The turnaround the Akron-Westfield football team has made under second-year head coach John Sievert has been nothing short of impressive.
The Westerners were a combined 9-26 in the four years prior to Sievert taking over the job. Last season, Akron-Westfield took everyone by storm winning their last seven regular season games in a row to win the district title and make it all the way to the second round of the postseason. Seasons like that could become an expectation in western Plymouth County again thanks to guys buying in to all the work it takes to be a successful football team.
A lot of Akron-Westfield’s success on the offensive side of the ball could be credited to Laytin Koch. Koch nearly ran for 1,000 yards and threw for over 1,300 with 25 total touchdowns responsible for as a senior. He is at Morningside University now meaning a new face will be taking the snaps for the Westerners. Coach Sievert is going with another athlete in the backfield who may be just as dynamic as Koch.
It will be a new position for Tatum Wilken who only registered one pass attempt for the Westerners last season. Luckily for Wilken, Coach Sievert says he will have no shortage of guys who are eager to get the football after sitting behind a great senior class last year.
Outside of Kasey Nielsen and Trayden Goodman, last year’s Westerner lines were a little thin with guys having to play different positions. This year, the Westerners have bulked up making them more of a threat. Coach Sievert says he has seen a difference of about 30 pounds of size on average across his lines.
There might not have been too many better linebackers in Class A than Ian Blowe last season. Blowe was second in the district in tackles, but he has graduated leaving another void in the defense. Coach Sievert says he is not worried because plenty of guys have shown an ability to step up and make plays on that end of the field.
Akron-Westfield’s season last year was not all sunshine and rainbows having lost their first game of the year right out of the chute. That just means they are hungry to go 1-0 and start the season with a win for the first time since 2020. Coach Sievert says if that is going to happen it will be because guys are sticking to the gameplan and filling their role.
The Westerners open up on the road with a matchup against Ridge View. The game will be played in Holstein on Friday, August 30 at 7:00 PM.
Listen to our full interview with Akron-Westfield head coach John Sievert here:
