Shenandoah football planning on taking steps forward this fall
The Shenandoah football team has a new head coach who says he’s excited to see what this team can accomplish on the field this season.
Drew Buckholdt is the new head coach, after leading Exira/EHK’s program the last three seasons. He takes over for Skip Eckhardt, who led the Mustangs the last two seasons and guided them to a pair of playoff appearances. Buckholdt was asked what he’s learned about his team that he just started with during the summer.
Shenandoah juniors Gabe Buttry (left) and Carter Sells (center), along with senior Joey O’Rourke (right) are expected to lead this year’s Shenandoah football team.
“We started out with summer stuff in June and just starting to get to know the kids’ names and build relationships,” Buckholdt said, “and what I have come to find out is that these kids are super coachable, they’re super tough and they’re super resilient. I have had a tremendous amount of fun so far and have only been here for two months.”
Joey O’Rourke is back and is now the senior quarterback for the Mustangs after passing for 827 yards and rushing for another 337 with 12 total touchdowns last season.
“It’s pretty crazy,” O’Rourke said on being a senior. “I’m obviously excited for one last opportunity with my guys to go and compete and see where the season takes us.”
O’Rourke hopes to take a big step forward this season and said his confidence comes in what he’s worked on in the offseason.
“I have been trying to improve my read game,” O’Rourke said. “I felt last year I was kind of deciding pre-play and I would like to be able to develop throughout the play and make my decisions there.”
While O’Rourke takes the snaps, he expects his final job during a lot of plays will be handing the ball to Gabe Buttry, who enters his junior season as the top running back for the Mustangs this season, after rushing for 385 yards and six touchdowns last season.
“I have been working on reading holes better,” Buttry said. “We have some great coaches here and we keep getting better every day. The games aren’t going to be easy but if we can just punch the (other teams) in the mouth, you got it.”
Carter Sells is another player to watch for the Mustangs this fall. He starred mainly on defense last year, where he finished third on the team with 42.5 tackles while also intercepting two passes and forced a fumble. He caught seven passes and two touchdowns on offense last season and is expecting those numbers to be significantly higher this season.
“I think I have taken some steps forward athletically,” Sells said, “and made some jumps in the weight room. We’re hoping to have more of a killer instinct this season and then going into the playoffs not being afraid just because we’re playing someone unfamiliar to us. We’re keeping that same mindset that we’re doing our best to beat anyone that’s on the field with us.”
The Mustangs won just three games last season but were right there with chances to win against Mount Ayr in Week 1 and Tri-Center in the regular season finale. Buttry said he’s seen a pretty good jump this year to what this team is capable of and O’Rourke adds it’s about everyone producing at a high level.
“Everyone is learning to execute and do their job,” O’Rourke said. “I think we’ll be good as long as everybody does their jobs.”
The Mustangs open the season Friday, Aug. 28, with a home game against Mount Ayr before traveling to Clarinda and Kuemper before district play begins.
“I’m looking forward to what these guys are going to do on Fridays,” Buckholdt said. “I can’t wait to see these guys in live action and finally let them hit somebody else and see what they can do.”
Mustang fans can get a sneak peek of this season’s football team Friday when Atlantic makes the trip to Mustang Field for a preseason scrimmage.
“You can expect a disciplined, tough, physical football team who’s going to play every single rep the same,” Buckholdt said, “no matter what the score or situation is. That’s what we have been preaching is to treat every rep the exact same, so the situations don’t matter. We’re going to play our best whether we’re up or we’re down. We’re going to give that relentless effort.”
The Mustangs are in Class 1A District 8 again this season which sees them matched up against five Western Iowa Conference rivals. They’ll host Treynor, Missouri Valley and Underwood while traveling to Red Oak and Tri-Center.
