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LIBERTY TO THE NORTH Reece Rettig of the Iowa City Liberty understands what it’s like to have gifted targets.
Last season, he passed for 2,719 yards and 32 touchdowns alongside a group of playmakers. The senior quarterback and the Lightning offense will graduate the top three performers from the previous season with a new group of wide outs if they want to replicate those numbers.
We won’t try to replace them exactly like that because it’s obviously difficult to replace guys like that. Sutton Koller, Collin Decker, and Dallas Miller were former teammates who combined for 2,432 yards and 27 touchdowns, according to Rettig. We will adjust to each person’s strengths. Now it’s my class. They grew up with me. We frequently visit the field. Here, we will be working on it.
On Monday, the first official day of practice for high school football teams throughout the state, the Lightning punched the clock and got to work. Liberty just had its first 10-win season and made its first appearance in the state semifinals.
According to Liberty Coach Scott Chandler, “I believe their expectations (from the previous season) were to be a playoff team and compete.” Perhaps we went a bit beyond those, but we still expect our lads to be able to compete in every game. We don’t really think about where we’ll wind up at the conclusion of the season all that much. The next game comes one after the other, and then another.
Along with Iowa City West, Linn-Mar, Davenport Central, Muscatine, and Pleasant Valley, Liberty is located in Class 5A District 6. On August 29, the Lightning play their season opener against Cedar Falls.
Jordan Schroeder, a senior at Liberty, stated that the expectations are the same. We enter every game with the expectation that we will win. We have faith in our capacity to accomplish it. Our coaching staff is unmatched, and we surround ourselves with fantastic colleagues.
This team has a number of experienced players, so we enter every game with confidence. That’s what we anticipate doing.
The senior class from the previous year began as sophomores and advanced to the 2022 4A state playoffs. Chandler’s first season as head coach saw the Lightning bounce back from a difficult first season in 5A. A year ago, the bar was raised, and the present players are still aiming for a championship and upholding those high standards.
Junior Pryor Reiners stated, “We lost a lot of them because the seniors set the ceiling high.” I think the crew gets along well because many of us developed from them. I believe we are in the correct frame of mind.
Rettig won his own all-state recognition after replacing Graham Beckman, who was named an all-state player. He completed 185 of 253 throws, earning a 202.8 QB Rating and a 73.1 completion percentage. Rettig’s final TD-to-interception ratio was over 11-1. In addition, Rettig ran for six touchdowns and 482 yards.
Rettig demonstrated last season that he possesses all the intangibles needed to run the show. During Monday’s early exercises, he set the tone by executing plays and breaking past the defense.
Chandler claimed that because he was raised as a smaller man, he truly has a bulldog mindset. He is a really intelligent child. Both of those things are really important. The guys in his grade and younger desire to follow him because of his many leadership traits. He is a really talented athlete.
Logan Laubenthal returns with 130 yards and two touchdowns, while tight end Landon Bell has the most catches (12) and three touchdowns. Schroeder had a touchdown and eight catches.
According to Rettig, we have focused on timing. Our bond has only recently grown. That’s really helpful, I believe. It’s terrible to miss folks, but you have to do it every year, so learn to cope.
Rettig also said, It just involves building mutual trust. Each person has unique abilities. You want to move the ball into space as fast as possible for someone else, or you want to improve timing with one individual. Simply put, you need to get to know your receivers. The more reps you have with them, the more you can trust them and develop their skills.
Chandler stated that this season, the ball may end up in even more hands. At least three passes were caught by nine receivers, and seven of them scored at least one goal. It will be challenging for teams to cover all of Rettig’s possibilities.
Schroeder added, “We lost a lot of weapons.” This year’s replacements have been football players their entire lives. We know our guys can make the plays we did last year because they have experience with this offense.
As the season went on, so did the Lighting defense. They found the proper locations for each piece and got better in the second part of the season. With 50.5, Bell leads all returning tacklers, while senior Keshawn Wyldon has 47. This year’s team has camaraderie, energy, speed, athleticism, and physicality, according to junior Pryor Reiners, who recorded 31 total tackles.
Regarding the defense, Reiners stated, “Our coaches have discussed setting the tone early.” We didn’t receive that at the start of the previous year, but we began to improve.
Our defense, in my opinion, is becoming more cohesive, quicker, and stronger.
Chandler saw growing excitement at many camps, including a scrimmage with Bettendorf, as the season’s formal start drew near. On Wednesday, the Lightning will have full pads for their first practice.
Chandler stated, “We have a lot of guys that bring a lot of energy.” This is a bunch that excites me. They possess several leadership traits. Hard work doesn’t scare them.
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