2024 Pigskin & Hoops Preview: Holton Wildcats Football

TEAM: Holton Wildcats

CLASSIFICATION: 3A

LEAGUE: Big East

COLORS: Blue & White

SOCIAL MEDIA: @WeAreHolton on Twitter

HEAD COACH: Brooks Barta (29th year, 264-64)

2023 RECORD: 7-5 (3A Sectional Champions, Sub-state runners-up)

2023 IN REVIEW

Some programs might have wilted in the face of a tremendously difficult schedule that opened with road trips to eventual 2A state champion Nemaha Central and Sabetha, and included games against perennial powers Rossville and Hayden in the second half. But this isn’t just any program – this is Holton football. And despite going 0-4 in those aforementioned games, the Wildcats were competitive in each of them, and used the lessons learned from those games to win their other four regular season contests in commanding fashion and make the playoffs. Once the postseason arrived, the offensive backfield that had been so inexperienced to start the season began to hit its stride behind a veteran offensive line and the Wildcats started to roll, defeating Bishop Ward, Wellsville and Frontenac to earn a berth in the sub-state round for a fourth consecutive season, where Hayden put a halt to their hopes of reaching a second straight state championship game.

KEY DEPARTURES

The Wildcats built their success from the trenches last season, with senior linemen serving as team leaders. Dalton Roush was a KSHSAA Covered Top 33 selection, making First Team All-Big Seven on the offensive and defensive lines and earning a Shrine Bowl invite. Trevor Barnett was also First Team All-League on the O-line, and Jackson Bear was First Team on the defensive line and at tight end. Abbott Hundley also excelled both ways for the Wildcats, and was a unanimous First Team pick at linebacker while also making the first team for his play at running back. Eli Hallauer rounded out the senior First Team All-League selections at defensive back. Offensive lineman Rylan Amon was an honorable mention honoree.

TOP RETURNERS

Last season the Wildcats came into their schedule with experience on the line but precious little at the skill spots. This year, the opposite will be true. Noah Bartel is the lone returning starter on the offensive line and the senior will be counted upon to lead the group. Kitt Jackson and Owen Clayton are fellow seniors who will have an opportunity up front, and sophomore Ean Winsor offers tantalizing size at 6-foot-3 and 285 pounds. They’ll be blocking for a talented backfield that starts with senior Bodie Dillon under center. He’s equally capable with his arm and legs, though in the ‘Barta Bone’ offense that Coach Barta has deployed for years, it’s his abilities on the ground that are prioritized. Junior Cael Frazier returns as the starting fullback, and fellow juniors Andrew Shupe and Korban Wilson will join him as the primary ballcarriers. Coach Barta believes the fullback spot to be the deepest position on the offensive side. At tight end, junior Kayden Gale started in 2023, and he and fellow junior Landon Hernandez give the Wildcats good size and experience at that position. Defensively, the returning standout is senior Kyler Jackson, who was a First Team All-Big Seven safety last season. Dillon will start alongside him after earning honorable mention All-Big Seven honors at the spot. Shupe, Wilson, Caleb Hernandez and Alec Frazier give the Wildcats an athletic defensive backfield. At linebacker, Gale and Cael Frazier have starting experience along with seniors Caleb Chermock and Logan Altenburg and junior Brody Althof. The big question mark for the defense is the line, which returns no players with starting experience and will be a work in progress as the season gets underway.

2024 SCHEDULE

9/6 @ Sabetha

9/13 Riley County

9/20 Royal Valley

9/27 @ Perry-Lecompton

10/4 Jeff West

10/11 @ Hayden

10/18 Hiawatha

10/25 @ Leavenworth

Big East League, District game

2024 OUTLOOK

The Wildcats proved last season that they can use the regular season as a means to an end, improving throughout against a difficult schedule and leveling up when the leaves turn and the stakes rise. This year’s schedule provides a stern test right off the bat with a Big East opener at Sabetha, the first time Holton has ever played at Sabetha. In the season’s second half, Holton’s trip to Hayden on October 11th will likely decide the district championship, and a road trip to Class 5A Leavenworth provides a unique test right before the start of the postseason. There are plenty of playmakers on this Wildcats roster, but improvement in the trenches will play perhaps the largest role in determining the outcome of this season. The expectations remain high, and given this program’s history of player development, nobody should be surprised if the Wildcats are playing deep into November again.

FROM THE COACH’S HEADSET

“Holton will start the season with a lot of lost experience on the offensive and defensive lines. We will have to show some early growth up front and stay healthy. Though not overly experienced, we have depth at many of the skill positions. At the end of last football season, we had some concerns about what we had returning. However, we have seen a lot of progress from our underclassmen through the spring and summer.  We expect to be very deep and athletic at our skill positions on both sides of the ball.” – Brooks Barta

–Dan Lucero

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