Countdown to kickoff: Backed by culture of success, Panthers seek to defend Class 1A state championship

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CAMP POINT, Ill. — There is a culture that envelops the Camp Point Central football program, a powerful intangible that was not built overnight.

“We never point fingers,” said Kadin Niekamp, a junior lineman mature beyond his teenage years. “Mistakes will happen, and we know that, but we lift each other up, not pull each other down.”

It’s that kind of mindset that has helped propel Central to some impressive heights over the past 14 years, including last year’s 14-0 run to the Class 1A state championship.

Can the Panthers go back-to-back?

“The guys we have returning are all great kids, and they’ve been in the fire before,” said Brad Dixon, beginning his 14th year as the head coach in Camp Point. “We’ll have a lot of new guys, too, trying to win jobs … so we’ll be trying to figure out personnel early in the season.”

And there’s a real good chance Dixon and his staff will figure things out. The Panthers are 27-1 over the past two years with a whopping 12 defensive shutouts. Central has lost just 14 regular-season games since the start of the Dixon Era in 2011 and has scored in 90 consecutive games.

“It will take a few games for everyone to mesh and see where we are,” said Elijah Genenbacher, a senior running back in the Panthers’ ground-pounding offense and an extremely active linebacker on defense.

The 6-foot-2, 220-pound Genenbacher punctuated his junior year with 1,108 yards rushing and 27 touchdowns, plus a 12-tackle performance in the 14-0 state championship victory over Lena-Winslow last November.

“Our culture, and our drive, are our strengths,” Genenbacher said. “We’ll work as hard as we can to reach our goals, but there’s no extra pressure.”

Genenbacher produced the 13th 1,000-yard rushing season in Dixon’s 14 years, despite just carrying the ball 156 times. The biggest chunk of those attempts came late in the season. Dixon purposely saved Genenbacher for the postseason, thanks to Central’s usual collection of capable ball carriers..

On the offensive side of the ball, it’s always all about the ground game for the Panthers. During Dixon’s tenure, Central has rushed for more than 4,000 yards in a season five times. Central has stockpiled 52,505 yards rushing during Dixon’s first 13 years. That’s an average of more than 300 yards per game.

Simply staggering.

“We like to give the ball to seven or eight guys a game,” Dixon said.

And make no mistake, the amount of kids Central uses week-in, week-out also serves as a recruiting tool. If you’re on the team in Camp Point, there’s a good chance you’ll be playing.

“No one on this team cares about personal statistics — only the victories,” Genenbacher said.

Central is hardly a one-trick pony, however, when it comes to its offensive approach. The Panthers have a surprisingly effective passing game and are not afraid to air things out if needed.

Central loses three-year starter Nick Moore at quarterback. Moore was 36-3 as a starter, throwing for 20 touchdowns and 1,796 yards. That’s the most career yards for a Dixon-coached quarterback.

Moore’s initial replacement may be dual in nature, at least early in the season. Junior Dylan Mowen and freshman Kale Niekamp are the frontrunners. Dixon emphasizes both are capable heirs to Moore.

“We have the guys to build around,” Dixon said. 

While Mowen and Kale Niekamp are figuring out the quarterback position, Central is likely to place even more emphasis on that much-ballyhooed ground attack. Along with Genenbacher, remember the names of Zack Wear, Nate Peters and Konner Bush. They’ll be getting a lot of hand-offs, too. 

Central also likes to employ its slotbacks, and this year that likely means a lot of action for Curtis Rigg.

Jaden Summy may be the top returning offensive lineman at center. Jesse Wallace is another versatile lineman who will be a key contributor.

At Central, success breeds success.

“We have 58 kids on our roster, which is pretty good for a small school,” Dixon said.

Even more impressive? There are 27 juniors and seniors, and at the prep level there is no substitute for qualities like experience and leadership. Oh, and there’s also more than 20 freshmen involved this year, so the future should soon arrive in good shape, too.

Central also takes great pride in its defense, which has posted 33 shutouts over the past 13 seasons, including 12 over the past two. The heart and soul of this year’s defense will be Kadin Niekamp and Genenbacher.

But the Panthers are taking nothing for granted.

“We have a lot of work to do, but our goal is to get back to the championship game,” Kadin Niekamp said. “We will have to get better throughout the season. Last year, it was probably about week five until things really started to click.”

The 6-foot, 220-pound Niekamp has produced more than 100 tackles each of his first two seasons as a starter on the defensive line, and is well on pace to establish career marks at Central for stops and sacks. 

At the heart of Central’s rise to bona fide state power has been Dixon, who prefers an ever-growing spotlight be directed toward his staff and players. But it’s hard to overlook an .833 winning percentage that is second only in area history to legendary Jim Unruh (.850) of Carthage, the region’s all-time winningest coach with a 256-45 record.

Dixon enters the season with an overall record of 125-25, which includes a 100-14 mark in the regular season and 25-11 showing in the postseason. Dixon is also 48-10 in Western Illinois Valley Conference play, a record that includes 10 WIVC division championships.

“Everything starts with our staff,” Dixon said. “Continuity is important. Our coaches and players know what is expected.”