Generational connection: Southland's Wiste sets passing record formerly held by his offensive coordinator's brother

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Sep. 28— ADAMS — Every once in a while, Southland offensive coordinator Cory Nagele still hears the question.

Why don't you guys run the wishbone?

Cory's obvious answer is that the Rebel football team doesn't have a lot of 300-pound linemen like they used to, but another reason is that Southland has found a way to develop an effective passing attack.

It started with Cory's older brother Adam, a 2003 grad, who held the Southland career passing yards record (3,600 yards) and it continues with current Southland senior quarterback Henry Wiste, who recently eclipsed Adam's passing record in a Homecoming win over Saint James on Friday.

A six-year process

When Cory, a 1997 Southland grad, first started coaching Southland's current seniors in seventh grade, he gave his brother Adam a call.

There was an athletically gifted quarterback who had the chance to make a run at Adam's passing record and it was only a matter of time and hard work by Wiste before the baton would be passed.

When Wiste finally broke that record on Friday, Adam made sure he was in attendance.

"I lived in the cities (when Wiste was in middle school) and my brother would always give me crap, saying he had a quarterback who could catch me," Adam said. "When Henry was a sophomore, I moved back to the area and I saw him play. I saw that he had a lot of similarities to me, and I just knew that it was only a matter of time before he did it. (Playing quarterback) is a lot of stress, it can be a lot of pressure, but it can also be really rewarding. I wanted to make sure I was there (on Friday) to show my support, because I understand how it is, and I'm rooting for him."

Cory said that Wiste's improvements have gone well beyond the simple ability of throwing the ball on target. Wiste has learned to thrive under pressure, while also taking command of the offense, often redirecting teammates and making observations about opposing defenses.

"If someone's not in the right position, he's not afraid to yell at them and get them in the right position," Cory said. "We have the wristband, but we don't always use it, because he's telling me what he sees and we evolve what we're doing based on what Henry sees."

Wiste said it meant a lot for him to have Adam in the crowd for the Homecoming game on Friday. Being honored by a former Rebel record holder is just another step in the maturation of Wiste, who is much more comfortable with the offense this season.

"When I was younger, it was nerve racking learning the offense," Wiste said. "Now I'm calm and everything just feels natural to me."

Dual threat

When Adam took over as the Southland quarterback, he would be the final signal caller to play for Hall of Fame head coach Dick Strand, who won over 194 games at Southland, while leading the Rebels to their only state championship in 1983. Adam said the team was run orientated when he arrived, but soon it was clear the Rebels would have to throw a little more.

"We didn't have a lot of shotgun sets like they do now, but there were a lot of roll outs and I was able to run as well," Adam said.

Wiste's skill set is similar to Adam's as he is capable of running and throwing, and even throwing on the run. Southland senior offensive lineman Cam Forthun said that it's fun to block for his quarterback, especially when Wiste gets downfield and starts stiff-arming would-be tacklers.

"You don't really know when he's going to run or pass it, but it's real fun when he runs it," Forthun said. "He'll break a couple of tackles and he'll go straight to the goal line."

When Adam watches Wiste play, he sees a quarterback who presents a lot of matchup problems for defenses.

"I don't even know how teams can stop him," Adam said. "He's so big, and he can run and throw well. His receivers are so fast, and because they're good at basketball and they can jump up and go get it. I see them playing at a high level."

Cory said that Wiste's passing stats are actually an effect of the last two seasons when the Rebels didn't have much of a running game, meaning they had to rely on a lot of downfield throws. Now, with an improved rushing attack, Southland passes when it wants to, not when it has to.

"Since our running game has been so effective this year, it's kind of nice when everybody comes up, and Henry can kind of do his thing," Cory said. "He knows the offense and when we get into what we call 'warp speed' is when he gets going."

Team above all

While Wiste and his Rebel teammates love playing football, they don't play for things like stats or records. Instead, they're focused on improving every day as they hope to make a run at the state tournament, which would be the team's first since 1983. It would be a big step for a program that was playing nine-man football two years ago, but it's something that seems possible for the Rebels (4-1 overall), who have always helped each other along.

"We're building and setting the bar higher and higher every day. We're being the best we can and getting better," Wiste said. "I couldn't do this without the coaches, wide receivers or offensive line. If I didn't have any teammates, I wouldn't be where I was. We all have each other's back when it comes down to anything. We're all really good friends and we have a lot of fun playing football."

Cory said that he's never seen a group as unselfish as the current Rebel squad, and it even trickles down to how the upperclassmen treat the freshmen on the team.

"They are all about the team. It's not about stats at all. Cael (Smith) told me on Friday that all of our stats are basically even and that's awesome," Cory said. "Kids nowadays don't usually talk like that because it's all about highlights and stats. That's just the way our team is. Beau Sathre is one of the best players in the conference and he doesn't have a touchdown and he doesn't care. That's how it is."

Since a lot of them have played multiple sports together for as long as they can remember, the Rebels are usually on the same page when in the middle of a competition.

"I feel like we've grown as people and players. We've worked with each other and learned how we can work together as a team," Forthun said. "It's awesome. Being part of a history, it's not our name on the (passing) record, but we know that we're part of it. Henry will always know that we helped him out."

As the Rebels look to finish their season strong, they'll not only have Wiste to lead them, they'll have each other.

"This is probably the best spirit I've seen in my four years playing for Southland," said senior Beau Sathre.

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