Watch the Wolves this Fall
4-5 and a playoff birth isn't a season to write home about. But, when you return the experience Maywood-Hayes Center does from that team, there's plenty to be excited about. And for Jeff Erickson, entering his fifth year as the head coach for the Wolves, he likes what he has coming into the 2023 season.
"Fall of 2023 looks promising for our team. We will be athletic and return an All-State caliber player in Haydn Farr," said Erickson. There's a good chance Farr will be the signal caller for the Wolves as he split time last season, but he had 822 all-purpose yards and 11 total touchdowns. He will be a dual threat at the position and he'll have a good-sized target to throw to.
The question is though, how much will Farr be able to play. He suffered a knee injury this summer, so it is uncertain how much we'll see him on the field.
Jeremiah Ingison, who will be a senior at 6'6 caught 19 balls for 370 yards and four scores last season and was an All-District First Team selection.
One area Erickson said his group needs to work on is the line pay. "The team will need to work hard on line play/cohesiveness." Gage Gerlach was solid on the defensive line for the Wolves last year with 30 tackles, so look for him to take on a bigger role.
The Wolves are in the D2-8 District which also includes Bertrand, Dundy County Stratton, Hitchcock County, Loomis, and Medicine Valley.
The Wolves will start the year on August 24th at Sutherland.
MHC Looks for Small Squad to Have Great Potential
Head coach for the Wolves, Aaron Gallegos, is returning his lone runner from last season, senior Victoria Deaver, but he is also bringing in two athletes new to the sport. Sophomore Maddie Merritt and junior Ryan Werkmeister.
Deaver had a 16th-place finish at the RPAC meet last fall and is going to continue to improve off of that finish.
Merritt and Werkmeister are new to the sport but Gallegoes said that they have a lot of potential and is excited to see what all his athletes can accomplish this season.
Wolves Return Zero Varsity Experience
The Maywood-Hayes Center volleyball team has largely dominated the RPAC and the region for the past handful of years, but this season's Wolves will be venturing into the unknown.
The Wolves said goodbye to nine seniors from last year's fourth-place squad at the Class D1 State Volleyball Tournament. All that senior class accomplished was to win 111 games in its four years and reach the State semifinals each of the past three seasons.
But every starter graduated for the three-time conference champions and the roster returns virtually no varsity experience. The Wolves also have a new head coach in Katie Lawless, who brings ample experience in coaching club volleyball and some time on the staff at Wauneta-Palisade.
"This season I think is going to look different for Wolves fans," Lawless said. "This new crew that is coming in are all extremely skilled and athletic players but I do think the lack of any varsity experience on the team will be a hurdle we will have to get over."
But winning breeds winning and that's something the new coach is hoping her team can lean on.
"A lot of these players have been a part of a winning tradition and have scrimmaged against one of the top teams in the state so there's no doubt they will be a competitive, fresh team."
Ellie Broz is the lone senior. The junior class brings the most experience in Regen Stengel and Aubrey Broz, both setters and Kassidy Hatfield, who has some experience in the middle. Kesli Cox is also a player the Wolves will look to a lot, probably on the outside.
"Honestly, the door is open and we're looking forward to some extremely competitive practices with the girls working hard to earn their spots this season."