National signing day was a big one for the Iowa Central football team, as they inked 14 players from within the Iowa borders.

Five of those 14 recently helped Southeast Polk claim the Class 5A state championship, led by star running back CJ Phillip.

Phillip, who also played for West Des Moines Dowling, rushed for almost 1,100 yards and scored 20 touchdowns. Joining him from the program will be linebackers Draven Woods and Caleb Chebuhar, along with offensive linemen Brayden Harmon and John Vedder.

Woods had 63 tackles including 25 for loss last year while Chebuhar recorded 64 tackles with 6.5 for loss.

Humboldt all-stater Lance Coon made his commitment official, signing with the Tritons after rushing for 546 yards and eight TDs in limited action after suffering an injury. As a junior he racked up 1,566 yards and 21 scores.

Joining those five will be Alex Kenward of Mason City; Nolan Anderson from West Des Moines Valley; Batpiny Riak of Bondurant-Farrar; BJ Henry from Cedar Rapids Kennedy; Jordan Jensen of Estherville-LC; Dalen Huston from Johnston; Keenen Wiley of Charles City; and Ehtan Walker from Grinnell.

Wiley caught 37 passes for 615 yards and eight TDs this past year for the Comets.

“We really put a heavy emphasis on the in-state kids,” ICCC head coach Jesse Montalto said. “We return a solid group, so we wanted to fill some key holes. We feel like we did that with this group.”

The Tritons are coming off a 44-9 victory over Snow in the Game One Bowl, securing another Top-10 ranking and 13th consecutive postseason win.

“We really like the linebackers we signed and feel like they will make an impact this fall,” Montalto said. “Same for the offensive line and at wide receiver. Those are two very special groups of kids.”

2024 IOWA CENTRAL FOOTBALL SIGNING DAYS

Iowa signees

Alex Kenward, OL, Mason City; Nolan Anderson, OL, West Des Moines Valley; CJ Phillip, RB, Southeast Polk; Lance Coon, RB, Humboldt; Batpiny Riak, LB, Bondurant-Farrar; Draven Woods, LB, Southeast Polk; BJ Henry, LB, Cedar Rapids Kennedy; Jordan Jensen, OL, Estherville-LC; Dalen Huston, ATH, Johnston; Brayden Harmon, OL, Southeast Polk; Keenen Wiley, WR, Charles City; Caleb Chebuhar, LB, Southeast Polk; John Vedder, OL, Southeast Polk; Ethan Walker, Ol, Grinnell.

Out-of-state signees

Donald DeFrand Jr., DB, Nebraska; Emmanuel Dorbor, DE, Minnesota; AJ Abrams, WR, Illinois; Brady Buckman, TE, Missouri; Ryan John, DT, Wisconsin; Jaden Lenor, DT, Tennessee; Collin Kallhoff, DE, Illinois; JaDen Barrow, OL, Michigan; Jacob Kania, WR, Florida; Terry Smith, DB, Illinois.