Photo Courtesy of Jeff Yoder

The Mid-Prairie Golden Hawk football team had a special fall on the field, wrapping up their first district championship since 2008, they were led on the sideline by Class 2A District 5 Coach of the Year Daren Lambert.

Lambert, in his second year in charge of the program, oversaw a turnaround, after an 0-3 non-district schedule. The Hawks rolled through District 5, claiming the undefeated crown at 5-0, outscoring opponents 204-53. The Golden Hawks had a dozen all-district selections, nine first team choices, and swept the district Most Valuable Player Awards including offensive MVP Hudson Ehrenfelt, defensive MVP Kaden Kos and lineman MVP Tommy Miller.

The Hawks ranked in the top 10 of Class 2A in 24 team and individual stat categories. He joined KCII Sports this week to talk about the award.

Lambert said, “Anytime the Coach of the Year Award is handed out, it goes to the District Champion or the Conference Champion. Truly, it’s a program award. There are so many people that contribute to making the football program a success! We have seven other assistant coaches, great administration, great parent support and ultimately the players have to go out and do their job on the field and buy into what we’re doing.”

This is the first time he has been named District Coach of the Year for football, in 2022 he was named River Valley Conference South Division Boys Basketball Coach of the Year. Mid-Prairie finished the season at 7-4, rising as high as No. 9 in the Class 2A poll, winning their first district championship in 16 years and advancing to the quarterfinals of the 2A playoffs for the first time since 2008.