The 2009 Kimball High football team started with a bang, registering 3 straight wins before losing their final 5 games, but it would appear that the Horns could come back even stronger next year as they lose only six seniors to graduation this spring. Kimball started the season with a 46-13 win over Morrill, won over Bridgeport 44-6, and beat Bayard 40-33. They then lost to Class B Sidney 34-0, fell to Hershey on the road 20-6, lost to Mitchell 46-0, fell to Chadron 45-6, and closed out the year with a loss to Gordon/Rushville 52-19. Jake Daum, a returning all conference player, had a great start and played a key role in the three wins before suffering an ankle injury in the Morrill game that played havoc with his abilities the remainder of the season and caused him to sit out the final two contests. The talented junior running back and defensive specialist underwent surgery to repair the ankle and will miss most, if not all, of the basketball season. Despite his limited duty, Daum led Kimball in scoring with 54 points and in rushing with 309 yards on 62 carries averaging 5 yards per carry. He scored 6 rushing touchdowns and 3 by receiving. He was also Kimball’s top kick returner with 186 yards on kickoffs and 46 on punt returns. He was second only to Trevor Petersen on the defensive charts. Easy to see why losing Daum to limited play, played a big role in Kimball’s losses. Jake elected to have the surgery right away so he could start his rehab and be ready to attend football camps this summer. He wants to be ready  to go full bore his senior year. With Daum returning, along with Kendall Ferguson, junior quarterback this season, and a three year starter at that position already, the Horns will be solid at the skill positions with several young players returning after a year of varsity seasoning. Ferguson, at 6’5” and 200 pounds, came into his junior year with almost all of the school passing records already and he added to his enviable stat sheet by scoring 43 points in 2009 while rushing for 247 yards on 66 carries and scoring 5 touchdowns. In the passing department he completed 82 of 165 attempts for 1, 102 yards and 6 touchdowns for .500% completion with 9 interceptions. He also handled the kickoffs and PAT kicking and was third high in the defensive stats and led the team in fumble recoveries with 4. With his strong arm and accuracy, plus his ability to run for needed yardage, he is one of the state’s best. His senior year should be a dandy. Petersen is one of the six seniors who will be missed greatly following his graduation. Playing at the fullback position on offense, he scored 20 points while rushing for 137 yards on 52 carries scoring 3 touchdowns. He caught 7 passes for 53 yards. At 5’8” and 150 pounds, he was a force on defense. He almost doubled the number-two defensive efforts on the Kimball team as he led the defensive stat sheets with 96 tackles including 43 solo stops. He put on a tackling clinic each night out. Too bad we can’t get a red-shirt year out of this outstanding defensive specialist. Michael Robinson is another senior who will be missed big time. Robinson led Kimball’s receiving corp with 24 catches for 337 yards for a 14 yard per catch average, scoring 1 touchdown. He returned kicks and played a solid defensive role in the Longhorn secondary finishing in the #8 spot on the defensive stats. Johnathan Weinmaster is yet another senior who will be missed. A two-way starter, he scored 2 points on PAT catches, had 5 catches total for 33 yards, and was strong on defense. Matt Merryfield was perhaps Kimball’s top interior lineman with good size at 230 pounds. He did a lot of Kimball’s punting averaging 32.7 yards on 27 boots. He did some deep snapping and could play any position on the interior line. He ranked #6 on the defensive stats. Tyson Culek is the other senior starter who played a lot bigger than his 145 pounds in the interior line. Other key performers who will return from an outstanding sophomore class include Jeff Greenwood who scored 12 points, was second in the receiving department with 20 catches for 295 yards and a 14.8 yards per catch average. He has sure hands and made some circus catches to please the fans and the coaches. He also caught 2 of the opponents passes to lead Kimball in interceptions and was #7 on the defensive stat sheets. Sophomore Dalton Lockwood scored 12 points and can play running back or quarterback, a wide out, or about any position he might be needed at. Dalton was Kimball’s #5 rusher with 7 carries for 17 yards, caught 3 passes for 52 yards, completed 2 of 3 passes, and was #12 in the defensive stats. Sophomore Todd O’Hare scored 6 points, rushed 18 times for 54 yards, had 2 catches, returned 6 kicks and 5 punts, and was #4 on the defensive stat sheets with 43 tackles and 2 fumble recoveries. He showed a lot of character in corning back from injuries, ready to play the next week. Brady Land, a junior, scored 6 points, had 5 catches for 98 yards and led the team in average per catch with 19.6 yards and had 1 catch for a TD. He peformed well in the defensive secondary and was #10 on the defensive stat sheet, in on 20 tackles with 1 intercept. Alan Muneio, a junior back with good speed, really came on this year and will play a major role for coach Mohr next season. He will hit you and finished #5 in the defensive stat sheets with 41 tackles and 1 intercept and 1 fumble recovery. Zach Marosi, who transferred in this year, was a welcome addition with his 190 pound size. He became a starter quickly and was #9 in the defensive stats in on 22 tackles. With the exception of Merryfield and Culek, the balance of the line returns and there is some good size up front with Hunter Baliman corning back for his senior year. He was listed at 245. James Ferguson wil be back for his senior year also and he topped the scales at 260 this season. Andrew Barrett played his sophomore season at 240 and he played well. Same goes for sophomore Preston Lukassen, on the roster at 220. Mitchell Poss came out late in his Junior year but the 250 pounder has great feet and agility and was a standout before the season ended. He is all conference material next year. Brent Bussinger grew a bunch this year and he will corne back for his junior season bigger and ready to battle for a startiny role. Sophomore Trevan Hinton was listed at 120 pounds but he plays much bigger and has football savvy. He is always around the football and he usually comes up with it when it is up for grabs. Sophomore Cade Dickerson certainly doesn’t shy away from a little contact with opposing football players after riding bulls all summer. Landon Smith is a smart athlete with