High School

Storied Iowa High School Football Program Hires New Head Coach

Zach Pfantz named new head football coach at Aplington-Parkersburg.

Dana Becker

A-P Schools/X

One of the more storied Iowa high school football programs has a new leader in Zach Pfantz.

Aplington-Parkersburg High School announced the hiring of Pfantz as the new head football coach on X (formerly known as Twitter). Pfantz replaces Jeff Pikna.

Pfantz has served as the head coach at Bondurant-Farrar, Ottumwa and Akron-Westfield, with stops at Central College and Coe College in a number of different roles including the defensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator at Central for several seasons.

This past fall, Pfantz was part of the coaching staff at Waukee Northwest, helping the Wolves go 10-2 and reach the Class 5A Iowa high school football state semifinals.

The West Marshall High School graduate helped the high school win an Iowa high school football state championship in 1999, going on to play football at Coe College.

Aplington-Parkersburg Returns Several Key Players From Three-Win Team

Last year, the Falcons went 3-5 overall, the third straight losing season for the program. Aplington-Parkersburg last finished above .500 when they went 8-2 in 2022.

Dual-threat quarterback Benny Waller graduates, but Mason Pruisner ran for 791 yards and scored nine touchdowns - equaling Waller for the team lead - as a sophomore last season. Classmate Devan Eberhart added 200 yards rushing and a pair of TDs.

Wes Shirk was the leading receiver as a junior, catching nine passes for 199 yards and three touchdowns.

On defense, Aplington-Parkersburg boasts Luke Jacobson, Aiden Merrill, Shirk, Eberhart, Cooper Mulder, Maison Copp and Parker Mulder all returning to the team.

For several decades, the Falcons were led by the late Ed Thomas, who won almost 300 games, two state championships and helped prepare four players for careers in the NFL. Thomas was fatally shot in 2009 by former player Mark Becker.

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Dana Becker
DANA BECKER

Dana Becker has been a sports writer in Iowa since 2000, writing for The Fort Dodge Messenger, Mason City Globe-Gazette, Cedar Rapids Gazette and others. Dana resides in northcentral Iowa and started as a writer with SB Live Sports in 2022 focused on the state of Iowa. Along with providing coverage of football and wrestling, Dana also spotlights cross country, swimming, basketball, track and field, soccer, tennis, golf, baseball and softball. He began writing for High School on SI in 2023.

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