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Quiet riot

GOWRIE — Kyler Fisher’s numbers on the football field speak volumes, but it’s his low-key nature and persistent effort that draws the best effort out of everyone else.

“He is a very quiet kid,” said Southeast Valley head coach Mike Swieter. “He’s not real talkative and leads by example. He pushes himself and the other kids follow him.

“You saw that on Friday. He goes hard and everyone raises their level of play. I’m very proud of his work ethic and not letting it go to his head. He’s all about winning and giving everything he has.”

After a disappointing 2-2 start, something had to change for the Jaguars to get where they wanted to be.

The week following a tough loss to No. 4 South Central Calhoun, the team talked and then something clicked.

“When we were sitting at 2-2, we had a heart-to-heart with the kids,” Swieter said. “After our second half collapse against South Central Calhoun, we knew we had to step it up now or our season was going to be over for any postseason hopes.

“The kids just stepped it up and fed off of Kyler and each other. After five games we were sitting at the top of 2A in RPI, with four teams on our schedule at 5-0.”

Currently Southeast Valley is ninth in RPI at .6070 with unbeaten and third ranked Algona left on the slate. South Central Calhoun is still unbeaten.

The Jaguars reeled off two straight district victories, while stunning second-ranked Spirit Lake.

“Our team chemistry is great,” Fisher said. “Ever since our eighth grade year, this senior class has joined together and winning our Homecoming game (against Clarion-Goldfield/Dows), we just went out and just dominated and the win against Spirit Lake gave us a lot of confidence and we proved to ourselves that we could go after anybody.”

Fisher, who put up solid numbers in the first five games, had a career night against the Indians, running virtually all over the field.

The senior tailback recorded 396 all-purpose yards. Fisher had a career-high 269 rushing yards on 44 carries, including three touchdowns. He added one catch for a 37-yard touchdown and also returned fumbles 34 and 27 yards for scores.

“The last two games, he’s taken it to a whole new level,” Swieter said. “He sat out one play (extra-point) against Spirit Lake. We tried giving him a break, but he did not want to come out.

“Kyler sitting atop (Class) 2A in scoring and fifth in rushing, wasn’t a goal of his or ours, it’s an accomplishment. It’s special, especially on a team that can run and throw the ball.”

This season, Fisher leads with 124 points (84 rushing, 12 receiving, 10 two-point conversion points and 18 return points). He is tied for fourth in rushing with 893 yards (139 carries) and 14 touchdowns on the ground with 19 total touchdowns.

Through three seasons, Fisher is chasing the school record for yards and touchdowns. He has 1,770 yards on 270 carries and 24 touchdowns in his career. Fisher has 2,342 all-purpose career yards.

The current school leader is Mike’s son, Aaron Swieter, who had 2,001 career yards on 382 carries with 28 rushing touchdowns.

The two-time state runner-up wrestler also leads the Jaguars with 34.5 tackles this season and has 162.5 career stops.

Fisher may have over 800 yards on the ground, but the Jaguars are far from a one-dimensional team. Junior quarterback Hunter Kruse has thrown for 975 yards and 12 touchdowns.

The Jaguars (4-2 overall, 2-0 in district) have the receivers to go along with the ground attack as well. Senior Nyles Johnson has caught 26 passes for 477 yards and five scores. Junior Chase Swieter has caught 19 balls for 283 and five scores.

“If you look at Nyles, Chase and Hunter, we have some tremendous players to take the pressure off of him,” Swieter said. “If they’re stopping him, or loading the box, we are able to the passing the yards when we need them.”

“This is not just a one-man team.”

Kruse is 138-for-228 in his career for 1,823 yards and 17 touchdowns.

“It shows (to have a passing game) that we have a lot of diversity on our team,” Fisher said. “With me running, it leads to defenses keying on me. But then with Hunter, we are able to throw the ball.”

Fisher will be the first to tell you to be able to run the ball an average of 23 times per game, you have to have protection up front.

“It’s nice to have a great offensive line,” Fisher said. “Starting the season, we didn’t get off to a great start (as a team), but we were able to get going.

“We may not have the biggest offensive line if you compare it to some other teams, but we attack and do what we need to do.”

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