Season Preview: 3A-District 4 Teams, Players to Watch

They burn a lot fuel in Class 3A District 4. The schools are spread out in Eastern Iowa from Mount Vernon to Fort Madison to Mount Pleasant. It can happen when the state is trying to organize schools by class, geography and competitive balance.   It does make for an interesting collection of football programs. Mount Vernon, Davenport Assumption and Fort Madison are 2023 playoff teams and should be in the hunt for district title.   Let's take a closer look at Class 3A District 4:   Mount Vernon   Outlook: Outside of a regular-season loss at Solon, eventual 3A state championship Williamsburg's closest contest was a 38-35 home victory against Mount Vernon in the state quarterfinals. The Mustangs only other setback came against Solon.   They should be formidable again in '24 but they are working through the transition of having a new head coach. Former NFL, UNI and Aplington-Parkersburg standout Brad Meester moves into the head chair after serving as the team's offensive coordinator. The rest of the staff is expected to return.   Mount Vernon, which was 21-3 during the last two seasons, will be replacing plenty of talent lost to graduation. It also returns a solid foundation led by first-team all-state defensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id='1278806' first='Ethan' last='Wood'], a NDSU commit, and [player_tooltip player_id='1361005' first='Tyler' last='Williams'], who is a second-team all-stater on the D-Line. [player_tooltip player_id='1279984' first='Nova' last='Lane'] ranks as one of the state's top linebackers, Kael Riniker shines in the trenches, and [player_tooltip player_id='1360967' first='Cooper' last='Hird'] stands out in the secondary and as a ball carrier/receiver.   First-team all-state returner [player_tooltip player_id='1841752' first='Jase' last='Jaspers'] is back after leading team in receiving in '23. Wood is a pass-catching weapon as is [player_tooltip player_id='1581877' first='Watson' last='Krob']. [player_tooltip player_id='1360917' first='Bennett' last='Harp'] produces in the kicking game.   Other Players to Watch: Cole Thurn, WR/DB; Eric Lamb, WR/DB; [player_tooltip player_id='1841812' first='Michael' last='Ryan'], WR/DB; Kellen Haverback, QB/DB; Caleb Keegan, RB/LB; Joe Briesemeister, OL/LB; Aaron Bellamy, OL/LB; [player_tooltip player_id='1204530' first='Tommy' last='Rhomberg'], QB/DB; [player_tooltip player_id='1241540' first='Jaxon' last='Anderson'], RB/LB; [player_tooltip player_id='1241539' first='Brogan' last='Meyer'], ATH.   Davenport Assumption   Outlook: Last season ended for the Knights with a wild, 58-45, first-round setback at West Delaware. They reached the postseason for the third time in four years, and kicked the campaign off with a dominating win against Solon.   Assumption lost its starting quarterback along with its leading rusher and receiver from last season. Keaton O'Neill's two-way production returns as does disruptive defensive end Joey Funderburk. Ben Yeggy is sound in the defensive backfield and helps at receiver.   The Knights will need other guys with varsity experience and beyond to move into bigger roles this fall. Fortunately for the Knights, they own a good track record of making that happen.   Other Players to Watch: Braylon Thomsen, QB/DB; Jack Roche, TE/LB;  Dru Diaz, TE/DE: [player_tooltip player_id='1279791' first='Johnathan' last='Dang'], WR/DB; [player_tooltip player_id='1242259' first='Ben' last='Armstrong'], OL/DL; [player_tooltip player_id='1242262' first='Nolan' last='Bartels'], OL/DL; [player_tooltip player_id='1242260' first='Justin' last='Barrett'], OL/DL; [player_tooltip player_id='1242261' first='Maxwell' last='Azzaline'], OL/DL;  Braylon Shovlain, WR/DB; Joe Casel, RB/LB; [player_tooltip player_id='1847541' first='Luke' last='Argo'], RB/LB.   Fort Madison   Outlook: The Bloodhounds finished 3-2 in district play a year ago, defeating the three teams listed after them in this preview and losing to the two above them. The outcomes returned them to the playoffs for the second season in a row.   Fort Madison will try to make the playoffs for the fourth time in five years with some key production returning in '24. That includes talented dual-threat quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1406598' first='Marcus' last='Guzman'] along with one of his favorite receiving targets, Caleb Bolander, who does just about anything and everything on the field. Triston Marshall wreaks havoc on defense and chips in as a short-yardage running back. [player_tooltip player_id='1398772' first='Cory' last='Arnett'] shakes up proceedings in the trenches.   Other Players to Watch: [player_tooltip player_id='1406585' first='Brody' last='Cashman'], WR/LB; Henry Graham, WR/DB; Chase Allen, OL/DL; Aaron Warner, OL/DL; Gavin Callahan, WR/DB.   Keokuk   Outlook: The University of Iowa's all-time leading receiver, Marvin McNutt, takes over as the head coach at Keokuk after coaching wideouts for Coe College the two years. He'll work to lead the program to the postseason for the first time since '20 and to its first winning record since a year before that.   There's reason for optimism for the town along the Mississippi River. McNutt knows the game and will have talent with which to work. He can build the offense around returning starting quarterback, [player_tooltip player_id='1035512' first='Brenton' last='Hoard'], who stresses defenses with his arm and legs. Linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1188432' first='Mason' last='Claus'] is one of the state's leading returning tacklers and he also is a top target for Hoard. Kicker Cooper Abfalter-Dial impacts the game, [player_tooltip player_id='252310' first='Malachi' last='Allison'] is a three-phase contributor, and Drew Campbell makes a difference on offense and defense.   Other Players to Watch: [player_tooltip player_id='1692029' first='Braxton' last='Hayner'], WR/DB; Julius Clay, LB/RB; [player_tooltip player_id='1850324' first='Raden' last='Meier'], WR/DE; Jacoby Summers, OL/LB; Chevy Barnes, WR/LB.   Washington   Outlook: The Demons downed Burlington and Mount Pleasant for bragging rights but ended up on the wrong side of the scoreboard in its other seven games. It was a drop-off for a program that had won a combined 17 games during the previous three seasons.   Starting quarterback Logan McDole is back along with leading rusher [player_tooltip player_id='1631206' first='Kael' last='Williams'], and two-way contributors [player_tooltip player_id='1406396' first='Mason' last='Morgan'] and Julian Carter. McDole also handles punting duties.   Other Players to Watch: Nic Stone, TE/DL; Oliver Hobscheidt, WR/DB; Conner Leyden, WR/LB; Jayfred Espinosa,WR/DB; Caden Greiner, WR/LB; Summit Keith, OL/DL; [player_tooltip player_id='1402910' first='Rudy' last='Wolfe'], OL/DL.   Mount Pleasant   Outlook: When Mount Pleasant kicks off the 2024 season, it will be seeking its second win since the beginning of the '21 campaign. That's after reaching the playoffs the year before that and posting winning records for three seasons in a row.   The Panthers will look to get their outfit moving the right direction with all three quarterbacks they used last season retaining eligibility. Payton Walker also is one of the team's top defenders and ball carriers. Jackson Newman and [player_tooltip player_id='1699769' first='Kellen' last='Kohorst'] are playmakers in multiple phases.   Other Players to Watch: Cooper Coleman, QB/DB; Zachary Newton, RB/DB;  Lou Schimmelpfennig, TE/LB; Gavin Kerr, RB/LB; Max Sloat, RB/LB; Jared Dorothy, OL/LB; [player_tooltip player_id='1699766' first='Jaymisen' last='Rich'], LB; [player_tooltip player_id='1849076' first='Ramzy' last='Davis'], LB; Keegan Elliott, OL/DL; [player_tooltip player_id='1706474' first='Tucker' last='Fisk'], OL/DL; William Birdsell, TE/DE.

They burn a lot fuel in Class 3A District 4. The schools are spread out in Eastern Iowa from Mount Vernon to Fort Madison to Mount Pleasant. It can happen when the state is trying to organize schools by class, geography and competitive balance.