Captain's profile: Jacob Edleman, North Cedar Wide receiver/safety

Stats

Jacob Edleman was outstanding in all three phases of the game for North Cedar. He caught 35 passes for 668 yards and eight touchdowns, while also rushing for a pair of scores; he made 75 tackles and eight interceptions, bringing back four to the end zone; and he was the team's punter, punt returner and kick returner, scoring on a kickoff.

Team

The 6-foot, 165-pound senior's efforts did not go unrewarded. With a Week-9 overtime victory over perennial contender Wilton, the Knights qualified for the postseason for the first time since combining into the North Cedar program, and even gave top seed Davis County Bloomfield a scare in the substate round.

Accomplishments

Edleman was named to the Class 2A District 5 first team, and given defensive MVP accolades.

Uneasy transition

North Cedar broke in a new coach this fall, Clay Harrold, who brought a tight Wing-T formation to his offense, a stark contrast to Al Moser's spread-out attack. Edleman was apprehensive about his role at first, but quickly grew comfortable after getting to know Harrold.

"At first, yeah, I was a little worried when we had our interview with coach, I didn't know if I was all the way into Coach Harrold. But right after he got here, he was pumped up, he said he'd get me the ball, and he did."

Team(s) player

Football isn't Edleman's only gift. He was a second-team all-district baseball player for North Cedar last summer, and also plays basketball, golf and track for the Knights.

Greatest feat

With all those sports experience under his belt, Edleman still didn't hesitate to rank North Cedar's playing a 10th football game among all his athletic achievements.

"It's got to be No. 1," Edleman said. "The first time ever North Cedar's made the postseason, that's amazing. We were part of it, we made history. It was a 5-5 season, but it felt much better than that."

Looking forward

Edleman is considering his college football options. Schools on his radar include Iowa State, Northern Iowa, St. Ambrose, and other Iowa Conference programs.

Parting shot

"Every time Jake got a pick, it was like, oh boy, here we go. As a coach, I could almost feel myself get ready to run down the sideline with him because he was going to have that opportunity to make a play happen. Those were momentum-changing plays, every time Jake touched the ball." - Harrold

First team: Offense

QB, Taylor Jacobsmeier,

Wapello, 6-1, 170, Sr.

1,800-yard passer (second in Class 1A), 19 TDs, just 4 picks

RB, Jared Eichelberger,

Columbus, 5-10, 190, Sr.

Led all 2A rushers in the regular season with 1,605 yards

RB, Kyle Feller, Preston,

5-11, 170, Sr.

Pair of playoff 200-yard outputs led Trojans to the UNI-Dome

WR, Jacob Lafayette, Wapello,

5-10, 160, Jr.

Only area receiver to reach

50-catch, 800-yard plateau

WR, Tyler Rutenbeck, Maquoketa, 6-2, 170, Sr.

Big-play threat averaged more than 20 yards a grab, had

9 TDs

TE, Spencer Lueders, Northeast, 6-2, 215, Sr.

Also a defensive leader, recovered from broken ankle to catch 4 scores

OL, Spencer Hicks,

Central DeWitt, 6-6, 285, Sr.

Behemoth Saber could be playing Division I ball in 2010

OL, Cody Foust, Maquoketa,

6-5, 265, Sr.

Anchored solid line for Cardinals' balanced offensive attack

OL, Scott Schlimmer, Tipton,

6-0, 170, Sr.

Tough year for Tigers, but co-captain was a capable center

OL, Ben Giesemann, Bellevue,

6-3, 220, Sr.

Two-way player blocked for 1,000-yard rusher

OL, Dylan Meyer, Preston,

6-4, 220, Jr.

Helped Feller, offense put up more than 40 points a game

K, Thomas Kirsten, Preston,

6-0, 180, Sr.

Foreign exchange student made 45 of 48 PATs, was perfect on field goals

First team: defense

DL, Bryn Gisel, Maquoketa,

5-11, 180, Sr.

Coach Kevin Bowman called it an "unfair" advantage despite his average size

DL, Zach Reed, Bellevue,

6-3, 220, Sr.

Along with strong production at tight end, made 11 tackles for a loss

DL, Walker Bormann, Preston,

5-10, 170, Jr.

Made 102 tackles and also had 31 tackles for a loss

DL, Kyle Hoffman, Northeast,

6-3, 230, Jr.

Has 82 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, and offensive line work, too

LB, Austin Hughes, Preston,

6-2, 210, Sr.

Heart of the Trojans' defense, with 192 tackles and 7 turnovers

LB, Colton Feller, Maquoketa,

6-0, 225, Sr.

Man in the middle for defense that allowed 79 points in first

8 games

LB, Zach Edler, North Cedar,

6-1, 175, Sr.

Top tackler in Knights' first trip to postseason

LB, Mitchell Schroeder, North Cedar, 6-0, 170, Jr.

Triple-digit tackles, 16 for losses, for much-improved defensive unit

DB, Jacob Edleman, North Cedar, 6-0, 160, Sr.

Found four ways to score

(8 catches, 4 interceptions,

2 rushes, 1 kickoff return)

DB, David Jacobs, Preston,

6-1, 150, Jr.

Capped 8-interception year with pick to open state semifinal game

DB, Mike Sullens, Camanche,

6-1, 185, Jr.

Did it all with 75 tackles, pair of picks, punted and rushed

P, Kyle Holmes, Wilton, 6-2, 175, Sr.

42.6 yards-a-boot average, also had 9 TD receptions

Second team

Pos. Player School Ht. Wt. Class

QB Colin Nickeson Maquoketa 6-1 185 Sr.

RB Chase Junk Bellevue 5-10 165 Sr.

RB Tanner Loots Northeast 5-10 160 Jr.

WR Jonathan Lopez West Liberty 5-10 160 Sr.

WR Casey Blake Bellevue 5-11 160 Sr.

TE Josh Rathje East Central 5-9 165 Jr.

OL Valon Tika North Cedar 6-2 200 Sr.

OL Gil Martinez Columbus 6-3 260 Sr.

OL Logan Goettsch Central DeWitt 6-0 225 Sr.

OL Steve Lizzaraga Columbus 5-7 175 Sr.

OL Cody Nachtman Bellevue 6-0 190 Sr.

K Cale Austin Wilton 5-11 157 Jr.

DL Cory Gorsuch Wilton 5-11 195 Sr.

DL Zach Vance West Liberty 6-0 200 Sr.

DL Brian Hansen North Cedar 6-5 215 Sr.

DL Wil Rathjen Durant-Bennett 6-3 230 Sr.

LB Luke Assenmacher Preston 5-9 170 Sr.

LB Shawn Swanton Northeast 5-9 180 Sr.

LB Adrian Rocha West Liberty 5-10 190 Sr.

LB Thomas Mayberry Maquoketa 6-0 180 Sr.

DB Jed Rogis Northeast 6-4 180 Sr.

DB Jack Shipley Tipton 6-1 180 Sr.

DB Brode Hills Louisa-Muscatine 5-10 155 Sr.

P Zach Doermann Tipton 6-0 175 Sr.

Honorable mention

Quarterbacks: Alec Crawford, Wilton; Jason Feddersen, Preston; Mason Garcia, West Liberty; Lucas Kemp, Louisa-Muscatine. Tailbacks: Ben Comer, Central DeWitt; Ryan Daniels, Central DeWitt; Jake Goering, Durant-Bennett; Zach Scheibe, Maquoketa; Dylan Schrader, Wapello; Donny Wachendorf, North Cedar. Fullbacks: Caleb Freund, Durant-Bennett. Wide receivers: Danny Johnson, Wapello; Ryan Waack, Wilton. Tight ends: Dillon Connell, Central DeWitt; Brock Webb, Wapello. Offensive linemen: Forrest Marx, Northeast; Nick Reeve, Tipton; Mike Tabor, Maquoketa. Defensive linemen: Riley Harbaugh, North Cedar; Sam Skelley, Wilton; Alec Witt, Preston. Linebackers: Jace Ahrendsen, North Cedar; Shawn Assenmacher, Preston; Nate Fratzke, Wilton; Brody Phelps, Tipton; Dylan Ritmer, East Central; Kory Wiele, West Liberty. Defensive backs: Tanner Kleppe, Northeast; Dylan Stepleton, Wilton; Nate Wall, East Central.