J-Hawks try to rebound without Kalolero

By Jim Ecker

The Cedar Rapids Jefferson football team will try to bounce back from a 1-and-8 season without their star running back.

Uweza Kalolero, who rushed for 1,026 yards a year ago, has transferred to Cedar Rapids Washington and will not be with the J-Hawks this time around.

“We hate to lose him,” said Jefferson Coach Ed Miles.

“It opens up an opportunity for somebody,” he remarked. “Right now we’re running back by committee.”

Nobody else rushed for more than 39 yards last year. The J-Hawks also need a productive new quarterback after losing Vernon Benda, who passed for 1,729 yards and 14 touchdowns before graduating.

Derek Robinson, who completed 4 of 8 passes for 96 yards last year, has been battling Anthony Hawkins for QB1. “A pretty good competition,” said the coach.

Miles, a star linebacker for the Iowa Hawkeyes, spent three years in the NFL and accepted a big challenge when he became Jefferson’s head coach in 2022. The J-Hawks dropped all nine of their games that year, saddling them with a 26-game losing streak overall.

Their fortunes changed dramatically in 2023 when Jefferson began the season with four straight victories and climbed to No.5 in the rankings, but they ended the year with five straight losses to finish 4-5.

The J-Hawks broke through with a winning campaign at 5-4 in 2024 and there was hope on the southwest side of town, but they dipped to 1-8 a year ago.

“Last year, 1-and-8,” rued Miles, who is 10-26 in four years. “We had talent. We had a lot of talent. It was just the focus.

“Last year was disappointing. I thought we had the nucleus for a good team.”

The J-Hawks have worked during the offseason to get bigger, faster, stronger and quit killing themselves with mistakes.

“We have to be tougher than the opposition. We can’t shoot ourselves in the foot,” said Miles.

“It’s basically the simple things that normally we take for granted, as players and coaches. You have to crawl before you walk.”

Osten Robertson and Lucas Ranard combined to catch 40 passes last season and are back.

Tyree Turner, who collected 103 tackles in 2025 as a sophomore, returns to lead the defense. “We’re very, very happy to have him back,” said Miles. ‘He’s going to be a big part of the defense.”

Jace Wendling, who had a good year with 86 tackles last season, also is back. Several other underclassmen contributed on defense in 2025.

“I think our defense will be a lot better,” said Miles, “especially with the young guys who got experience last year.”

Jefferson begins the season against Washington Aug. 28, pitting the J-Hawks against Kalolero in the opener.

2026 SCHEDULE

Aug. 28 – at Washington
Sept. 4 – Muscatine
Sept. 11 – Indianola
Sept. 18 – at Urbandale
Sept. 25 – at Prairie
Oct. 1 – Dubuque Senior
Oct. 9 – at Bettendorf
Oct. 15 – Hempstead
Oct. 23 – Cedar Falls