2011 Spartan Football Senior Tribute

#11 Taylor Pratt, who played nearly every position but offensive line during his time as a Spartan football player, is a perfect example of why as a coach you don’t try and predict the success of a student-athlete.  Pratt began his career reluctantly, but through hard work and leadership became a critical cog in the Spartan football program.  Pratt ended his career as a co-captain, 3-year letter winner, All-District honoree as a wide receiver and fullback, 2-time Academic All-District nominee, 2-time Rock Award winner, and 1,000 lb. club member.  His career stats include 25 receptions for 3 touchdowns; 220 rushing attempts and over 1,200 yards and 9 touchdowns; not to mention 81 solo tackles, 10 tackles for loss, and an interception. 

#12 Spencer Henneman played a critical role in this year’s team success from his cornerback and wide receiver position.  Henneman, an accomplished track athlete, immediately inserted athleticism into the Spartan offensive and defensive backfields.  Spencer represented so much of what is right in high school athletics, going about his business of being a student-athlete as we would like our younger athletes to emulate.  Henneman led the team in receiving yards and was the Spartans big play threat from the outside. 

A four-time academic all-district award winner, #18 Jed Carpenter should be commended for his efforts in the classroom but also on the football field.  Carpenter definitely shouldered his share of the Spartan rushing attack during his career, but one of the more memorable moments for the Spartan coaches was his touchdown reception against IKM-Manning.  As a junior, Carpenter played more receiver, and his touchdown reception as the first half ended brought the Spartans within one point of the returning state semi-finalists’ on their home field.  He ended his career with 16 total receptions, but had 208 rushing attempts for over 1,100 yards and 15 touchdowns.  As a junior he earned honorable mention as a running back, but as a senior he earned honorable mention as a defensive back.  A leader in the defensive backfield, Carpenter amassed 77 solo tackles to go with 2 fumble recoveries and 2 interceptions during his career.

While #40 Eric Hansen may have not had the stats of his backfield mates, he was an integral part of the Spartan rushing attack through his blocking, aggressiveness and consistent improvement over his career.  He spent time as a halfback, linebacker, and defensive back primarily during his Spartan gridiron career.  As a coach, we always want our student-athletes to be at their best when they are seniors, and for Eric that was the case.  He was able to score a touchdown rushing and receiving for the first time as a senior.  There are few things more gratifying than watching an athlete score their first touchdown.  Hansen added 33 yards receiving to his receiving touchdown, 24 rushing attempts and 1 touchdown; but defensively he really shone brightest with 59 solo tackles with 1 fumble recovery and 1 interception. 

From being a ball boy throughout his grade school and middle school years, it seems that #55 Gabe Madsen has been on the sidelines longer than some coaches on the Spartan staff.  Madsen, who played punter, kicker, offensive guard, and both defensive tackle and defensive end in his career, earned three letters during his four year Spartan football career.  His career started as a kicking specialist in the midst of an offensive explosion during his sophomore year.  He kicked for two different school records that year; 18 PATs in a single season and 6 PATs in a single game.  During his junior and senior years he paved the way for the Spartan ground attack as a pulling guard en route to the Bricklayer Award as a senior.  He earned Academic All-District honors as a junior and senior, as well as 1^st Team All-District defensive line.  Madsen led the way in the weight room during the off-season with a four lift total of 1,160 lbs. and the Iron Man and Hammer Awards as a senior.  He ended his career with 72 solo tackles and 17 tackles for loss from his defensive line position. 

Valedictorian by day, offensive and defensive lineman by night; this was the life led by #58/#85 Derek Rose.  You can tell by having two numbers next to his name the kind of teammate Derek was.  He ended up playing both offensive tackle and tight end throughout his career, while also playing on the defensive line as he earned 2 letters during his 4 years on the Spartan football team.  During those four years Derek was a consummate classroom leader, evidence by his 2011 Class 1A District 1 Academic All-District 1^st Team.  He was also a leader in the weight room during his junior year as he earned the 2010 Iron Man Award for attending the most off-season strength & conditioning sessions.  He parlayed his off-season work to effective defensive line play; collecting 33 solo tackles with 8 assists and 5 tackles for loss.  Rose truly represented student-athlete for all future Spartans to emulate.

The Spartan offensive and defensive lines were bolstered by the steady and timely play of #72 Truman Gerholdt.  Gerholdt was able to consistently make timely plays on the defensive line and was always looking for that pancake block from his offensive tackle position.  He earned 2 letters during his 4-year playing career, which started as a center during his freshmen campaign and moved to the outside as a way to improve the team overall.  Truman also demonstrated his abilities in the classroom as he was honored as 1^st Team All-District Academic for 2011 Class 1A District 1.  From his nose tackle and defensive tackle positions he amassed 50 solo tackles with 9 assists to go with 2 tackles for loss and 2 fumble recoveries in his career. 

A co-captain, and perhaps more importantly, a center on the offensive line, #77 Will Simmons was a stalwart on the offensive line for the Spartans during his career.  Regardless of the personal pain and injury Simmons endured during his career, he was ready for the game on Friday nights.  Will played center on the offensive line and defensive tackle/end on the defensive line while lettering 3 times during his career.  As early as his sophomore year, he was earning all-district honors, academically as a sophomore in addition to his 2008 newcomer of the year award.  During the next two years he amassed over 85 solo tackles and 17 tackles for a loss on the defensive line.  Offensively he was a 2-time All-District honoree, 2^nd team as a junior and 1^st team as a senior.  He was a 2-time Bricklayer of the Year Award and ended his career as a 1,000 lb. club member with a four-lift total of 1,320 lbs.

All but one of the seniors was a four year participant and the leadership, hard work, and positive experiences they gave West Monona football is priceless and will not be forgotten as the Spartan Football Program continues to ascend. 

A critical component of our football team’s positive experience this past year was a direct result of the parent volunteers that provided pre- and post-game meals, including Thursday night pasta suppers.   Thank you to Anita Madsen who coordinated the Thursday night suppers along with the Senior Parents.  The Junior Parents, coordinated through Chrissy Westendorf, provided the student-athletes pre-game meals and water en route to away games.  Freshmen and sophomore parents, through the coordination of Sue Allyn and Sarah Haptonstall, provided post-game meals throughout the year.  A huge sense of gratitude goes out to all of our parents for supporting the above-mentioned seniors, but all of our student-athletes in their endeavors.  

As the book closes on the 2011-12 school year and athletic season, the Spartan football team has already made plans for 2012 with the following key dates:

·         Monday, Wednesday, and Friday – Strength & Conditioning from 8am-10am for HS (grades 9-12 for 2012-13 school year)

·         Monday, Wednesday, and Friday – Strength & Conditioning from 10am-11:30am for MS (grades 7-8 for 2012-13 school year)

·         Week of July 23^rd or Week of July 30^th – 29er Youth Camp hosted by West Monona Spartans

·         August 2^nd-4^th – West Monona Spartans High School Camp

·         August 6^th – 1^st day of practice with helmets

·         August 8^th-10^th – JH Football camp from 8am-10am

·         August 17^th – Fall Sports Rally – Gatorade Game

·         August 24^th – First game of 2012 season – 7pm @ MVAO

Traci Hansen, Title I math teacher at West Monona School, was one out of six recipients in Iowa awarded on April 4, 2012 the Century Link Foundation Competitive Technology Mini-Grant Program administered by the Iowa Association of School Boards. She will be awarded 8 iPads for her Title I classroom to math students in grades Kindergarten through fifth.  This will provide each student with their own iPad to use during small group instruction.  Students will be able to use technology in my classroom to solve math problems and practice math skills using a variety of methods on an iPad.  iPads present a more creative modality, as well as differentiation of working with content rather than memorizing facts or completing a worksheet.  Students can use digital environments to work with peers and create projects to show math connections in their learning and life.

West Monona High School Art students caught in the act of sprucing up the courtyard. Every spring National Art Honor Society gets together to clean up the courtyard that we all use throughout the year.  The students do things such as raking leaves, pulling weeds, and picking up trash; all without complaining.  Most students that participate one year will continue helping the rest of their high school years.  For example, senior Trevor Ruffcorn has done it since he was a freshman and really enjoys doing it, when asked he said “I really like helping out with the courtyard because when we get it done it looks so much better, and we’re all really proud of our work.”  So thank you to NAHS for doing this every year, everyone really appreciates your work.  We hope to see this tradition continue throughout the years! 

Pictured: Kristin Wagner raking in some mulch.