Waukon football team returns nearly half of its overall roster with varsity letterwinning experience for its 2026 campaign
2026 Waukon football team ... Left to right - Front row: Ian Mettille, Brant Gibbs, August Streeper, Kade Deering, Cael Lloyd, Gavin Rounds, Mayson Miller, Beckham Delaney, Keagen Estebo, McKyan Egan, Raymond Sweeney; Middle row: Max Moore, Porter Cote, Jacob Teff, Logan Blocker, Jace Thorson, Brecken Engrav, Grant McCormick, Kaden Mitchell, Brody Bernau, Brayden Berns, Jaxon Regan, Tristyn Crawford, Kenton Hilgerson, Easton Bucknell; Back row: Jackson Moore, Bentley Hager, Ethan Petsche, Alex Wuebker, Bentley Willis, Chase Sweeney, Kreaton Lonning, Tytan Weymiller, Cael Lange, Talin Hemann, Issiah Moudy, Marcus Byrnes, Trent Schullo, Kooper Crawford, Vaughn Stegen, Gabe McCormick. Not pictured: Tade McCormick, Tryston Johnson.
The 2026 Waukon football team will return nearly half of this season’s overall program numbers of 51 players, freshmen through seniors, as varsity letterwinners from a squad last fall that put together a 6-4 season record and made a ninth consecutive appearance in the Class 2A State Play-Offs. The grid Tribe of 2025 played to a 4-1 Class 2A District 3 mark that laid claim to a District Runner-Up result last fall that came behind an Osage team that was undefeated until the Class 2A State Semifinals last season, with 24 young men returning from that grid Tribe mix to help pave the way again this season.
Those 24 varsity returnees are split nearly evenly between the Indians’ two most veteran grade levels, with sophomore Tytan Weymiller also rising to that letterwinning level as a freshman as the season progressed last fall. The most veteran of those letterwinners come in the 11 seniors of Tristyn Crawford, McKyan Egan, Kenton Hilgerson, Tryston Johnson, Gabe McCormick, Tade McCormick, Jackson Moore, Issiah Moudy, Jaxon Regan, Trent Schullo and Vaughn Stegen. Further upperclassman leadership returns in this season’s dozen letterwinning juniors who include Brody Bernau, Brayden Berns, Easton Bucknell, Marcus Byrnes, Kooper Crawford, Beckham Delaney, Keagen Estebo, Talin Hemann, Cael Lange, Kaden Mitchell, Chase Sweeney and Raymond Sweeney.
“This group worked hard in the off-season, and the change in their physical make-up is noticeable,” Waukon varsity football head coach Chad Beermann shared. “Early practices have gone well, with good work being put in. We were a young team last year, starting several sophomores, and even a freshman by the end of the year. So, we would expect those young men to be ready for an even larger role this year.”
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