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COLFAX — The Colfax-Mingo football program has come a long way under head coach Jeff Lietz.
The Tigerhawks went 2-7 in back-to-back seasons in 2012 and 2013. One year later, the program advanced to the playoffs and finished with a 6-4 record. The win total got even higher in 2015 when the Tigerhawks won their first-ever postseason game and finished 8-3 overall.
Walking down the path of the Tigerhawks’ turnaround was a large senior class which included four all-state players in Jared Myers, Jacob Lietz, Blake Summy and Colin Lourens.
All four of those student-athletes played an integral role in turning things around and all four signed national letters of intent to further their careers in college.
Myers will play quarterback for Morningside College, while Lietz, Lourens and Summy all signed scholarships to play at Grand View University.
“This is huge stepping stone for the program,” Coach Lietz said. “We are a Class A football program. I had 32 kids on the team this year and four of them just signed to play in college.
“They have been great leaders in our program, and they are an integral part in where we have gotten. I am happier than all get out for all four of them.”
Jared Myers,
Morningside College
Myers set several records at Colfax-Mingo, including 433 passing yards and seven touchdowns in a game during the 2015 season. He threw for a school-record 2,695 yards, 35 passing touchdowns and 3,239 all-purpose yards in 2015.
The future Morningside Mustang quarterback also had Colfax-Mingo’s career records in passing yards (6,846) and passing touchdowns (69).
That was good enough to land him on the Iowa Newspaper Association’s all-state teams the past two seasons. He was a second-team quarterback in 2014 but claimed first-team offensive utility all-state honors this past year.
“Jared is a fantastic sign for Morningside College,” Morningside head coach Steve Ryan said. “In high school, he has demonstrated the ability to throw a wide array of passes and lead an offense.
“We also are looking for athletic quarterbacks, guys that can throw the ball and show the ability to play defense and other sports.”
Myers signed with the Mustangs on Wednesday night at a special signing ceremony on the Morningside campus. The event featured 16 of the 38 signed recruits in 2016.
“I am glad they had it. I think more colleges should go that route,” Myers said of the school’s decision to invite signees onto campus for signing day. “As soon as I walked on to campus, it just felt right.”
Myers went on a game day visit in November and then re-visited the campus back in January. The Tigerhawk signal caller plans to major in either agriculture business or sports medicine.
Grand View and Morningside are playoff rivals. They have met several times in the postseason, including in the 2013 NAIA Division I national semifinals. That season Grand View went undefeated and claimed the school’s first national title.
“It would have been sweet to have them all at the same place, but Jared got a good opportunity at Morningside,” Coach Lietz said. “They have the agriculture program that he wants, too. I am as happy for Jared as I am for all of them.”
Jacob Lietz,
Grand View University
Jacob Lietz was the Tigerhawks leading tackler during all four seasons of his high school career at Colfax-Mingo, but he will play wide receiver for the Vikings after setting a school-record with 63 catches this past season.
Jacob Lietz was a first-team all-state defensive utility player in 2014, and he has 411.5 career tackles at linebacker.
His offensive skills got a boost this year when hauled in 63 passes for 866 yards and 10 touchdowns. That earned him first-team all-state honors at wide receiver.
“Grand View is the perfect fit for me,” Jacob Lietz said. “I love the feel. I love that it’s close to home. The coaches are great. They are a successful team. Winning is always the goal.”
Viking Offensive Coordinator Austin Flynn is excited to have Jacob Lietz in the fold.
“He’s got good size and speed. He has the tangible stuff that you look for. He’s also tough,” Flynn said.
Playing with two of his high school teammates will be fun, but not having his quarterback around is bittersweet, too.
“It’s going to make it a lot easier. We’ll have that relationship already,” Jacob Lietz said in regards to playing with Summy and Lourens. “We’ll make new friends, but it will be nice to have them around.
“It will be different with Jared not around. It’ll be weird. It’ll be funny if we meet in the playoffs. It’ll be a fun rivalry.”
Lietz is closing in on becoming the school’s valedictorian at graduation. He carries a grade point average of 3.96 and also will be the first Colfax-Mingo football player to play in the Iowa Shrine Bowl this summer.
Lietz plans to major in computer sciences or pre-engineering program.
Colin Lourens,
Grand View University
When Lourens committed to the Vikings, he was destined to play defensive end and run down future quarterbacks in the Heart of America Athletic Conference.
But, those plans changed when Flynn contacted Lourens about playing tight end.
“He just texted me and asked how I felt about playing tight end,” Lourens said. “They were only bringing in one other tight end. I don’t care where I play, but I felt like I excelled more at tight end. It’ll be a good opportunity.”
Lourens, who plans to major in sports management, was the third Tigerhawk of the trio to commit to the Vikings, but the school perfectly fits his needs.
“The school felt right. The atmosphere is great. It felt like home,” Lourens said.
Lourens has the height to play tight end, but he knows he has to get a lot bigger to play the position at the collegiate level
“I want to continue to work here at the high school before I go there,” Lourens said. “I need to get bigger still. My dad is 6-foot-5 and 280 pounds and my grandpa is 6-6, 320. So I have the genes.”
Lourens earned INA third-team all-state honors as a tight end this past season. He had 60 career catches and 10 career touchdown catches at C-M. He also had seven career sacks as a defensive end, including six in 2015.
“I like his ball skills,” Flynn said. “I think he is going to put size on, but the best chance for him to get on the field is probably at tight end.”
Blake Summy,
Grand View University
While Lourens went from defensive end to tight end, Summy committed to Grand View first as a wide receiver but will start his collegiate career as a defensive back.
Summy earned INA first-team all-state honors as a wideout in 2014 and then earned the same honor as a defensive back in 2015.
He led Class A with a school-record five interceptions in 2014 and hauled in another pick this season for the Tigerhawks. Summy caught 43 passes for 812 yards and a school-record 12 touchdowns this season as a wideout, too.
He owns school career records in catches (125), receiving yards (2,206) and touchdown catches (21).
“He can play both. We are heavy at receiver and light at defensive back so it helps that he can do both,” said Flynn, who has been at Grand View for five years. “His statistics speak for themselves. It’s impressive. He’s undersized. He has to get stronger and bigger. He has a ways to go before he probably can play for us, but he’s a competitor. That’s the fun part about it.”
Summy is undecided on a major, but he chose Grand View because it’s close to home, and the Vikings are a winning program.
“I am just ready to start and get going,” Summy said. “It will be nice to have people that I know there to push each other. We can help each other get through the challenges.”
There are plenty challenges that meet college athletes in their first year on campus. Flynn believes that having friends with you makes that first year a little easier to handle.
“That first year is the toughest so it will help having some friends around,” said Flynn, who is a former Iowa State quarterback.”
Grand View has gone 21-4 in its last two seasons.
Morningside went 12-2 last season and lost 30-27 in the national semifinals to Southern Oregon. The Mustangs were 9-0 in the Great Plains Athletic Conference.