Broncos Football Makes Progress in Tough Season, Ready to Get Back to Work
The Belmond-Klemme football team recently navigated a challenging season that featured a transition from Class 1A to Class A and matchups with multiple playoff caliber opponents, including three top 10 ranked teams in district play. The Broncos finished the season at 1-8 and secured their first win since 2020.
Head Coach Kyle Wilkinson says positives for the Broncos to build on are greater participation numbers and making progress every game, especially against tough competition.
"We went from 19 kids out last year, to 37 out at one point in time this year, can't complain about those numbers at all, and hopefully that grows throughout the offseason," says Wilkinson. "As far as the season progressed, we progressed each and every week in my opinion. We had a very tough district facing the #1 team, the #3 team, and the #9 team, along with some other great teams, North Butler went 6-2 on the season and North Union made the playoffs as well. We faced some tough teams this year and that all goes with growing pains, our kids learned alot this year, their excited and ready to come back."
A core part of the progress made by the Broncos was the example set in the community and on the field by their seven senior leaders: Zander McLemore, Robert Naranjo, Ashtin Willms, Jackson Belstene, Brayden VanDeWalle, Triston Morales, and Trenton Meyer. Wilkinson says focus areas of offseason development will be building a stronger understanding of the game and getting into the weight room.
"Bigger, faster, stronger and more aggressive, those are the things that we gotta work on this offseason. Just learning more of the game of football, inside and out. We gotta learn our system alittle better, It'll be great going into our second season with the same system, the same coaching staff for the first time, all those things are going to contribute as well. As far as kids wise, we just got to get good grades in the classroom, and get in the weight room and make ourselves bigger, faster and stronger. That's what we preach to our kids and that's just what we gotta do this offseason."
The Broncos are expected to have 30 players returning next season.
