-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Adam Walker of St. Edmond sacks GTRA Kasey Hough

St. Edmond’s Adam Walker followed up his first team all-state campaign from a year ago with an encore performance worthy of equal recognition.

The senior lineman was a repeat Iowa Football Coaches Association eight-player honoree, landing on the top squad again in 2024.

Gael teammate Koleman Hanson, a junior, was a second-team pick as a junior kicker.

“Adam was just a phenomenal player on both sides of the ball,” Gael head coach Matt Dillon said. “In my seven years here, he’s by far the best lineman we’ve had. If you talk to any coach we faced, he was the one guy they feared and had to prepare for most.

“He had a great career, and I’m so happy for him to be able to make the first team again. That’s no small feat, and the pressure was on after (last season). But he walked the walk.”

Lining up as both a defensive end and nose guard, Walker recorded a St. Edmond-best 21.5 tackles for loss and five sacks. As a four-year regular, the 255-pounder finished his career with 53 tackles for loss and 12.5 sacks.

Walker was the unanimous District 9 lineman of the year.

“Adam was a difference maker, disrupting offensive fronts and paving the way for our own offense,” Dillon said. “When he hurt his hamstring in our playoff game, we were winning 14-13. Things fell apart from there. It shows the impact he truly had.”

Hanson converted two field goals and made 15 extra points. His touchback ratio on kickoffs was also over 85 percent.

“Koleman has a tremendously strong leg, and he made a big difference for us in terms of field-position advantage,” Dillon said. “It was great to rely on him the way we were able to, and we still get him for another year as probably the best returning kicker (at the eight-player level). He’ll also play offensive and defensive line (Hanson checks it at almost 200 pounds). He’ll be one of our leaders heading into 2025.”

The Gaels were 5-4 this season, reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2020. Hanson, Grant Galles and Jakob Koopman are scheduled to return as top all-district honorees, alongside second teamers Ethan Swisher, Max Webster and Aaron Hindt.