Brent Yonkovic looks for more coming off breakthrough 2023 football season at West Delaware

CEDAR RAPIDS — A passer who has the mobility to be a threat in the running game.

West Delaware’s Brent Yonkovic is not that guy. He’s the opposite.

A runner who has the ability to pass the football.

“He’s really good throwing the ball, but he’s a running back that can throw,” first-year head coach Ryan King said. “And that’s where we kind of saw him take off last year. Put the ball in his hands. He’s a great runner, and he just continues to get better as a passer as well.”

An accurate scouting report on the senior quarterback?

“Yeah, I can agree with that,” Yonkovic said. “I wouldn’t quite say I’m the quarterback build (he’s 5-foot-11). But I’ve always kind of been a runner first.”

West Delaware accumulated just about 4,100 yards of offense last year. Yonkovic accounted for three-quarters of it.

The specific number would be 3,004. That’d be 1,445 yards passing and 1,559 rushing.

His touchdown total was 37. West Delaware had 48.

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“I definitely think he’s a special football player,” King said. “I think what makes him great is that he just does his thing. He doesn’t get too up or down. He leads by example, he’s a pretty quiet kid. But when the lights are on, he’s a competitor. We just saw him continue to get better and better and better as the season went on last year. So far I think that is kind of carrying over to preseason this year.”

Yonkovic was a part-time running back, part-time quarterback as a member of WD’s freshman team. He was made a permanent QB as a sophomore and elevated to varsity starter status.

It was an adjustment.

But the kid hung in there and began improving, especially as last season progressed. West Delaware dropped its first two games but won seven of its final nine.

The Hawks’ two losses in that stretch were each by a point, including to Solon in the Class 3A state playoff quarterfinals, 36-35.

“Overall, we kind of stepped up near the end of the season,” Yonkovic said. “A lot of people probably weren’t expecting that at all, but we peaked at the right time. Just kind of fell short in that last game. That’s definitely one that we want back.

“Individually, during games, I guess I had a few long runs and stuff like that. But I didn’t really notice (the yardage) until maybe after the game. People would come up to you, telling you had so many yards, this and that. I like to give the credit to a lot of the other people, too. Like the linemen. It’s not just me doing all that.”

Four offensive linemen return for West Delaware in Sawyer Krogmann, Coy Peyton, Owen Pettlon and Jeryn Funke. So do receivers Kegan and Seth Jackson and running back Macoy Roling (seven rushing touchdowns last season).

This Hawks offense is gonna be tough to stop. King is in his first season as head coach, previously an assistant for Doug Winkowitsch.

“We’ve got a lot of kids coming back that played for us last year,” King said. “Quite a few, honestly, that this will be their third year. Kids that started for us as sophomores or who ended up playing for us as sophomores.”

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“It’s our senior year, so our goal here is to overall win a state championship,” Yonkovic said. “I think we have the team, the capability of doing it ... You have to put in the work day by day and see where it takes you.”

Yonkovic also is an outstanding wrestler and baseball player who wants to play college baseball when he graduates. He is being tutored by Mark Atwater, who is a first-year assistant coach at WD after spending time as a head coach at Dyersville Beckman.

Atwater was a tremendous quarterback in high school at Linn-Mar.

“I’d say he has made a difference quite a bit,” Yonkovic said. “He has helped me with reads across the field, reading (defenses), what to look for.”

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