Looking back at North Cedar football season

CLARENCE - Many seniors want to go out on a high note.

The North Cedar football seniors started their final football season with their third head coach in four years.

'Some people asked why do you do it anymore?” senior Aaron Woodward said. 'It hasn't been easy, and there have been times where I have asked myself ‘is it really worth it?' And times where I've thought I don't want to do this anymore. But there are reasons why I never did throw in the towel and call it quits.”

Woodward, along with other seniors, stuck with football because they wanted to be there for their teammates, to persevere and see if they could have a winning season.

'I've always been told and have always believed that if you work hard day in, day out and stick through the bad times, that good things will happen,” said Jacob Jensen. 'That is why I never gave up despite coaching changes year after year.”

Coach Adam Hadenfeldt recognized the problem.

'It makes it difficult for the players to buy in to systems when they are changing on a yearly basis,” he said.

The constant change made it quite difficult for the Knights, They finished 1-8 this year and lost senior Bryce Bemer when he broke his fibula during the second game of the season against the Lisbon Lions. The Knights were disappointed to not have Bemer beside them, but pushed on with the season.

From 2010 to 2013, Clay Harrold was head football coach for the Knights. He lead North Cedar to state playoffs his first year with an 8-1 record. The Knights played three more games before their season ended in the playoffs against West Branch. His final season was much tougher. The Knights finished 0-9.

Charlie Feller was the coach in 2014 and took the Knights to the state playoffs with a 5-4 record. The Knights' season ended in the first playoff game against Wilton. Feller's second season was a little better, finishing 7-2, but missing the playoffs.

Lucas Stanton was named coach before the 2015 season and, starting from scratch, led his team to a 2-7 season.

Hadenfeldt, who also serves as athletics director, came to North Cedar with hopes of turning the program around,

'As a first-year coach in the district, my ultimate goal for the season was to set the foundation for what we hope to see North Cedar football become in the future - a program that plays tough, fast and physical every time that we take the field,” he said. 'The guys did a great job buying into that, and we got a lot better as the season went on.”

The game at Clayton Ridge was his most memorable.

'We had not played all that well in the two games prior to the Clayton Ridge game, and we knew that Clayton Ridge was a very quality team - they would end up finishing second in the District,” Hadenfeldt said. 'That night to me was the moment that I knew we were on the right track as a team and a program. We took what we learned from that night and were much more competitive throughout the rest of the season.”

As for next year, the Knights have a lot to look forward to.

'Our goal for next year is to get better in everything that we do,” Hadenfeldt said. 'We graduate a lot of talent from this year's team; but we have a hungry and committed group coming back for next season.”