March 29, 2024

Lietz is first Tigerhawk to play in Shrine Bowl

COLFAX — The Iowa Shrine Bowl Game is an all-star football game between selected pre-college football athletes on each side of a north-south dividing line in Iowa.

But the honor of being selected to play in the game goes way beyond a football game. Colfax-Mingo’s Jacob Lietz understands that and is looking forward to everything that comes with being selected.

Lietz is the first student-athlete from Colfax-Mingo to ever be selected for the Shrine Bowl, and he will play wide receiver for the South squad when the game kicks off at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls on July 23.

“It’s been a lifelong dream of mine. The Shriners affect a lot of people, and you do a lot of that entire week,” Lietz said. “I told coach (Matt) Barkalow at the beginning of each season that I wanted to work hard enough, be a good enough athlete and academic student to be selected to that so I can help those people be recognized.”

Lietz is a good enough athlete. He hauled in a school-record 63 passes this past season for the Tigerhawks, which ranked second in Class A. He was also fifth in receiving yards with 866 and tied for seventh with 10 touchdowns.

His body of work included one punt return touchdown and one kickoff return score. He also was second in Class A with 117.5 total tackles and 93 solo tackles.

The Tigerhawk senior also fits the bill academically. He boasts a 4.0 grade point average and likely will be the school’s valedictorian when he graduates in a few months.

He knows what it’s like to help young children as he spends parts of his weekends coaching youth basketball in the community.

“He is a down to Earth kid,” Colfax-Mingo football coach Jeff Lietz said. “He understands what it’s all about. He’s proud to represent our school, our family and himself. He is just looking forward to the experience. It’s a pretty amazing deal.”

Jacob Lietz will plenty busy before he and several other high school football players hit the gridiron for one last prep game.

There will be a pizza party, rock climbing and a mixer on July 18, a movie night on July 19 and a day at the Lost Island Water Park in Waterloo on July 20. A hog roast will take place July 21 and the famous trip to the Minneapolis Shrine Hospital visit will be July 22.

Later on July 22 will be the honors banquet. The week concludes with a 9:30 a.m. parade in Cedar Falls and then the football game, which kicks off at 4 p.m. at the UNI-Dome.

“I know that we do a lot of charity work, and we go to the hospital and that’s what I am looking forward to the most,” Jacob Lietz said. “There’s a lot of high caliber athletes that play in the game so I am looking forward to that, too.”

Lietz will take his football talents to Grand View University when his time at Colfax-Mingo is done. Before that, he’ll get one last chance to play against high school athletes on the campus of the University of Northern Iowa.

“It’ll be fun to play one more time. I like to see where I stack up against those 4A kids,” Lietz said.

Lietz will play for the South squad, which will be coached by ADM of Adel’s Mike Whisner. Lynnville-Sully’s Mike Parkinson also will be on the staff, as will Hawk senior Sage Ehresman.

“I know Sage pretty well. We have attended some camps together, and it will be fun to be on the same team this time,” Lietz said.

The players are selected by a process of nomination by coaches, balloting by state-wide sports media professionals and official invitation from a representative of the Iowa Shrine Bowl.

Coach Lietz is looking forward to watching his son from the stands. But he admits it will be from a different perspective.

“It’ll be exciting to watch him play for once,” Coach Lietz said. “I haven’t really ever gotten to sit and watch him play football. I am looking forward to it. It’ll be tough to not yell a few things here and there. I am proud of him. He’s gotten this honor because of all the hard work he has done over the past several years. It’s something to be proud of.

“It’s a special life-changing week for everyone who get to be a part of it. It’s more than just a game.”

Contact Troy Hyde at
641-792-3121 ext. 6536
or thyde@newtondailynews.com