Golden opportunity for Golden Hawks

WELLMAN - Mid-Prairie's weight room echoed with the sounds of Metallica meshed with free weights crashing into place Monday morning.

The Golden Hawks finished last year 10-2 and return one of Class 2A's most talented teams. Three all-state performers come back for their senior year, and the expectations are high for the Wellman and Kalona communities.

Mid-Prairie advanced to the state quarterfinals last year before falling to former conference foe and eventual state champion Solon. But with returning 2,000-yard rusher Tanner Miller, the Golden Hawks are poised to take the next step this fall.

"I think expectations are just as high or even higher (than last year)," Miller said. "I think for a lot of us guys, that Solon game left a chip on our shoulder and everybody's gunning for them. We'd love to get a rematch with them.

"Obviously the Dome (home of the the state championship game) is our ultimate goal to get there. I think we have the group to do it."

Mid-Prairie opened football practice at 8 a.m. to cool but humid temperatures. Mid-Prairie featured a camp last week and finished its first day of practice without pads. It was a heavy dose of conditioning and fundamentals, some of the most vital, yet boring, parts of summer football.

"I think the kids are kind of itching to get the pads on, and we've gone five days without pads and we've got a couple more," Mid-Prairie Coach Pete Cavanaugh said. "Right now, it's fundamentals and implementing the playbook. The key is not getting too far ahead of yourself, of putting too much in and ignoring the fundamentals. You don't want to do that. We're also stressing getting in shape before we get the pads."

Iowa high schools must have three days of practice without pads before the hitting begins.

Miller rushed for 2,034 yards and 32 touchdowns last year to earn first-team all-state honors. Mid-Prairie also returns first-team all-state lineman Christian Boehmer, who is rehabilitating an injured knee, and second-team all-state linebacker Micah Berg.

It's difficult to chart progress after only one practice, but Miller said his team has made strides.

"It was great. It was real up tempo," Miller said. "Guys eliminated the mistakes that we usually have for the first practice, and you're going to have those mistakes and we did. It was to a limited basis and I think we're making a lot of progress from camp already to the first day of practice."