ty Chenault; 22-Cole Stineman; 45-Cale Frett; 55-Dawson Frett; 68-Dakota Tegtmeier; 76-Mason Bird; 82-Cole Miedema; 84-Jarad Custer.
Individual Statistics:
Passing: Will Bentley 111-for-201 1,208 yards 7 TD’s, 13 INT’s; Gavin Blake 1-for-1 48 yards, 0 TD’s, 0 INT’s; Brandon Dykes 0-for-1 0 yards, 0 TD’s, 1 INT.
Rushing: Brandon Dykes 127 carries 594 yards 4.7-yard ave. 6 TD’s; Gavin Blake 89 carries 464 yards 5.2-yard ave; 5 TD’s, Will Bentley 42 carries 183 yards 4.4-yard ave. 2 TD’s; Conrad Hoover 33 carries 152 yards 4.6-yard ave. 2 TD’s; Jacob Conley 6 carries 10 yards 1.7-yard ave.
Receiving: Alik Lorenz 36 catches 521 yards 14.5-yard ave. 6 TD’s; Brandon Dykes 29 catches 289 yards 10.0-yard ave.; Conrad Hoover 14 catches 127 yards 9.1-yard ave.; Gavin Blake 16 catches 110 yards 6.9-yard ave. 1 TD; Jacob Conley 8 catches 106 yards 13.3-yard ave.; Colton Sloan 7 catches 83 yards 11.9-yard ave.; Cale Frett 1 catch 12 yards; Chris Saley 1 catch 8 yards.
Kicking Statistics:
Kick-Offs: Nathan Paulsen 28-712 yards.
Kick-Off Returns: Jacob Conley 10-134 yards, Noah Cawiezell 4-128 yards 1 TD, Conrad Hoover 1-20, Gavin Blake 1-1, Drake Miller 1-0.
PAT’s: Nathan Paulsen 12-for-19.
Field Goals: Nathan Paulsen 2-for-2. Longest 25 yards.
Punting: Will Bentley 18-868 yards, 48.2-yard ave. Longest 58 yards.
Punt Returns: none.
Defensive Statistics:
Tackles (S-A-T): Gavin Blake 71-71 142, Kyle Lafrenz 22-70 92, Brandon Dykes 31-43 74, Alik Lorenz 13-31 44, Tanner Kleppe 13-27 40, Lake Koenig 17-20 37, Conrad Hoover 10-24 34, Chris Saley 7-16 23, Noah Cawiezell 7-12 19, Austin Bartenhagen 5-14 19, Levi Novinski 5-13 18, Jacob Conley 4-7 11, Drew Larion 3-6 9, Will Bentley 3-5 8, Cale Frett 0-4 4, Drake Miller 0-3 3, Dawson Frett 2-0 2, Nathan Paulsen 0-1 1, Jacob Prunchak 0-1 1, Denver Feuerbach 0-1 1.
Interceptions: Gavin Blake 4-50 yards; Brandon Dykes 4-12 yards; Noah Cawiezell 2-5 yards; Chris Saley 1-0 yards; Lake Koenig 1-0 yards; Austin Bartenhagen 1-1 yard.
Fumble Recoveries: Conrad Hoover 1, Noah Cawiezell 1, Alik Lorenz 1.
Sacks: Gavin Blake 12, Brandon Dykes 6, Alik Lorenz 6, Tanner Kleppe 2.
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