Another highly-anticipated high school football season is set to begin for Algona, after appearing in the class 3A state quarterfinals in 2024 and dropping a 31-28 heartbreaker to Mount Vernon, ultimately finishing with a 9-2 record.
According to Algona Head Coach Andy Jacobson, it was another active offseason, with players staying competitive in other varsity sports.
A big part of the high expectation for Algona, who enters the season ranked fifth in Radio Iowa’s class 3A poll, comes from a talented senior class, one Jacobson says is also leading the way for the younger players.
The 2024 season was one in which Algona experienced injury adversity, with Iowa State commit Alex Manske going down with a season ending injury in the Bulldogs’ seventh game of the season. Younger brother Nathan Manske stepped in, throwing 10 touchdowns compared to three picks in relief of his older brother, throwing for 860 yards on 88 pass attempts. Jacobson says although it was unfortunate that an injury ultimately was the reason the younger Manske took over at quarterback, there is no substitute for experience.
A talented crop of skill position players return for a Bulldog offense that averaged over 37 points per game last season. Leading rusher Will Weichert enters his senior season after leading the Bulldogs with 818 yards rushing last year, scoring 9 touchdowns on the ground and averaging 5.8 yards per carry. Weichert also caught 16 passes and an additional touchdown.
Weichert, a state track and field qualifier in the spring, is joined by fellow state track speedster Evan Allie on the Bulldog offense. The senior Allie transitioned from playing mainly running back as a sophomore to receiver as a junior, leading Algona with 786 receiving yards, averaging 21.8 yards per catch, while scoring 8 receiving touchdowns.
On defense, Algona did graduate their top two tacklers, Landon Thompson and Tate Slagle, as well as Iowa State Cyclone edge rusher Jack Limbaugh. However, Jacobson still sees a lot of returning talent with the unit.
Senior Taevyn Zinnel is the lead returning tackler after making 44 stops last season, including 9 tackles for loss. Senior Tate Garman had 43.5 tackles last season as a junior as well as two interceptions. Also in the secondary, Allie returns as another key piece after picking off five passes last season, returning two of them for touchdowns.
A new schedule for Algona features three teams ranked in the preseason top eight of the Radio Iowa Class 3A poll, as well as the top ranked team in class 2A. Jacobson expects Algona’s schedule to be as tough as ever.
The regular season begins for Algona on August 29th, with a road trip to Spirit Lake.
