CHS football gunning for another conference crown
The Columbia High School football team heads into this season having lost some key players from last year’s squad, but will also be returning some key personnel from a team that finished last season at 9-1 and made the playoffs.
Gone from last year’s team are starting quarterback Brock McGowan and powerful offensive linemen Grant Snow and Cole Foster, who also helped anchor the defensive line.
Also gone from the defensive side of the ball are three starting linebackers: Camren Shewfelt, K.J. Spisak and Cole Crissup.
“These kids will be hard to replace, but I’m very confident in our young players we have coming up,” head coach Scott Horner said.
The Eagles will not lack for experience this year, returning seven players on offense and five on defense.
Returning on offense for Columbia this season will be center Tyler Wood, guard Andrew Gutknecht, running back Lou Isringhaus and wide receivers Brendan Wilhelm, Chris Wagner and Easton Huffhines.
Jacob Hill, who played wide receiver last season as a junior, will take over at quarterback, replacing McGowan.
The 2014 Columbia High School football team is, not pictured in order, Lou Isringhaus, Luke McClanahan, Easton Huffhines, Colin Roessler, Jacob Hill, Liam Knox, Greg Long, Solomon Dana, Lamont Reed, Drew Huebner, Zach Braun, Jonathan Holmes, JT Broshears, Landon Bueltemann, Joe Certa, Chris Wagner, Kenny Fields, Derrik Ward, Brady Stockard, Dylan Freiburghaus, Zach Mathews, Andrew Locke, Brady Middelkamp, Zach Rosecrans, John Montgomery, Aidan Walters, Shane Hoock, David Boxell, Jake Mueller, Jarrett Allscheid, Andrew Jackson, Bailey Koch, JD Allscheid, Ethan Gamble, Connor Little, Owen Suedkamp, Josh Obregon, Auggie Hengel and Stephen Lohmeyer. (Corey Saathoff photo)Some of the young players Horner is looking at to fill the vacancies from last year are junior wide receiver Lamont Reed, offensive linemen Shawn Pinkerton and Cory Hornbostel, and, on defense, inside linebacker Owen Suedkamp and nose guard Conner Little.
“Reed had a great summer and is a fast kid. We have good size on the line with Pinkerton (6-3, 250) and Hornbostel (6-2, 240) and Connor Little (5-10, 270). These kids are all very strong and Suedkamp is a good hitter and really understands the game,” Horner said of his young players.
One of the games the Eagles look forward to every season is against Route 3 rival Waterloo, which will take place the second week of the season at CHS.
“The Waterloo rivalry is big, but we focus on the next game on the schedule, not weeks ahead,” Horner said. “Freeburg is a big game for us, too, but really they are all big games.”
Horner is in his 14th season as head coach of the Eagles, and his team has won the conference two years in a row.
“We want to do it for three in a row,” he said. “I don’t think that has ever been done.
“It has been a long summer and a long couple of weeks, but I am happy with where we are at. We need to be more consistent in practice, and that will hopefully transfer to games and we will have a good season.”
The Eagles open their season on the road this Friday against East Alton-Wood River. Kick-off is set for 7 p.m.
