Numbers, optimism aplenty in Wildcat football camp

Humboldt eyes return to state playoffs

By Phil Monson
There’s plenty of optimism in the Humboldt Wildcat football camp going into the new season.
Ninth-year head coach Derrick Elman and his squad are coming off a 4-5 finish in 2025, 2-3 in wide open Class 3A District 1.
Thanks to the return of a strong senior class of 12 players and a solid program with good numbers in grades 9-12, there’s reason to be optimistic.

“I’m really pleased with our numbers this year. It is nice to see a lot of guys out. And the guys are competitive. You want to have your drills competitive. Your scrimmages competitive. That makes life easier for us coaches to start building that depth chart with guys who want to go out and compete,” said Elman, who has an overall won-loss record of 52-31 since he arrived in March of 2018.
“On our first day in shoulder pads we could see the results of the work the kids did over the summer and off-season. The time and effort they put in starts to pay off,” Elman said.

Humboldt’s senior class of lettermen include Jaxson Kirchhoff, Cooper Theesfeld, Nash Palmer, Joe Constable, Noah Lange, Carter Reed, Broedy Hendricks, Cash McIntire, Levi Rieck, Griffin Groat and Karter Simonson.
McIntire led Humboldt’s rushing with 822 yards on 138 carries last year. He scored nine touchdowns. He also caught 10 passes for 156 yards and one TD. Kirchhoff caught 14 passes for 140 yards and two scores.
“We have 12 seniors. Kids all in some capacity working to make an impact. We added 275-pound lineman Joe Constable, who was a two-year starter at Fort Dodge. To get a guy like that coming in sure is nice,” Elman said. “It gives us another guy in there who has seen things up close and been in the battles. He’s been a very nice addition. He’s an awesome leader. Works hard and sets an example for the younger kids.”
“Our seniors have a ton of experience. Guys like Griffin Groat (6-1, 205), a two-year starter. Broedy Hendricks (6-0, 205), who will be four-year starter. Jaxson Kirchhoff has experience going back to our championship run in 2024. Noah Lange (5-10, 238) started some games. Cash McIntire has been a workhorse for us at running back. Nash Palmer had a tremendous year for us last year at spur,” Elman said.

“We’ve got Karter Simonson (6-3, 240) who has seen playing time at defensive line. We look to see more out of him in the offensive line. Carter Reed (6-2, 180) is a tight end, defensive lineman and linebacker. Levi Rieck, a wide receiver and a defensive back we will look to. He’s 6-4, 195 and works hard in the weight room,” Elman said.
“Cooper Theesfeld (6-0, 175) has done so much for our program when we needed him. He’s helped us out at quarterback. He’s done special teams. I’m excited for him to have the opportunity,” Elman said. “Weston Vik (5-10, 170) is another kid trying to find a spot out on the field.”
“I feel like the leadership and experience of our senior class is showing in pre-season. It has been fun to see those kids mature and grow up,” Elman said. “As a side note, these seniors were my first fourth grade group of elementary school students whom I taught when I arrived here in 2018. It is fun to see those kids come full circle.”

“As an educator, it is one of my favorite things. I would be lying if I said I didn’t love watching my current fourth and fifth graders out on the playground throwing the football around. There are definitely some mental notes about these kids being taken,” Elman said.
Groat (63 tackles) and Hendricks (61) are the leading returning tacklers for Humboldt. Hendricks had eight tackles for loss and 33 solo stops. Palmer had 54 tackles with 26 solos and three for loss last year.
“Hendricks was such an aggressive little dude on the playground back in fourth grade. He’s my first and only kid who has played varsity all four years. He has laid the groundwork for a pretty impressive career,” Elman said. “He’s looking to culminate in a big way in his senior year.”

Offense
Elman has experienced players to build an offense around both up front and, in the backfield and receiver positions, except for quarterback.
“We have guys with starting experience on offense. Guys like Griffin Groat, Noah Lange and Joe Constable. Those guys will secure things on our line in the middle. Karter Simonson will get good snaps whether at guard or tackle,” Elman said.
“Grant Goodell (6-2, 230) and Carter Fischer (6-2, 280) are two guys who have really stepped forward. Big, long and rangy guys with size who have a good opportunity to play offensive tackle,” Elman said. “Luke Olberding (6-1, 230) is another candidate competing for time in the line.”
“John Blanchard (5-11, 205) is a junior vying for time. He’s worked hard to change himself. It’s been great to see. Keegan Fiengo (5-10, 175) and Carter Meier (5-10, 175) are both juniors who competing for time, along with sophomores in Parker Jensen (6-1, 240), Tate Halverson (6-0, 180) and Kole Olson (220),” Elman said.
“It’s nice to have a big, tall rangy tight end in Dane Clark. He’s 6-4, 225 pounds. A big target who catches the ball really well. He’s worked hard to perfect his craft,” Elman said. “Carter Strait (6-0, 185) is another kid at tight end or H back. He’s a guy who has worked hard and looking for time on the field.”

“Jaxson Kirchhoff started some at H last year and rotated around. He’s looking to play some H again for us this year. He’s a guy who can run the ball, catch the ball and block really well. He’s a workhorse for us on the offensive side of the ball. He has a great attitude and works really hard,” Elman said. “He was at 165 last year and he’s now at 185.”
“Cash is a mainstay in the backfield. He’s exciting in the way he runs the ball. Everything is downhill. One of the things that is so impressive about Cash is that I don’t think he had a tackle where he went backwards. He was always going forward even after he was hit,” Elman said. “He’s strong and hard to bring down.”
“Kirchhoff can easily jump into the backfield and play for us at running back if we need him. Brayden Dahl is another kid at running back who does a nice job. He’s a fast and shifty runner,” Elman said.
“At receiver Kirchhoff can also play split end. Dawson Sleiter is getting looked at as a receiver. Brady Roth does a nice job at receiver. On the outside we have Cooper Theesfeld and Levi Rieck at the wide receiver positions. They do a great job,” Elman said.

The Wildcats will have to replace departed senior quarterback Jackson Flaherty. Caden Fredin, a 165-pound junior, and 175-pound sophomore Noah Elman are vying for time.
“In pre-season at quarterback we have Noah and Caden competing for that spot. They both do some really good things. A lot of evaluation will go into deciding who will start for us,” Elman said. “The way we run things we need someone who does a great job of managing the game and sees the field well.”
“Having a guy starting for the first time, more than anything else, we want them to be able to go out and read the field,” Elman said.

Defense
Humboldt’s defense will be stout with several returnees back.
“Dane Clark brings us experience at defensive end. Joe Constable is a senior starting at nose guard. He’s got two years of experience previously at Fort Dodge. Karter Simonson finished the last five games last year as our other defensive end and he’s back this year to anchor the other side,” Elman said. “We are going to have a tough defensive line. Coach Goodenow does a great job with those guys.”
“You will also see guys like Carter Reed, Luke Olberding, Noah Lange and Carter Fischer competing for D-line spots,” Elman said.
“At linebacker we’ve got a senior in Griffin Groat who does everything on the field. Tremendous leader. It’s awesome to listen to him on the field. The fans don’t get the opportunity to head him out there but Griff literally communicates everything on defense,” Elman said.
“A change for us this year is moving Broedy Hendricks from the line back to linebacker. He had a great summer in seven-on-seven drills. I see so many things Broedy can do coming out of the linebacker position. We’re excited for him to get that opportunity,” Elman said.
“Nash Palmer plays the spur position. Caden Fredin can come down and play spur (outside linebacker). Kirchhoff can play some spur, along with Carter Strait and Braden Downs,” Elman said.

“At cornerback we have Brady Roth, Levi Rieck, Dawson Sleiter and Cael Heider. We have a big bunch of guys you’ll see early on working to see who will best fill those positions,” Elman said.
“Karson Reinhardt is a sophomore who shows some potential at the linebacking/spur position. He’s a wrestler and is great at tackling guys in space. Caleb Vinsand is another guy looking to play some linebacker. He’s a great effort guy and does a nice job,” Elman said “Every time he steps on the field we know we’ll get everything he’s got.”
“At safety we have guys like Cooper Theesfeld, Cash McIntire and Caden Fredin. We have a bunch of guys that I think can really play. You might not see a full platoon, but we have so many guys that we feel we can put on the field at any given moment so we will likely have a lot of guys playing one way,” Elman said.
“Doing that is really nice. Example, Cash McIntire is our starting running back but he can go in and get a couple of reps at safety to give another guy a short rest. That sure helps our team out a little bit,” Elman said.

“It is nice to have a guy that starts one position but at any moment can go in and give a break to another play. In Class 3A football the more guys you can have playing at a high level, the better you are going to be,” Elman said. “I’m not a believer in full platoon. I feel you need to have the best players on the field at any time. But we also have to be mindful of player safety. Being able to do things really, really fast is the key.”
“We want to put our team in the best possible position to win games. Lots of times that does come down to how many guys can you get off the field, get them some water and a short break and allow them to talk to the coaches on the sideline and then get back on the field,” Elman said.
“Special teams are very important to our program. When we are punting the ball, we want to be able to kick it deep and then stop them on the return. It is important to have fresh guys playing on our special teams, whether it is guys who start on one side or the ball or some sophomores who are stepping up or juniors who don’t start but come in and play those positions and take a ton of pride and play really, really hard to help the team be successful,” Elman said.

“At the kicking positions Nova Christensen, Brady Roth and Noah Elman are competing for the starting spot. Dawson Sleiter is doing a great job long snapping for them. Callen Johnson is a really good long snapper,” Elman said. “Callen and Dawson aren’t real big but they can run downfield and be really good tacklers.”
Coaching staff
“This year everybody is back and we’ve added Drew Thomas to our staff. Drew brings a ton of experience. He’s a former Wildcat which is awesome. He knows the kind of pride we want to play with,” Elman said. “He played a few years at Iowa and as on the staff at Iowa. Last year he coached at Algona and so it is good to get him wearing the right colors again. He’ll coach our quarterbacks.”
“Jake Short will coach our defensive backs. He has a lot of experience. Tyler Vitzthum will bump over to running backs. Greg Wickett and Dallas Clark are back as offensive assistants. Derrik Clark and Tyler Nielsen will coach the linebackers. Cole Goodenow is back coaching the defensive line. Jake Lewis, our strength coach, helps out with our conditioning and warmup. He’s another set of eyes on the field for us,” Elman said.
“Andy Newell has been a trainer for us for many years. Dr. Cassidy Long, a former college player, is on the sidelines and also comes out to practice a little bit to check on players if they have injuries. It is great having those two guys around so that our kids’ health is taken care of,” Elman said.

Schedule
Humboldt has a home-friendly schedule with five of its nine games. The first four will prepare for rigors of Class 3A District One. The opener is Aug. 28 at Spencer.
“This is my ninth year here and we’ll have played Spencer seven of these nine years. We know they will be a physical team and run the option in some capacity. In the past they have dabbled some option out of shotgun formation. We’ll be prepared,” Elman said.
“We play at Clear Lake on Sept. 4. They have a tremendous program. They’ll be fast and super-athletic. We’ll have to combat those two things. We’ll finish out our non-district schedule with Ballard Huxley and Carroll. It is a tough first-four games. Ballard is always physical and Carroll is highly touted this year. They bring back a really good running back,” Elman said.
“Our non-district schedule will help us prepare our kids, especially the new starters, get baptism by fire because they will have to play at a high level and do everything they can to help the team be successful,” Elman said.

“It’s important we do everything we can now to help those kids and put them in situations that make them uncomfortable so they know what they need to do to be successful,” Elman said.
“In our district we will play Algona, MOC-Floyd Valley and Sioux Center at home and on the road at Webster City and Sioux City Heelan,” Elman said.
“Our schedule doesn’t allow us to take a break. Sioux Center will be extremely tough this year. Our coaching staff will do everything they can to help these kids get ready for the next game each week,” Elman said. “Whether we have a big win or a tough loss, we have to make sure we bounce back the following week and work to be successful.”
“I feel the district will be balanced this year. Last year we saw that. Any night will be tough for someone. Last year we were big underdogs against Algona and we beat them on their field. Algona then beat Heelan, who went on to finish second in the state final,” Elman said.

“There were all kinds of crazy games last year. Webster City won games that people didn’t think they could win. I personally think our district is wide open and it will be a race where it will come down to the final week of the season. If you love football, that’s where you want it to be,” Elman said.
“I’m excited. I know our kids are excited to be in a district like this. I feel like our kids know that you have to do a good job every single week. There’s no night off,” Elman said. “Over the years the teams we had that were really good got tested early and that helped prepare us for district and state playoffs at the end of the season. We’ve fought through those game and the competition made us better.”
Look for late-night scores and updates online at www.humboldtnews.com.

2026 HUMBOLDT FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
Aug. 28 at Spencer
Sept. 4 at Clear Lake
Sept. 11 Carroll
Sept. 18 Ballard Huxley
Sept. 24 at Webster City
Oct. 2 Algona
Oct. 9 MOC-FV
Oct. 16 at Bishop Heelan
Oct. 23 Sioux Center
Oct. 30 1st round playoffs

JUNIOR VARSITY SCHEDULE
Aug. 31 Spencer
Sept. 7 Clear Lake
Sept. 14 at Carroll
Sept. 21 at Ballard Huxley
Sept. 28 Webster City
Oct. 5 at Algona
Oct. 12 at Carroll Kuemper

FRESHMAN SCHEDULE
Aug. 28 at Spencer
Sept. 4 at Clear Lake
Sept. 11 Carroll
Sept. 21 at Ballard Huxley
Sept. 25 at Webster City
Oct. 5 at Algona
Oct. 19 at Le Mars

TEAM ROSTER
Seniors: Broedy Hendricks, Jaxson Kirchhoff, Cash McIntire, Cooper Theesfeld, Weston Vik, Levi Rieck, Nash Palmer, Carter Reed, Griffin Groat, Karter Simonson, Noah Lange.
Juniors: Dane Clark, Caleb Vinsand, Brayden Dahl, Caden Fredin, Trevor Roberts, Dawson Sleiter, Cael Heider, Brady Roth, Braden Downs, Carter Strait, Luke Olberding, John Blanchard, Carter Fischer, Keegan Fiengo, Carter Meier, Brewster Miller, Joey Mahan, Dante Olmos, Grant Goodell, Owen Westphal, Gabe Newell.
Sophomores: Noah Elman, Karson Reinhardt, Callen Johnson, Nova Christensen, Justyce Brown, Mickey O’Hern, Owen Stattelman, Luke Mathis, Drake Pettit, Jadyn Gotto, Michael Dorch, Reign Ropte, Tate Halverson, Kole Olson, Parker Jensen, Anthony Gonzalez, Jayden Erie, Hunter Brodale, Oliver Ramirez, Eli Hinton, Nathanial Nelson, Riley Wells, Solomon Johnson, Thayden Brockman, Karson Meier.
Freshmen: Alex Heider, Jaden Nolting, Nile Hanson, Jack Sernett, Spencer Olson, Kipten Downs, Aiden Davie, Elijah Goodell, Camden Clark, Thomas Flaherty, Ethan Nedved, Alex Milligan, Jerrod Diedrick, Griffin Ubben, Thomas Adams, Caleb Parker, Imier Evans, Eliot Hinton, Ryker Fiferlick, Peter Robinson, Jantz Dornbier, Andy Armitage, Ryerson Vorland.