C8
Prep football preview 2017
Thursday, Aug. 31, 2017 • The Hays Daily News
La Crosse Leopards Class 2-1A, District 7 Coach: Jon Webster (9th year, 71-19). Last season’s record/playoff finish: 5-6/1-1 Returning starters: 4 offense, 6 defense Top returning players: Jacob Showalter, 5-10, 220, sr., OL/DL; Brett Herrman, 6-2, 176, sr., WR/S; Kadin Trower, 6-3, 226, sr., OT/DE; Kale Mongeau, 6-3, 245, sr., OG/DT; Zak Brown, 5-10, 161, sr., RB/LB; Hunter Morgan, 5-10, 150, soph., QB/S; Team notes: Two years ago, a long playoff streak (15 straight) came to an end for La Crosse when the Leopards missed the cut in Class 2-1A. The Leopards, though, reversed their fortunes by making it back into the postseason with a runner-up finish in district play. That came after the Leopards had an uncharacteristic 0-4 start with losses to Elkhart, Colby, Washington County and Ellsworth. But the run back to the playoffs included a first-round playoff win against perennial contender Meade on the road. La Crosse’s run eventually ended with a 42-20 loss to Smith Center the following week. The Leopards lost a great deal to graduation, notably Clayton Herdman (Washburn) and Jasey Woods (Ottawa),
2017 schedule (*district game) Sept. 1................................vs. Elkhart Sept. 8................................... at Colby Sept. 15.........vs. Washington County Sept. 22.......................... vs. Ellsworth Sept. 29............................ vs. Sublette Oct. 6....................at Stanton County Oct. 13.................................. vs. Ellis* Oct. 20.............................. at Oakley* Oct. 27........................... at Plainville* among a host of others. La Crosse will have several new players in new positions. Morgan steps in at quarterback to replace Herdman, while the most experienced player — Herrman — will be at wide receiver. Herrman was Herdman’s favorite target a year ago, catching 34 passes for 666 yards and nine scores. Brown returns as a running back after seeing limited touches. He had 15 carries for 100 yards and reached paydirt one time. He also caught two passes for 21 yards. The Leopards, prior to two seasons ago, had made the playoffs in 15 straight seasons, dating back to former coach Ryan Cornelsen, now at Hutchinson. Of the 19 losses in the program under Webster, 14 have come in the last three seasons and 12 the last two.
FRONT ROW (from left): Parker Cheatham, Lucas Webster, Travis Reichell, Brock Brown, Adrien Collins, Zak Brown, Kale Mongeau, Kalen Thielenhaus and Austin Bond. SECOND ROW: Blake Herrman, Mason Peters, CJ Patterson, Dustin Castaneira, Zachary Olivarez, Hunter Morgan, Michael Showalter and Devin Spencer. THIRD ROW: Trenton Hasenfratz, Kadin Depperschmidt, Brett Herrman, Kadin Trower, Keldon Day, Jacob Showalter and Christian Suppes.