At KCII, we’re continuing to count down the top 10 sports stories at area high schools in the 2023-2024 academic year. At number two is the Winfield-Mount Union Wolves reaching the 8-player football state semifinals.

After a 2-2 start in 2023 was followed up by winning four of the next five games before the campaign ended with a playoff loss to Gilbertville Don Bosco, anticipation around WMU was high for this past season.

Most of the roster returned, including two all-state players in seniors Cam Buffington and Abram Edwards, who had already committed to playing at Division I college teams in Iowa and Army, respectively.

Sporting a preseason number-four ranking in the state, the Wolves lived up to the hype, starting by defeating third-ranked Central City 44-38 in the season opener August 25th behind Buffington’s 194 rushing yards and two touchdowns as well as three receptions, all for touchdowns, that totaled 81 yards.

A Week Three win against district rival WACO, a team that reached the 8-player state championship game the previous season, as well as a 70-20 thrashing of Montezuma, a playoff team in 2023, highlighted a dominant regular season for Winfield-Mount Union.

WMU went 8-0 going into the postseason and defeated their opponents by an average of nearly 49 points a game. The Wolves averaged 54 points and 364-and-a-half yards of offense per game, but they were just as difficult to move the ball against, giving up only 16 points per contest.

Buffington was again spectacular on both sides of the ball, racking up 1,975 yards from scrimmage and 36 TDs on offense but also piling up over 106 total tackles and 18 tackles for loss at linebacker.

Edwards wrecked opposing backfields on defense with 22-and-a-half tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks, but he had plenty of help from junior Cooper Buffington, who collecting 19 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks of his own.

Edwards was also a playmaker at receiver, catching 23 passes for 393 yards and six scores. Fellow senior Carter Loyd was a big-play threat out wide as well, averaging 23 yards per reception on his way to over 400 yards and six touchdowns.

Add in senior Cole Milks putting up nearly 730 yards from scrimmage and 14 TDs, and there were plenty of weapons for junior quarterback Jake Edwards, who threw for nearly 1,700 yards and 26 scores but also just four interceptions.

When the 8-player state playoffs finally began on October 20th, Winfield-Mount Union didn’t miss a beat, first dismantling Belle Plaine 64-8 behind three passing touchdowns by Jake Edwards and three rushing TDs from Cam Buffington.

The following week, WMU used two touchdowns in the second quarter to pull away from Moravia and would go on to win 34-6, leaning on Buffington’s 150 yards and four scores on the ground.

The state quarterfinals on November 2nd would see a long-awaited rematch with Don Bosco in Gilbertville, and despite a raucous road crowd and cold temperatures, the Wolves went blow-for-blow with the Dons.

A two-point Winfield-Mount Union lead at the end of the first quarter became a tie game at 22 going into halftime, but, on the second play of the second half, Jake Edwards connected with Loyd on a 56-yard catch and run for his third touchdown pass of the game and the lead.

Buffington barreled across the goal line late in the third quarter to stretch the WMU lead to 34-22, and while Don Bosco would make a furious rally that included scoring again and getting a chance to throw for the end zone as time ran out, senior Cole Milks intercepted the pass to secure a 34-29 victory and the Wolves’ first trip to the UNI-Dome since 1999.

Unfortunately, the state semifinals would not go the way of top-ranked Winfield-Mount Union, as they fell to Bishop Garrigan 34-20 on the morning of November 9th in Cedar Falls.

WMU took the initial 12-0 lead on a pair of Buffington rushing touchdowns, and a 30-yard TD pass from Jake Edwards to older brother Abram gave the Wolves a 20-6 halftime lead.

But Winfield-Mount Union couldn’t slow down Bishop Garrigan’s rushing attack, which piled up 270 yards and powered the Golden Bears to four straight scoring drives in the second half and the win.

WMU ended one of the best seasons in school history with a record of 11-1 and had four all-state selections in Milks, Abram Edwards and Cam and Cooper Buffington.

Be listening tomorrow when we unveil KCII’s Number One Area Sports Stories from the last yea, and find the all stories from the countdown so far at KCIIradio.com.