Sioux City East is heading into 2026 with plenty to like, but also one glaring question that will shape the season: who steps in at quarterback after Cal Jepsen?
That’s the central storyline for a Black Raiders team that went 9-2 in 2025 and averaged almost 35 points per game. Jepsen, a multi-year starter, was the engine behind that run, throwing for 2,587 yards and 26 touchdowns while completing nearly 66 percent of his passes. He’s now off to Western Kentucky University to play NCAA Division I baseball, leaving a big opening for Sioux City East to fill.
Callan Koch looks like the next man up. As a sophomore, he got meaningful snaps and completed 28 of 47 passes for 286 yards and four touchdowns. He also added 31 rushing yards on four carries, giving the Black Raiders at least some familiarity at the position heading into the fall.
The good news for Koch is that he won’t be short on help. Sioux City East brings back a loaded group of playmakers, starting with Amos Collins, who led the team with 506 rushing yards and scored four times on the ground. Quintin Pollard was even more explosive on a per-carry basis, averaging 14.3 yards per rush as a sophomore.
The passing game has real firepower, too. Chris Ford, who is committed to South Dakota, caught 39 passes for 661 yards and four touchdowns.
Kason Clayborne, a Minnesota commit, added 27 catches for 302 yards and six scores. Isaiah Grant was the top producer among the receivers with 734 yards and eight touchdowns as just a sophomore, and Tanner Boonstra chipped in 472 yards and five touchdowns.
Collins and Pollard both also contributed more than 100 receiving yards.
Clayborne and Ford matter on the other side of the ball as well. Clayborne finished with 13 tackles for loss and a sack, while Ford posted 62 total tackles, two interceptions and major special teams impact. He averaged 48 yards per kickoff return with three touchdowns and 25 yards per punt return, taking two back for scores.
The defense also returns a deep group of tacklers. Nolan Demke, Tanner Hamilton, Lincoln McCaffrey, Titan Nation, Jack Ryan, Kuper Fritz, Landan Monk, Brecken Wagner and Teegan Surber all finished with double-digit tackle totals last season. Monk had 11 tackles for loss, Fritz had nine and Surber added six.
Sioux City East’s 2026 schedule should provide a test right away. The Black Raiders open on Friday, August 28 against city rival Sioux City North, then move into matchups with Norwalk and Sioux City Bishop Heelan. After that come Sioux City West and Ankeny.
One wrinkle in the early stretch: Sioux City East won’t leave Sioux City until a Friday, October 1 trip to Des Moines Roosevelt. Norwalk, Sioux City Bishop Heelan and Ankeny are all listed as home games. The rest of the regular season includes Johnston at home, a road game at Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln and a home finale against Ames.
High School On SI Iowa ranked Sioux City East fourth in its preseason Top 25.
The Black Raiders were 4-0 before falling 26-20 at Ankeny in Week 5 last year, then responded by winning four straight to finish the regular season, including a 21-17 victory at Johnston. In the playoffs, they beat Dallas Center-Grimes 28-14 before losing a high-scoring road game to Waukee Northwest, 48-34, in the Class 5A quarterfinals.
Sioux City East, Johnston and Ankeny each finished 4-1 in District 3. The nine wins the Black Raiders posted in 2025 were their most since the 2007 team went 10-1 overall, and the program has now put together eight straight seasons with at least five wins.
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