Athletic backfield and athletic linemen should make Lena-Winslow a force again

LENA, Ill. (WTVO/WQRF) — At Lena-Winslow, championship football is a way of life, so when the Panthers came up short in the 1A state championship game last fall to Camp Point Central, it didn’t sit well with them.

“It just makes us want it more,” said senior guard/defensive end Luke Kempel. “It helps us know that you can’t be complacent.”

“Last year we kind of hurt after the loss and throughout the summer we had a fire under us to work harder in the weight room and on the track,” said senior runningback and safety Jaylen Rakowska.

Head coach Ric Arand has seen his returning players dig deeper to try to get back to the top. “I don’t want to take anything away from our guys that were seniors last year because to take second in the state is an incredible feat, but for these guys that just, that wasn’t good enough.”

Just like last year, the Panthers have a whole bunch of starters to replace. They have only two returning on offense and five on defense. One of those missing starters from last year was first team All-State running back and linebacker Gage Dunker the touchdown maker. He scored 41 of them. The power back for the Panthers this year will be junior Aiden Wild. He’s 6’3 and 210 pounds.

Arand says Wild could make a similar impact to what Dunker made. “Gage was a physical runner at fullback, and I think Aiden has potential to even maybe take that to another level. He’s probably a little bit faster than Gage was, and he’s just a big body.”

Cobryn Lynch is back at one running back spot. He rushed for 1,120 yards last season. Track speedster Alec Schlichting, who set the school record in the 100meter dash, will get touches at running back. So will Rakowska, one of the best all-around athletes at the school. He’s playing running back for the first time.

“I’m starting to get the hang of it. It’s starting to go pretty well. I like it a lot more, you know, get to touch the ball, make cuts more.”

Junior Kasch Lessman takes over at quarterback.

The Panthers graduated three starting offensive linemen and both tight ends. They return all-conference center Luke Kempel. He moves to right guard this year.

“I kind of figured out the guard position last year with them being right next to me, and I’m kind of excited that I can pull and stuff now,” said Kempel.

Gannon Dunker, only a sophomore, is also back on the lines. Preston Schultz, and Jayden Schubert provide more size on the lines.

“We won’t be as big up front, but I think we are a little bit more athletic than we were last year,” said Arand.

Wild will be big on the defense coming off the edge, and Rakowska will play a big role at safety again this year.

Arand says the Panthers don’t have quite the depth that they’ve had in the past, so staying healthy will be a key.

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