He had more than he can count during his years at Sigourney-Keota and a handful more since he took over at Webster City in 2007.

But multiple-time all-state offensive linemen are a little more rare. Cooper Lawson, a three-time selection, comes to mind in recent history at WCHS, but you’d have to dig deeper into the annals to find others.

Well, another joins the list today.

Following a stellar senior season in which he was arguably the best offensive lineman in Class 4A District 1 — and Howard says that point can’t even be argued — Truman Klein has been named to the Iowa Print Sports Writers Association 4A all-state first-team. It follows a junior campaign in 2020 in which he was a 3A first-team selection.

CJ Hisler, 2nd team all state kick returner.

Two other WCHS players were recognized by the IPSWA — junior do-everything talent CJ Hisler was named to the all-state second team as a kick returner, and sophomore Jaxon Cherry made the third team at running back.

Just how good was Klein this year? Howard sums it up pretty well.

“He is probably in the top two or three at (pulling guard) in the 31 years that we’ve run single wing, and that’s saying quite a bit,” he said. “So he’s very, very deserving of being all state and he’s a great example for other kids. He’s humble, he’s an extremely hard worker and when he did talk, people listened.”

Klein was the anchor of a WCHS offensive line that got better and better as the season progressed. The Lynx ranked third in 4A in rushing yards with 3,289 and rushing touchdowns with 42.

Klein, a three-year starter who was thrown into the deep end as a 170-pound sophomore in 2019, was in front of the majority of off-tackle carries by Cherry and Connor Hanson at tailback, and they combined to churn out 1,313 yards and score 27 touchdowns.

Jaxon Cherry, 3rd team all-state running back.

Klein isn’t a prototypical behemoth offensive lineman. At 5-foot-10 and 220 pounds, he made his mark with technique and a hard-nosed desire to win his match-up on every snap.

“He has really good mobility and he has great hips,” Howard said. “I don’t know what it is that enables some kids to lead through a hole and actually find somebody to block, and about three-fourths of them get through the hole and just run down the field, but I don’t know too many times where Truman didn’t find somebody and find a positive block, and a lot of times the key block at the point of attack. That’s what stuck out; he made a positive impact on nearly every play that he was a key blocker in.”

It didn’t hurt that Klein and the rest of the WCHS offensive line had some pretty special backs to block for.

Hisler, a jack of all trades who could have easily been an all-state running back, was the 4A kickoff return yards leader with 440, and he returned two for touchdowns, including a 100-yard sprint from end zone to end zone against Storm Lake. He averaged 36.7 yards per return.

“He’s why people didn’t kick (the ball) to us at the end of the year,” Howard said of Hisler. “Making all-state as a return man is a reward for all of his play and he could have made it as a running back.

“He was a lot of our offensive production. He has great athletic ability, he’s very smart and he’s got something you can’t coach and that’s pure speed.”

Hisler, the Lynx wingback on offense, ranked fifth in the class in all-purpose yards with 1,616 and he was the Lynx leading rusher with 1,032. He averaged an eye-popping 9.2 yards per carry and reached the end zone seven times.

Cherry, who became the Lynx every down tailback in the postseason, continually showed growth throughout the season. By the tail-end of the campaign, he was nearly unstoppable.

Cherry capped his sophomore season with 936 yards rushing and 19 touchdowns. He averaged 6.9 yards per tote.

“He got exponentially better every game,” Howard said of Cherry. “The sky is the limit for him. He reads blocks well, he’s explosive, and he’s hard to tackle.”

All three Lynx all-state players received first-team all-district nods as well. Klein shared the Offensive Lineman of the Year award, Hisler was the Offensive MVP, and Cherry the Defensive MVP for his standout season at linebacker.

The IPSWA also named captains in each of the seven classes — Xavier Nwankpa of Southeast Polk (5A), Nick Miller of Council Bluffs Lewis Central (4A), Landyn Van Kekerix of Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley (3A), Kolson Kruse of Southeast Valley (2A), Casey Trudo of Van Meter (1A), Logan Knaack of Grundy Center (A) and Lane Spieker of CAM (8-man).

IPSWA ALL-STATE TEAMS

CLASS 4A

First Team

QB — Braylon Kammrad, jr, Lewis Central.

RB — Dawson Forgy, sr, Winterset; Bryant Williams, sr, Burlington; Jon Humpal, jr, Lewis Central.

WR/TE — Harrison Rosenberg, sr, Clear Creek Amana; Drew Kingery, jr, Indianola; Jakob Nelson, sr, North Scott.

OL — Truman Klein, sr, Webster City; Andrew Hough, sr, Spencer; Beau Knobloch, jr, Winterset; Nate Westhoff, sr, Xavier; Cole Hotz, sr, Waverly-SR; Carter Gorder, sr, Mason City.

K — Trysten Vasquez, sr, Xavier.

Off Utility — Alex Neal, sr, Xavier.

DL — Nick Miller, sr, Lewis Central; Hunter Deyo, sr, Lewis Central; Jake Walker, jr, Waaverly-SR; AJ Petersen, jr, North Scott.

LB — Blake Bellamy, sr, Winterset; Keenan Tyler, sr, Decorah; Thomas Sundell, jr, Xavier; Asa Newsom, jr, Waverly-SR.

DB — Jake Erickson, sr, Fort Dodge; Kael Kolarik, sr, Indianola; Aidan McDermott, jr, Xavier; Oliver Hughes, sr, North Scott.

P — Lane Feierfeil, sr, Lewis Central.

Return — Lucci Fidone, jr, Lewis Central.

Def Utility — McCrae Hagarty, jr, Waverly-Sr.

Second Team

QB — Grayson Juel, sr, North Scott.

RB — Johnny Dunn, sr, Carlisle; Titus Cram, soph, Bondurant-Farrar; Will Hiserote, sr, Xavier.

WR/TE — Javion Jondle, jr, Fort Dodge; Andrew Oltmanns, sr, Western Dubuque; Dillon Ranck, jr, Norwalk.

OL — Brandon Vander Sluis, sr, LeMars; Logan Huckfelt, jr, Spencer; Tommy Morlan, sr, Clear Creek Amana; Julian Perez-Hall, jr, Burlington; Evan Surface, sr, Western Dubuque; Logan Echeart, jr, Glenwood.

K — Boston Hensley, jr, Lewis Central.

Off Utility — Bennett Brueck, jr, Indianola.

DL — Walker Whalen, sr, Indianola; Layne McDonald, sr, Waverly-SR; David Borchers, jr, North Scott; Maddux Borcherding-Johnson, jr, Norwalk.

LB — Cameron Meislahn, sr, Bondurant-Farrar; Christian Stanek, sr, Xavier; Wyatt Hatcher, sr, Lewis Central; Josh Hendricks, jr, DC-Grimes.

DB — Carter Erickson, sr, Indianola; Jacob Pipho, sr, Decorah; Austin Dewey, sr, Waverly-SR; Justus Williams, Norwalk.

P — Jai Jensen, sr, Clinton.

Return — CJ Hisler, jr, Webster City.

Def Utility — Noah Stortz, sr, Decroah.

Third Team

QB — Jack Clemens, sr, Western Dubuque.

RB — Jaxon Cherry, soph, Webster City; Nolan Clayberg, sr, Pella; Darius Willis-Newell, sr, Liberty.

WR/TE — Joseph Bockman, sr, Decorah; Brayden Loftin, sr, Lewis Central; Braeden Carlson, jr, Norwalk.

OL — Noah Allen, sr, CR Washington; Jacob Nichols, jr, Newton; Tommy Reinwart, sr, Xavier; Max Beckman, sr, Liberty; Noah Mulford, jr, Norwalk.

K — Luke Hardman, soph, Pella.

Off Utility — Connor Carver, jr, Fort Dodge.

DL — Evan Schmidt, sr, Spencer; Joseph Hjelle, sr, Decorah; Brock Turner, sr, Bondurant-Farrar; Andy Kram, sr, Xavier.

LB — Jace Ulrich, sr, Fort Dodge; Gage Freeman, sr, Clear Creek Amana; John Powers, jr, Bondurant-Farrar; Ryan Campbell, sr, North Scott.

DB — Karter Petzenhauser, sr, Spencer; Watts McBride, jr, CR Washington; Tysen Barkema, jr, Bondurant-Farrar; Ky Pearson, sr, Norwalk.

P — Simon Ott, jr, Waverly-SR.

Return — Tate Johnson, sr, Fort Madison.

Def Utility — Alex Mota, jr, Marion.

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