It was a season of struggles for Holt football, but hope remains for the future.

The Indians only mustered a 2-8 record with an overtime win against Liberty on September 16 and a dominating win against Fort Zumwalt East on October 7. This is a two-win improvement, however, from last season, and the Indians played well in two one-touchdown losses to Washington and a hard-fought loss to Fort Zumwalt South on September 30.

After their rough start, the squad gained some confidence with their win against Liberty. Assistant Coach Andrew Hammond notes that, from game to game, they focused on building off of the previous week and gained valuable experience in both the wins and the losses. “We focused on getting back to the basics,” Hammond said, “and each week we built off of the successes of the previous week. We learned how to compete, we learned how to fight, and ultimately we learned how to win.”

Despite the team’s at times immense struggles, there is extraordinary optimism for the future on the offensive side of the ball, especially at the running back and quarterback positions. Running back Cole Mueller put together a stellar sophomore campaign; the 5’11”, 156-pound tailback rushed for 1505 yards and 20 touchdowns in 10 games this season. That equates to an average of about 150 yards and two touchdowns per game…not too shabby.

Mueller also earned KSDK Athlete of the Week Honors for his incredible 448-yard, eight-touchdown performance against Fort Zumwalt East, setting new single game school records for both rushing yards and rushing touchdowns.

This potent rushing attack took some passing numbers away from junior quarterback Drew Law, but Law still put together several solid performances. In the three games from September 30 through October 14, he threw for 455 yards and tallied seven touchdowns to go along with just two interceptions.

The Law-Mueller quarterback-running back tandem showed bright flashes of brilliance in their first year together on the varsity squad. “They showed some chemistry and camaraderie in the backfield, which was great to see,” Coach Hammond said.

Mueller is a sophomore and Law is a junior; that means they are still young. “The best part about it is that they’re still young,” Hammond said. “It’s great to have both of them back [next season].”

Hammond knows that they cannot break this chemistry as Law heads into his senior year and Cole his junior year. “We have to stay engaged both in the weight room and football related activities so we don’t lose that chemistry and camaraderie,” Hammond said. “Instead of taking a step back, we need to build on that chemistry in the off-season.”

Law notes that the chemistry he and Mueller developed this season will only help them as they head into next season. “We like to feel out what we want,” Law said “I know what he wants, and he knows what I want, so we can basically do whatever we want because we know what is going to happen.”

Law kept his and the team’s goals simple for next season: “Just get better as a group and win some football games.”

Sounds like a plan.