Five area players named to IFCA All-State teams: Sigourney/Keota’s Bruns, Menke, Clarahan; Pekin’s Will Adam earn first-team selections in All-State football list

Published by admin on Wed, 12/04/2024 - 8:44am

Sigourney players Isaac Bruns (21) and Caden Clarahan (26) were both named to the first team All-State football team along with teammate Owen Menke for their football play this year. Photo by Clint Dye

By:

Mark Schafer

The News-Review

SIGOURNEY – They were the best of the best and this fall they proved it.

With the conclusion of the football season the awards for local athletes continue to pour in, for their effort from the football season. Recently, the Iowa Football Coaches Association named their All-State football teams for all seven classes. A total of five area players were named to this year’s All-State teams.

Sigourney/Keota had three players earn a spot on the class 1A team, with two players, Isaac Bruns, Owen Menke and Caden Clarahan all being named to the first team list.

In class A, Pekin had two players make the All-State list. On the first team list was Will Adam. Making the second-team list was Caden Bendur.

In class 1A Sigourney/Keota, for much of the season, seemed to be one of the tougher teams to play not only in their district, but also all of class 1A football. The Cobras steadily rose throughout the class 1A rankings and were considered to be one of the top-7 teams by the end of the season.

What helped the Cobras climb in the rankings wasn’t just their tough non-district schedule (which featured three teams in class 2A), or their undefeated district mark. Rather, it was the skill that the players displayed on a weekly basis that had the Cobras rolling.

One of the skill players that continued to turn heads, and out run the competition was senior running back Isaac Bruns.

Bruns had a senior season that was outstanding in just about every way imaginable. It was for clear reasons why the senior was named to the first team list as the running back for the All-State team.

Throughout the course of the year Bruns was able to rush for 1,461 total yards. He did that on 172 carries and averaged 8.5 yards per carry.

The senior powered his way to 23 total rushing touchdowns over the course of the fall. His longest touchdown of the season was a 73 yard run, but he had many scores off runs that originated from well over 40 yards or more.