Young Spartans FB Look to Take Next Step

Young Spartans FB Look to Take Next Step -

(8-22-25) – Gaining experience is helpful to young teams. Now, for the Spartans, they’ll look to take the next step.

Exira-EHK Coach Drew Buckholdt wants to see continued improvement from his young squad.

“I just like how our players continued to grow. We had a lot of new faces. I just hope that experience carries over and they're used to more of the varsity speed.”

The Spartans were 3-6 a season ago and lost in the opening round of the 8-player playoffs. It was a season where Buckholdt had to discover what pieces worked best in what areas.

“We plugged in people at different positions. You know, as the year went along, we didn't have Bryce (Brabham) start out a quarterback, but we had him finish out at quarterback. So he got comfortable, more comfortable in that position along with Jostin Kilworth. We moved him to tight end. So he got familiar with that position and we kind of moved him around on the defensive side of things.”

Kilworth is the top returning receiver for the Spartans from a year ago having gained 227 yards and a team-best four touchdowns. Buckholdt hopes the versatility of Kilworth will help his offense.

“He's naturally gifted. He's got speed. His vision is really good. I like where his cuts have been. He's just a heady player. Like I said, he's got great instincts.”

Exira-EHK will compete in District 9 for 8-player football.

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