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Is this the best football team in Central City history? No. 3-ranked Wildcats will get early-season test
Wildcats will feature multiple 4-year starters after going 8-2 last season
CENTRAL CITY — Encounter challenges early and reap the benefits late.
This is the approach Central City football coach Matt Miers and his team are taking into the 2023 season.
Coming off an 8-2 campaign that ended in the second round of the 8-Player playoffs, the Wildcats will host WACO (last year’s 8-player state runner-up), the team that ended their 2022 season, for a scrimmage Friday.
“It's going to be a good test because it’s going to show us where we need to improve,” Miers said. “Whether it's making sure we’re aligned correctly on defense or improving our technique, it’s going to show us some areas that we need to focus on to get better.”
Next Friday, No. 3-ranked Central City will officially open its season at home against fourth-ranked Winfield-Mt Union, a playoff team from last season with two Division I recruits (Cam Buffington, an Iowa commit, and Abram Edwards, an Army commit) returning.
Why the daunting matchups out of the gate?
“When I talked to our captains when we were picking our list of non-district games, they wanted a tough schedule,” Miers said. “They want to be challenged. I said, ‘Well, you got it. You got what you want.’ Which is good. I’d rather have them say that than, ‘We want to play someone we can 35-point.’
“Our whole goal is to be playing our best football by the end of the season.”
Central City’s decision-making captains are seniors Jayden Hanson, Aiden Klostermann, Mekhi Benton, Daiton Price and junior Matt Klostermann.
Hanson will operate the offense; one he expects to be very “multiple.”
“I’d describe our offense as multiple threat because we have big guys up front that block really well for run plays, and I have plenty of time in the pocket when we have a pass play,” Hanson said. “We have so many pass and run formations that it's going to be hard for the other team to rep all of our sets.”
Joining Hanson in the backfield are Aiden and Matt Klostermann, also known as the “Kloster Bros,” according to Matt.
Aiden was Central City’s leading rusher in 2022 with 1,224 yards and 20 touchdowns. He’s also the only returning player who had more than 100 receiving yards last season.
The Wildcats are putting more emphasis on the passing game and his role as a receiver in 2023.
“I think the biggest thing for us is just catching the ball,” Aiden Klostermann said. “I'm on the same page with him (Hanson) on passing. If we can get that completion percentage up, that’d help a lot.”
As Aiden takes on increased receiving work this year, Matt will assume more ball-carrying duties — a role he’s excited for.
“Him (Aiden) just sitting at the wing, catching more, it’s just more ideal,” Matt Klostermann said. “And then me sitting in the backfield with him, running the ball and hammering it down, it works well.”
Among the linemen opening holes for Hanson and the Klostermanns will be Benton, Price and Nolan Gates.
“We’re definitely a running team and I think we've got a great line coming back,” Miers said. “All three of those guys were starters last year and got all-district honors.”
With a roster of 26, many of the same offensive leaders also will play a significant role on the other side of the ball.
Benton, described by Matt Klostermann as a 6-foot-4 “beast,” will help anchor the defense on the edge.
“You put him up against anybody and he just bull-rushes them,” Matt Klostermann said. “It’s like in Madden when you push the right tackle-stick forward and run right through the person; that’s basically what he does.”
Aiden Klostermann will support the defense in the backfield, Hanson also will roam the edge, while Matt Klostermann will play linebacker alongside senior Christopher Greif.
Miers thinks highly of his seasoned and versatile defensive unit.
“I would say our strength is probably on the outside, our defensive ends,” Miers said. “We’ve got five starters that have basically been starters since their freshman year, so this is their fourth go-around. That experience pays off in close games.”
With several four-year starters on the roster, the expectations are sky-high for the 2023 Wildcats.
“We want to start strong, finish strong,” Aiden Klostermann said. “Our goal is just to have a great season and make it further than last year.”
“I think they know they have a chance to have perhaps the best football season in the history of Central City if things go right,” Miers said. “I think they're hungry for that.”
A closer look at Central City
Coach: Matt Miers (9th season, 35-41)
Last year: 8-2 (lost in second round of playoffs)
Returning starters: QB/DB Jayden Hanson, RB/DB Aiden Klostermann, RB/LB Matt Klostermann, TE/DE Mekhi Benton, OL/DB Nolan Gates, FB/LB Christopher Greif, OL/LB Daiton Price, OL/DL Braxton Davis
3 keys to success: Increase completion percentage; Learn and grow from difficult early schedule; Stay injury free
Big game: Aug. 25 vs. Winfield-Mount Union
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