Two-minute drill: What to know about Ridgeview/Lexington football in 2026

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Aug. 12—COLFAX — Ridgeview/Lexington football coach Matt Barnes isn't putting the proverbial cart before the horse.

But he has plenty of reasons to believe his Mustangs — who started off the 2025 season strong and ultimately reached the Class 2A postseason for the program's first playoff appearance since 2022 — can build upon that effort this fall.

"We're not overly confident by any means, but I would say we're in a really good spot," Barnes said. "A good core group back from last year. Some guys that are younger are ready to step in, which has been nice. It's been like the perfect mixture of old and young."

Playoff success is nothing new for the Mustangs, who finished 12-1 in 2022 and reached the Class 1A state semifinals under former coach Hal Chiodo. That the playoffs will begin a week earlier than normal didn't cause any issues for Barnes and his staff this summer, though Barnes, entering his fourth season in charge of the Mustangs, noted that "schedules feel a little bit more cramped than previous years."

He visited The News-Gazette's newsroom on July 31 with senior quarterback Micah Wiltz and senior offensive lineman Camden McCue to highlight what the Mustangs are expecting in 2026:

➜ The roster is … small, but experienced. The Mustangs have about 30 players on their roster, with a majority of those players coming from Lexington. But Wiltz is back to lead the charge at quarterback, with McCue, Dalton Porter and Dominic Brown set to protect him. Sophomore Tyson Hari offers speed at running back — he was an IESA long jump champion as an eighth-grader — and will be joined by Holden Ketelsen in the backfield. Brown will also anchor the Mustangs' defensive line, with an athletic group of linebackers set to line up behind him.

"Linebacker has got really probably the tallest linebacker corps, maybe, in the state," Barnes said. "We've got Cam and Micah, which is going to be awesome. Then Ayden Weber started for us last year and had a really good year. Carter Ludwig, started in the playoff game for us and was phenomenal. We're all 6-foot-2 and taller."

➜ The offense will be … Speedy, thanks to Hari, who will be tasked with replacing another athletic and quick Ridgeview athlete in Zane Hoffman. Hoffman, an All-State hurdler in track and field, rushed for almost 1,000 yards last season as a junior, but isn't planning on playing football this season. Wide receiver is a position that the Mustangs will learn more about as the season progresses, but Wiltz gives the Mustangs stability after starting in 2025.

"He drives our motivation," McCue said. "I feel like when practices are running low on energy, he helps get people going and just making sure people are sound with what they're doing and putting all the effort in that they can to each play."

Wiltz is also left-handed, a relative rarity for quarterbacks.

"We have a good quarterback coach, Drew Barth, who played at Eureka College," Barnes said. "He's been a huge help for us the last couple of years."

➜ What might help the Mustangs is … A fifth home game, plus the opportunity to celebrate separate homecomings at Ridgeview and Lexington.

"If it's like a four-game season, it's always two and two, and then they try to do homecoming at Ridgeview," Barnes said. "Clinton in Week 4 was supposed to be our homecoming, that's going to be Ridgeview's homecoming, and then we play Warrensburg-Latham the next week, and that'll be Lexington's homecoming. So, it kind of worked out well for this year."

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