Niekamp grows into role at quarterback to lead Central offense

Published 1:15 pm Wednesday, July 22, 2026

CAMP POINT, Ill. — After a brief run at quarterback as a freshman, Kale Niekamp came back twice as strong when Camp Point Central turned back to him as a sophomore.

Niekamp felt much more confident behind center last season after getting his feet wet as a freshman.

“I feel like I did pretty good for a sophomore because freshman year I got thrown in and didn’t do very good,” said Niekamp. “I didn’t do very good, so I got taken out. Last year, I got thrown in there again and I feel like I did pretty good.”

Niekamp completed 32-of-57 passing attempts last year for 801 yards and nine touchdowns and just two interceptions last season.

On the ground, Niekamp carried the ball 37 times for 330 yards and seven touchdowns.

“Kale got thrown in the fire a little bit at quarterback to start his freshman year before we decided to go with Elijah (Genenbacher),” said Central head coach Brad Dixon. “So he’s played in a lot of games and it’s nice to have him back. Going into last season, we weren’t exactly sure who was going to be the quarterback. Kale had a great year. To have him back with his size, his ability to throw and his speed is great. We’re really excited to have him for the next two years.”

Niekamp’s teammates noticed the improvement from his freshman to sophomore seasons.

“It was pretty good,” said Central senior offensive lineman Briggs Wiskirchen. “It’s nice to see a young kid do that, coming in as a freshman and getting put to the test was alright for him. He had to build from that freshman year, so sophomore year he really stepped up and did a really good job.”

There’s more room for improvement for Niekamp’s junior campaign.

“It’s going pretty good so far,” said Niekamp. “It’s just learning and rejogging the memories and trying to get the muscle memory back. We’re trying to learn how to play as a team.”

Fast cats

Central graduated many of its top running backs from last year, including Curtis Rigg, Zack Wear, Jasper Flesner, Kadin Niekamp and Marco Rodriguez.

However, the cupboard is not bare in the Panthers backfield.

“We got some pretty fast kids coming in,” said Niekamp. “They’re fast and they’re strong. They can run downhill. They can catch the ball.”

Junior Luke Ippensen is the top returning running back after carrying the ball 31 times for 295 yards and two touchdowns last year.

Ippensen is also an option as a receiver after catching six passes for 228 yards and a score in 2025.

“Our runners will be really good this year,” said Wiskirchen. “We’ve lost the fastest kid that’s been through our school last year, but we have some quick dudes back at it.”

Central has junior fullback Jackson Fowler returning, who ran 39 times for 238 yards and three touchdowns in 2025.

Another option at fullback is Kolin Bockhold, who can also play tight end.

The Panthers will have junior Grant Hamilton move up from JV to play wing back, as well as having sophomore Wes Homan, junior Paxton Buehler and senior Jackson Buehler in the backfield.

“We feel like we have some good depth,” said Dixon. “We got some sophomores that we’re excited about. But it’s going to be a heavily junior-dominated backfield, which is obviously good for the next two years.”

The offensive line puzzle

The Panthers graduated offensive line starters Chase Barner, Brayden Hummer and Jack Weese — leaving open spots to fill.

However, Central returns senior Evan Walker at tackle and Wiskirchen at guard. Senior Paxton Flesner also started some at guard last year.

“We lost some dudes there,” said Wiskirchen. “We’re going to have to find them and we get long, fast and nasty.”

Dixon is confident that he will be able to fill the two open spots up front.

“We’ve got quite a few juniors that are in the mix,” said Dixon. “It’s some names that people haven’t heard of, but they have been really good football players for us at the JV level. We’re expecting them to take the next step here at the varsity level.”