(Pleasantville) — KMA Sports is continuing its summer check on our area football teams today with a look at the Stanton Vikings.

Coach Jeff Grebin and his squad are optimistic they can take steps forward after an 0-9 season. Their quest to turn things around will get underway soon as they prepare their Week 0 opener with Seymour on August 22nd.

“We’re feeling optimistic,” Grebin said. “You never know what the numbers might be in August, so that’s the unknown at this point. July and August are about fine-tuning some things. We’re going to a team to wrap the summer. That’s always a good deal. That gives us a chance to eyeball what the season might look like and what we can or can’t do.”

The Vikings will come into 2025 looking for their first winning season since 2021. They nearly ended 2024 on a high note with their first win of the year but lost to Siouxland Christian in a 56-50 shootout.

“It’s certainly not the record we were looking for,” Grebin said. “We did the best with what we have and made some adjustments. We hope to do better. Our kids are excited to see what they can do.”

The Vikings do have to replace five seniors from last year’s team. That includes their leading passer, top three rushers, leading receiver and three of their top four tacklers.

Offensively, Nolan Case is their top returning quarterback after completing 11 of his 27 passes a year ago. Cale Haley tops the returning rushers with 195 yards, and Wyatt Roberts caught 14 balls for 148 yards last year. Defensively, Brodee Sowers is back after ranking second on the team in tackles with 50 last year.

Grebin also points to Dominic Kirk, Ashon Kline, Brett Hart, Ben King, Cooper Dreyer, Owen Marsh, Jayden Snow and Tristan Elwood to contribute.

“It’s a good group of kids,” Grebin said. “Having fun is the best thing for me. As long as they’re having fun and competing, that’s all we’re after.”

Coach Grebin hopes his team’s mission to have fun will help them snap their team’s 10-game losing streak dating back to October 6th, 2023.

“Each game is going to bring its own challenges,” Grebin said. “Hopefully, we can stay healthy and compete in all those games. The goal is to win every single game, but we can only control what we can control. As long as we’re doing those things and having fun, it’s going to be a successful season.”

The Vikings are in 8-Player District 10 with East Mills, Boyer Valley, Woodbine, Fremont-Mills, and Sidney. Their non-district slate also includes games with Bedford and Lamoni before traveling to Woodbine for the district opener on September 5th.

Hear more with Coach Grebin below 

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