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Dog House Player of the Week Nominees

🐾 DOG HOUSE TRI-STATE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: THE NOMINEES ARE IN!

NOTE: VOTING WILL BE COMPLETED ON THE DOG POUND RADIO FACEBOOK PAGE: https://www.facebook.com/dogpoundradio

I WOULD LOVE FOR OUR DOG HOUSE COMMUNITIES TO SEND ME PHOTOS AND STORIES OF OUR GUYS. I WANT TO SHARE AND GIVE THEM AS MUCH EXPOSURE AS POSSIBLE. OTHER SCHOOLS OUTSIDE OF THE DOG HOUSE ARE ALSO MORE THAN WELCOME. I FEEL AS IF THIS IS MY PATH GOD HAS PUT ME ON: SHARE OUR COMMUNITIES WITH THE WORLD.

By Chuck Banks | Coaching Culture in Athletics – Dog House Tour
August 29, 2026

Another Friday night is in the books, and once again the Dog House Tour saw some outstanding performances across Southeast Iowa and West-Central Illinois.

This week’s Dog House Tri-State Player of the Week field is loaded.

We’ve got quarterbacks putting up big numbers, running backs taking over games, and two-way athletes making their presence felt on both sides of the football.

Winning matters, but this award is also about recognizing individual performances. Sometimes a player puts together a special night even when his team doesn’t get the result it wanted.

Here are your nominees.

🐾 MOSES THACHER — FORT MADISON BLOODHOUNDS

15 Carries | 185 Yards | 3 Touchdowns

Fort Madison rolled past Burlington 50-18, and Moses Thacher was right in the middle of the Bloodhounds’ offensive explosion.

Thacher carried the football 15 times for 185 yards and three touchdowns, averaging more than 12 yards every time he touched the football.

Power. Speed. Physicality.

Moses was already selected as the Dog House Player of the Game, and now he’s in the running for the weekly honor.

🐾 MAKOA KALEPONI — CENTERVILLE BIG REDS

15 Carries | 152 Yards | 3 Touchdowns

Centerville went on the road and took care of business with a 40-7 victory over Knoxville.

Makoa Kaleponi was the hammer.

He rushed 15 times for 152 yards and three touchdowns, averaging better than 10 yards per carry.

Three touchdowns on 15 carries?

That’ll get you into the Dog House.

🐾 BRETT COOK — CENTRAL LEE HAWKS

201 Passing Yards | 87 Rushing Yards | 3 Total TD | 8 Tackles | 1 TFL

This may have been the most complete individual performance of the week.

Brett Cook helped lead Central Lee to a 38-12 victory over Van Buren County, and the senior quarterback did just about everything.

Cook completed 8 of 14 passes for 201 yards and a touchdown. He added 87 yards and two touchdowns on 18 rushing attempts.

Then he went over to defense.

Eight tackles and a tackle for loss.

That’s 288 yards of total offense, three touchdowns and eight tackles.

Quarterback. Runner. Defender.

That’s a football player.

🐾 GRAYSON WALKER — MOUNT PLEASANT PANTHERS

14-of-16 Passing | 196 Yards | 1 Touchdown

Mount Pleasant went into Mediapolis and came home with an impressive 23-7 road victory.

Senior quarterback Grayson Walker was incredibly efficient.

Walker completed 14 of his 16 passes for 196 yards and a touchdown.

That’s an 87.5% completion percentage.

The Panthers got balance from their offense and another strong performance from their defense, while Walker provided exactly what you want from a senior quarterback: accuracy, efficiency and leadership.

🐾 JAYDEN NANTHAN — WEST BURLINGTON/NOTRE DAME FALCONS

22 Carries | 182 Rushing Yards | 3 Receptions | 113 Receiving Yards | 2 TD

This is one heck of a stat line.

Jayden Nanthan was all over the field during WB-ND’s 47-25 victory over Danville.

Nanthan rushed 22 times for 182 yards and two touchdowns while adding three receptions for another 113 yards.

Do the math.

295 YARDS FROM SCRIMMAGE.

And when it was time to close the door, the Falcons put the football right back in Nanthan’s hands.

He carried five times for 51 yards on WB-ND’s final possession, helping the Falcons run out the clock.

That’s not just putting up numbers.

That’s finishing a football game.

🐾 WADE GOODING — WEST HANCOCK TITANS

21-of-32 Passing | 293 Yards | 3 Touchdowns

Don’t let the final score take away from the night West Hancock quarterback Wade Gooding had against South Fulton.

Gooding completed 21 of 32 passes for 293 yards and three touchdowns, completing 65.6% of his attempts.

West Hancock put 38 points on the scoreboard, and Gooding kept the Titans battling throughout the night.

Nearly 300 yards and three touchdowns through the air earns you a spot on this list.

🐾 JACK SEFTON — BROWN COUNTY HORNETS

Brown County football has built its identity around being physical, disciplined and tough.

Jack Sefton fits that mold.

Sefton is a two-way football player who can make his presence felt in multiple areas of the game, and once again he showed why he’s becoming one of the names to know on this Brown County roster.

The Hornets have plenty of weapons, but Sefton’s physical style of play earns him a spot among this week’s Dog House nominees.

🐾 DRAKE MAY — MACOMB BOMBERS

And then there’s Drake “DAWG” May.

If you’ve followed the Dog House Tour, you already know this name.

May brings it at running back.

He brings it at linebacker.

And most importantly, he brings the kind of physical mentality that has helped make Macomb one of the teams to watch on the Illinois side of the Dog House.

He’s a two-way tone-setter, and Drake May is once again in the Player of the Week conversation.

🏆 THE EIGHT NOMINEES

Fort Madison — Moses Thacher
Centerville — Makoa Kaleponi
Central Lee — Brett Cook
Mount Pleasant — Grayson Walker
West Burlington/Notre Dame — Jayden Nanthan
West Hancock — Wade Gooding
Brown County — Jack Sefton
Macomb — Drake May

Eight programs.

Eight outstanding athletes.

Two states.

One Tri-State Dog House.

ONE DOG HOUSE PLAYER OF THE WEEK.

These young men did their part underneath the Friday night lights.

Now it’s your turn.

🐾 WHO’S YOUR PICK?

Follow the Dog House Tour for Player of the Week voting and the announcement of this week’s winner.

Coaching Culture in Athletics — Dog House Tour
Independent Tri-State high school sports coverage.

#DogHouseTour | #DogHousePlayerOfTheWeek | #TriStateFootball | #FridayNightLights | #IowaHighSchoolFootball | #IllinoisHighSchoolFootball

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Published by cbanks1972

## Charles “Chuck” Banks ### Founder and Voice of Coaching Culture in Athletics Radio Broadcast Network Charles “Chuck” Banks—known to many throughout the tri-state sports community as Coach Banks or “Chuck the Tank”—is the founder and lead broadcaster of the Coaching Culture in Athletics Radio Broadcast Network. Built from more than two decades of coaching, teaching, leadership, and relationship-building, the network is dedicated to telling the stories of the coaches, athletes, schools, and communities that make local sports special. A native of rural Iowa, Banks has spent 20 years in education and more than 25 years coaching football. He earned his bachelor’s degree in History and Secondary Education from Graceland University in 2004 before completing a master’s degree in Secondary Education and Educational Administration and a specialist degree in Educational Leadership. Throughout his coaching career, Banks worked with programs across southeastern Iowa. His stops included Centerville, Central Lee, and Fort Madison, along with seven years coaching girls basketball and additional experience in junior-high track. At Central Lee, Banks served as an assistant defensive coach and activities director before becoming the Hawks’ head football coach from 2020 through 2022. Central Lee reached the playoffs during his final season. He was also part of multiple playoff teams and a district championship during his time with the program. At Centerville, Banks spent nine years as an assistant and helped the Big Reds capture a district championship and earn multiple playoff appearances. Most recently, he coached at Fort Madison under Head Coach Derek Doherty, helping develop younger players within the Bloodhound football program. Banks’ defensive coaching journey evolved from the traditional 5-2 defense to the 3-3-5 before he found his preferred home in the 4-2-5. However, his coaching philosophy has never been limited to schemes, formations, wins, or losses. He believes the greatest responsibility of a coach is to build relationships, develop leaders, create belonging, and prepare young people for life beyond the playing field. That belief became the foundation for Coaching Culture in Athletics. What began as an effort to create meaningful conversations about coaching and leadership grew into a full sports-media and broadcasting network. Coaching Culture in Athletics now serves as the umbrella for Dog Pound Radio, The Coach Show, the Dog House Tour, Dog Pound U, Hound Talk, the Dog House Saturday Morning Blitz, live game broadcasts, team previews, rankings, interviews, historical features, and year-round coverage of local athletics. Through the Dog House Tour, Banks visits practices, meets coaching staffs, interviews athletes, studies programs, and gives local teams the type of detailed coverage normally reserved for much larger schools. The network’s reach extends throughout southeastern Iowa, western Illinois, and northeastern Missouri, connecting communities across the tri-state region. Banks has covered and developed relationships with programs including Fort Madison, Central Lee, Centerville, West Burlington–Notre Dame, Mount Pleasant, Macomb, West Hancock, and Brown County. His work highlights more than star players and final scores. It recognizes assistant coaches, linemen, managers, scout-team players, school traditions, historic stadiums, longtime community supporters, and the people working behind the scenes. The Coach Show allows Banks to sit down with coaches from the high-school and college levels for honest conversations about leadership, program development, adversity, family, faith, and the profession of coaching. His interviews are guided by experience rather than observation alone. He understands the pressure of leading a program, the hours spent preparing, the sacrifices made by coaching families, and the responsibility that comes with mentoring young people. Dog Pound Radio brings a more energetic edge to the network. Inspired by Banks’ love for football and his beagles, Leo and Loki, Dog Pound Radio combines local sports reporting with the unmistakable “Dawg Mentality”—toughness, loyalty, preparation, perseverance, and love for the team. Loki continues to serve as a central part of the brand, while the memory of Leo remains woven into its heart. Banks’ journey has also been shaped by significant personal adversity. After suffering multiple strokes, undergoing heart surgery, and facing additional serious health concerns, he stepped away from coaching and entered what he describes as medical retirement from the sideline. He also speaks openly about depression, adult ADHD, recovery, and the importance of faith, family, purpose, and mental health. Although his health changed the way he could serve, it did not take away his calling. Broadcasting became a new sideline. Through Coaching Culture in Athletics, Banks found another way to teach, coach, encourage, and advocate. His experiences have given his work a deeper sense of urgency: appreciate the people around you, tell their stories while you can, recognize the unseen contributors, and never underestimate the impact a coach can have on a young person’s life. Faith and family remain at the center of Banks’ life. He and his wife, Stephanie, have built a life rooted in southeastern Iowa and are the proud parents of Chelsey, Peyton, and Katarina. Their growing family includes son-in-law Donald Archambault and grandchildren Orion, Owen, and Ollie. Banks often credits his family for standing beside him through the demanding seasons of coaching, education, broadcasting, illness, and recovery. Today, Chuck Banks brings together the perspective of a coach, educator, broadcaster, historian, husband, father, grandfather, and survivor. His voice is passionate, direct, knowledgeable, and deeply connected to the communities he covers. The mission of the Coaching Culture in Athletics Radio Broadcast Network is simple: promote the positive impact of athletics, strengthen coaching culture, celebrate local communities, preserve sports history, and provide athletes and coaches with a platform where their work matters. This is more than a radio network. It is a celebration of coaches, culture, athletes, families, and communities. It is local sports coverage built on relationships. It is where coaches, culture, and communities connect. It is Coaching Culture in Athletics.

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