Winnebago hitting the reset button looking to shake off last year and make some strides

WINNEBAGO, Ill. (WTVO/WQRF) — When you’re coming off a 1-8 season the best thing to do is to turn the page and start fresh.

“I think you’ve just got to forget about it. It was last year and last year was last year, and you just hit the reset button,” said Winnebago head coach Mark Helm. “It’s like I told the kids and get back to the fundamentals.”

Sophomore quarterback Kaeden Langholf says last year also serves as some motivation for the returning players. “It’s a fresh start, but it’s also using how we felt last year after only winning one game and all that anger and frustration built up because we practiced so hard all season long.”

The Indians will be at a numbers disadvantage this season. They have only 16 varsity players.

“Yeah, we’ve got low numbers at the varsity level,” said Helm, “but we do have some experienced guys back that have played a lot of football., so we’re going to lean on those guys.”

The Indians have seven starters back on both sides of the ball. Alot of them play up front on the offensive line which gives Helm a source of encouragement.

“That’s the one place where if you want to seek comfort that’s where it’s usually at, and that’s where we bring our most back.”

Leading that group will be center and defensive tackle Josh Cowman. Aiden Knoll will also be a key part of the lines.

Senior Mitchel Cunningham is back. He was Bago’s starting quarterback last year, but he has agreed to move to running back where Bago has a need for a playmaker after graduating Supreme Muhammad. Sophomore Kaeden Langholf takes over at quarterback.

Langholf believes he’s up for the challenge. “There’s still a lot more training to be done, but me and coach Helm have been taking serious steps into making sure I’m ready and making sure I’m healthy and making sure I can step up and play the position.”

Cunningham has no qualms with the switch to running back. “Coach Helm came to me and said, ‘I need another running back. We don’t have very many numbers’, so he said we need one more. He said, ‘You’re my guy’, and I said, ‘Okay, I’ll do it.”

“Mitch is just a really good athlete,” said Helm. “He was on that 4×100 relay team (Bago’s 4×100 took second in the state in track last spring). We thought it was best to take a look at Mitch there and he’s handled it professionally, and he’s ready to go. He’s a team player.”

Alijah Carroll returns at fullback. Ethan Langholf and Hunter Bell will lead the receivers.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to MyStateline | WTVO News, Weather and Sports.