A new era begins at Oelwein, with Trevor Arnold entering his first season as a head coach. Arnold has been an assistant coach at Central Community in Elkader the last seven seasons. His biggest challenge is building a competitor at a program not known for winning. The Huskies' overall record the past five years, under former coach Matt Kuempel, is just 2-43.

2017 SEASON PROSPECTUS: OELWEIN HUSKIES

2016 RECORD: 0-9 Overall / 0-7 District
2016 PLAYOFFS: Did Not Qualify

HEAD COACH: Trevor Arnold (1st Year)
School Record (Years): N/A
Career Record (Years): N/A

2016 STARTERS RETURNING (11):
Sayer Woodson, WR/DB - 1st Team All-District Linebacker
Dillon Arndt, QB/DB - 2nd Team All-District Defensive Back
Lukes Crandell, RB/LB
Austin Conner, RB/LB
Steven Nicolay, TE/LB
Ernane daSilva, OL/LB
Jakub Conner, OT/DL
Jacob Mahloch, C/DL
Grant Slifer, OT/DL
Colton Barker, WR/DB
Cameron Sims, WR/DB

OTHER 2016 LETTERWINNERS RETURNING* / PROMISING NEWCOMERS (5):
*Austin Opperman
Blake Smith, WR/CB
Richard Tournier, OL/LB
Ethan Thomas, WR/CB
Andrew Roete, WR/DB

KEY LOSSES FROM 2016 SEASON:
A decent group of seniors graduated.

HOW COACH KUEMPEL VIEWS UPCOMING SEASON

Team Strength Entering 2017:
Expect a core group of good players (Woodson, Nicolay, Arndt and Barker) to share the load and make plays. A new offensive scheme is designed to spread the ball around and not put too much of the burden on one player The offense will be led by Arndt, a junior who gained valuable experience as a starting quarterback his sophomore year.

Concerns Heading Into 2017:
Depth. The Huskies' roster features only six seniors, which puts more pressure on the 18 juniors and handful of sophomores to produce at a high-level.

Opponents Expected To Compete For District Title In 2016:
Waukon and Cascade, with La Porte City Union a close third. Each team has depth, talent and consistency.

What Will It Take Contend For A District Title In 2017?
"We will need to be able to spread the ball around offensively in order for us to score effectively and play with the top teams in the district. Defensively, we will have to tackle much better than we did in 2016 -- a major point of emphasis in 2017. A new scheme will help us hold up across the defensive front better than in the past, but depth in those positions is still an issue. Being able to effectively use the advantages we do have to the best of our ability as a staff will be key. Being creative in some areas -- and a little unorthodox -- will help and create some issues for our opponents."

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