Getting to know the 2015 Urbandale J-Hawks
By Seth Nutting
The Urbandale J-Hawks will look to improve on a 5-5 record (4-1 conference) from a year ago, which included a second place finish in the Class 4A-district standings and state playoff berth, losing to Ames 28-31 in the first round.
Urbandale must replace two of their top three leading rushers from a year ago, including second-team All-District quarterback Dylan Landess and first-team All-District running back Abdul Mansaray. Landess threw for 593 yards and rushed for 545 more while scoring a team-leading 13 touchdowns. Mansaray ran for 11 touchdowns while leading the team with 910 rushing yards. Senior Alex Newburg will be the teams’ primary offensive weapon this season after running for 779 yards and eight scores a year ago.
The J-Hawks offensive line will anchor Coach Sam Anderson’s run-heavy, triple-option offense. Urbandale has two future Division I guards in seniors Jake Heinrich and Caleb Bright. Heinrich committed to Arkansas in early July while Bright announced last week he will play at Bowling Green.
On defense, the J-Hawks return senior linebackers Cody Pearson (2nd-team All-District) and Trevor Kimm (1st-team All-District) who combined to make 74 tackles last year. Nate and Kyle Stoltz will hold down a secondary unit that forced only three interceptions all of last year.
The biggest question mark may be the defensive line. Urbandale will be without 1st-team All-District lineman Zach Crouse, who recorded more sacks (8), than the rest of the team combined (7). Darien Smith will look to anchor the line this year after recording 23 tackles and a sack as a junior.
After finishing second a year ago in District 4, Urbandale must find replacements at several key offensive positions, including QB, RB1 and WR. Waukee is again favored to win the district, but after that it’s an open race amongst Urbandale, Indianola, Fort Dodge, Mason City and Marshalltown.
Urbandale stats
2014 record: 5-5 overall, 4-1 conference
Head Coach: Sam Anderson, 12th year, 52-59 record
Assistant Coaches: Tim TeBrink, Tyler Perry, Dave Hekter, Ryan Williams, Dan Schuck, Tyler Motter, Rod Reis.
Returning offensive starters
OL Jake Heinrich, Sr.
OL Caleb Bright, Sr.
OL Chancellor House, Sr.
WR John Heinrich, Sr.
WR Blake Lange, Jr.
RB Alex Newberg, Sr.
Returning defensive starters
LB Trevor Kimm, Sr.
LB Cody Pearson, Sr.
DB Kyle Stoltz, Sr.
DB Nate Stoltz, Jr.
DL Darien Smith, Sr.
Special Teams
P Hunter St. John, 2016
Total Returning Letterwinners: 25
Offensive Scheme: Triple Option
Defensive Scheme: 4-3
2015 Schedule (district games in bold)
Aug. 28 vs. Hoover
Sept. 4 @ Dowling Catholic
Sept. 11 @ Johnston
Sept. 18 vs. Cedar Falls
Sept. 25 @ Indianola
Oct. 2 vs. Waukee
Oct. 9 @ Mason City
Oct. 16 vs. Marshalltown
Oct. 23 @ Fort Dodge
Here’s a link to their release from the school’s website on the upcoming team.
