The Sacred Acre

by Mark Tabb

  1997: Brad Arends, Bryan Blair, Carl Brouwer, Jesse Buck, Justin Buck, Taylor Buss, Ben Cutler, Brandon Cutler, Dusty DeVries, Derek Dietrich, Anthony Dix, Ross Dix, Zach Eggers, Chris Grandon, Kyle Grandon, Ashley Graves, Trent Hackman, Gregg Hinders, Klay Hoppenworth, Paul Hubbard, Jon Jacobson, Ryan Junker, Jacob Kafka, Aaron Kampman, James Kennedy, Jake Kerns, Kirk Klooster, Brent Kolder, Jason Kramer, Mitch Kurtz, Josh LaVelle, Nick Lovrien, Brian Madsen, Jeremy Madsen, Justin Mehmen, Zach Meyer, Jonny Miller, Dustin Mlenar, James Muller, Steve Nielsen, Chris Patterson, Craig Peters, Andy Pollock, Jeff Ridder, Silas Schipper, Gary Schnell, Landon Schrage, Ryan Schrage, Scott Schrage, Aaron Simon, Matt Stockdale, J.T. Strang, Josh Strang, Steve Temple, Todd Thomas, Luke Thompson, Adam Tjeerdsma, Brett Tjeerdsma, Cory Troyna, Cody Ubben, Brandon Uhlenhopp, Trent Vanlengen, Kyle Weber, Kurt Wessels, John Wilmer.

  1998: Brad Becker, Dan Blevins, Carl Brouwer, Jesse Buck, Taylor Buss, Brandon Cutler, Jay DeVries, Derek Dietrich, Anthony Dix, Ross Dix, Kyle Grandon, Ashley Graves, Mark Harken, Klay Hoppenworth, Paul Hubbard, Dale Huisinga, Jon Jacobson, Arend Johnson, Nolan Junker, Jacob Kafka, James Kennedy, Jake Kerns, Luke Klahsen, Kirk Klooster, Thomas Kresse, Mitch Kurtz, Josh LaVelle, Jon Manifold, Joel Marks, Travis Meester, Justin Mehmen, Zach Meyer, Jonny Miller, Brett Mlenar, Dustin Mlenar, Brett Morris, Matt Morris, Steve Nielsen, Aaron Noble, Brian Noble, Chris Patterson, Wes Patterson, Craig Peters, Alex Pollock, Andy Pollock, Derrick Rogers, Dustin Schell, Mark Schipper, Silas Schipper, Landon Schrage, Ryan Schrage, Scott Schrage, Aaron Simon, Josh Strang, J.T. Strang, Steve Temple, Todd Thomas, Luke Thompson, Adam Tjeerdsma, Cody Ubben, Brandon Uhlenhopp, Trent Vanlengen, Kyle Weber, Dallas Wessels, Kurt Wessels.

  1999: Nick Beebe, Carl Brouwer, Brandon Cutler, Brandon Cuvelier, Jay DeVries, Anthony Dix, Ross Dix, Nick Doyle, Joe Edwards, Joey Foster, Christian Goldammer, Faron Good, Chad Grandon, Kyle Grandon, Jesse Hepler, Kade Hoppenworth, Klay Hoppenworth, Paul Hubbard, Dale Huisinga, Quentin Huisman, Jon Jacobson, Arend Johnson, Casey Jones, Jacob Kafka, Erik Kalkwarf, Curt Kampman, James Kennedy, Luke Klahsen, Kent Klooster, Nick Koenen, Mitch Kurtz, Joel Marks, Josh McConnell, Nate McCracken, Zach Meyer, Jonny Miller, Brett Mlenar, Dustin Mlenar, Brett Morris, Matt Morris, Steve Nielsen, Aaron Noble, Brian Noble, Chris Patterson, Wes Patterson, Craig Peters, Alex Pollock, Joel Reints, Kendrick Renken, Derrick Rogers, Dustin Schell, Mark Schipper, Landon Schrage, Taylor Schrage, Chris Sents, Aaron Simon, Josh Strang, J.T. Strang, Andrew Tenney, Luke Thompson, Brynn Thorne, Adam Tjeerdsma, Scott Tjeerdsma, Ryan Troyna, Cody Ubben, Nick Walters, Dallas Wessels, Kurt Wessels, Dustin Wygle.

  2000: Zach Anderson, Mark Becker, Riley Brocka, Carl Brouwer, Shannon Cox, Jay DeVries, Anthony Dix, Casey Dix, Nick Doyle, Joe Edwards, Joe Eggers, Martin Ennor, Rich Fisher, Mark Freed, Chad Grandon, Matt Harken, Jay Harkless, Jesse Hepler, Kade Hoppenworth, Klay Hoppenworth, Paul Hubbard, Quentin Huisman, Jon Jacobson, Arend Johnson, Erik Kalkwarf, Mike Kalkwarf, Curt Kampman, Austin Kannegieter, Jake Klahsen, Luke Klahsen, Kent Klooster, Greg Koenen, Nick Koenen, Mitch Kurtz, Adam Limburg, Joel Marks, Keith McClatchey, Zach Meyer, Jonny Miller, Matt Morris, Aaron Noble, Wes Patterson, Alex Pollock, Grant Pollock, Joel Reints, Kendrick Renken, Derrick Rogers, Dustin Rogers, Clint Schipper, Mark Schipper, Ryan Schnell, Landon Schrage, Taylor Schrage, Aaron Simon, Kyle Simon, Cole Spree, Josh Strang, Luke Thompson, Brynn Thorne, Scott Tjeerdsma, Ryan Troyna, Nick Walters, Dallas Wessels, Kurt Wessels, Levi Whitmire, Caleb Wiegmann, Derrick Wygle, Dustin Wygle.

  2001: Zach Anderson, Mark Becker, Riley Brocka, Zach Church, Brandon Ciavarelli, Justin Cordes, Shannon Cox, Jay DeVries, Casey Dix, Nick Doyle, Joe Edwards, Joe Eggers, Rich Fisher, Jason Freeseman, Vince Gisch, Chad Grandon, Jordan Green, Matt Harken, Jay Harkless, Kyle Harms, Blake Harris, Kade Hoppenworth, Brandon Huisman, Quentin Huisman, Andy Jacobson, Randy Kafka, Erik Kalkwarf, Mike Kalkwarf, Curt Kampman, Austin Kannegieter, Jake Klahsen, Luke Klahsen, Kent Klooster, Greg Koenen, Nick Koenen, Casey Kyhl, Adam Limburg, Linus Lindh, Joel Marks, Keith McClatchey, Matt Morris, Enoch Ng, Aaron Noble, Mark Noble, Eric Ooms, Brandon Patterson, Wes Patterson, Alex Pollock, Grant Pollock, Joel Reints, Kendrick Renken, Derrick Rogers, Dustin Rogers, Clint Schipper, Mark Schipper, Brandon Schrage, Taylor Schrage, Kyle Simon, Cole Spree, David Thompson, Brynn Thorne, Scott Tjeerdsma, Ryan Troyna, Curtis Tyler, Nick Walters, Dallas Wessels, Levi Whitmire, Caleb Wiegmann, Derrick Wygle, Dustin Wygle.

  2002: Adam Aalderks, Jon Abkes, Jacob Allspach, Zach Anderson, Mark Becker, Dave Bellows, Riley Brocka, Braden Claassen, Justin Cordes, Shannon Cox, Casey Dix, Nick Doyle, Joe Edwards, Joe Eggers, Kyle Everts, Rich Fisher, Jason Freeseman, Vince Gisch, Chad Grandon, Matt Harken, Jay Harkless, Kyle Harms, Blake Harris, Kade Hoppenworth, Andy Jacobson, Rick Johnson, Erik Kalkwarf, Mike Kalkwarf, Curt Kampman, Austin Kannegieter, Jake Klahsen, Kent Klooster, Greg Koenen, Nick Koenen, Tom Koenen, Casey Kyhl, Joey Larson, Adam Limburg, Keith McClatchey, Tyrus Meester, Caleb Meyer, Tyler Nevenhoven, Austin Niederhauser, Mark Noble, Schuylar Oordt, Brandon Patterson, Grant Pollock, Jordan Proctor, Joel Reints, Kendrick Renken, Dustin Rogers, Clint Schipper, Brandon Schrage, Taylor Schrage, Kyle Sharp, Kyle Simon, Kyle Spree, Nate Studnicka, Nick Tjeerdsma, Scott Tjeerdsma, Ryan Troyna, Curtis Tyler, Jesse Tyler, Clint Uhlnehopp, Nick Walters, Jon Wangler, Levi Whitmire, Caleb Wiegmann, Nate Woodley, Derrick Wygle.

  2003: Adam Aalderks, Jon Abkes, Jacob Allspach, Zach Anderson, Mark Becker, Dave Bellows, Riley Brocka, Evan Capper, Braden Claassen, Shannon Cox, Casey Dix, Ryan Downs, Joe Eggers, Jessie Farley, Rich Fisher, Jason Freeseman, Tommy Gisch, Vince Gisch, Colin Groeneveld, Matt Harken, Creed Harkless, Kyle Harms, Blake Harris, Andy Jacobson, Ethan Johnson, Rick Johnson, Craig Junker, Austin Kannegieter, Jake Klahsen, Greg Koenen, Justin Koenen, Tom Koenen, Joey Larson, Adam Limburg, Keith McClatchey, Will McCord, Bo Meester, Tyrus Meester, Caleb Meyer, Tyler Nevenhoven, Jesse Nitcher, Eric Ooms, Schuylar Oordt, Brandon Patterson, Justin Peters, Grant Pollock, Jordan Proctor, Nate Redman, Kyle Reisinger, Dustin Rogers, Clint Schipper, Michael Sharp, Kyle Simon, Kyle Slifer, Kyle Spree, Nate Studnicka, Michael Taylor, Nick Tjeerdsma, Curtis Tyler, Jesse Tyler, Clint Uhlnehopp, Levi Whitmire, Caleb Wiegmann, Nate Woodley, Derrick Wygle.

  2004: Adam Aalderks, Jon Abkes, Matt Adelmund, Jacob Allspach, Aaron Anderson, Evan Capper, Branden Claassen, Justin Cordes, Sam DeBoer, Jessie Farley, Jason Freeseman, Tommy Gisch, Vince Gisch, Chris Grill, Ben Groen, Colin Groeneveld, Creed Harkless, Blake Harris, Josh Harris, John Hubbard, Andy Jacobson, Drew Johnson, Ethan Johnson, Rick Johnson, Justin Koenen, Tom Koenen, Shawn Krusey, Joey Larson, Kim Little, John Luhring, Bo Meester, Tyrus Meester, Caleb Meyer, Tyler Nevenhoven, Jesse Nitcher, Greg Noble, Jeremy Ohrt, Eric Ooms, Brandon Patterson, Jonah Patterson, Craig Peters, Justin Peters, Jordan Proctor, Brennan Pruisner, Tyler Reams, Kyle Reisinger, Scott Schipper, Michael Sharp, Michael Siems, John Simon, Kyle Spree, Nate Studnicka, Michael Taylor, Nick Tjeerdsma, Curtis Tyler, Grant Ubben, Cody Vry, Stephen Walters, Jared Wildeboer, Nate Woodley, Jordan Young.

  2005: Adam Aalderks, Alex Abbas, Jon Abkes, Matt Adelmund, Jacob Allspach, Billy Aukes, Sean Bellows, Zach Bradseth, Evan Capper, Jordan Choate, Branden Claassen, Justin Cordes, Sam DeBoer, Shawn Doyle, Ben Dunegan, Jessie Farley, John Gisch, Tommy Gisch, Chris Grill, James Grill, Colin Groeneveld, Creed Harkless, Josh Harris, John Hubbard, Drew Johnson, Ethan Johnson, Rick Johnson, Craig Junker, Justin Koenen, Tom Koenen, Shawn Krusey, Kyle Kwilasz, Joey Larson, Kim Little, Pat Little, Brendon Luhring, Bo Meester, Tyrus Meester, Caleb Meyer, Tyler Nevenhoven, Jesse Nitcher, Greg Noble, Jeremy Ohrt, Jonah Patterson, Justin Peters, Christian Price, Jordan Proctor, Brennan Pruisner, Kyle Reisinger, Justin Ridder, Scott Schipper, Michael Sharp, John Simon, Klayton Sprole, Nate Studnicka, Michael Taylor, Colin Tenney, Alec Thompson, Nick Tjeerdsma, Grant Ubben, Riley Ubben, Stephen Walters, Jared Wildeboer, Nate Woodley, Jordan Young, Adam Zuck.

  2006: Alex Abbas, Travis Abbas, Matt Adelmund, Billy Aukes, Scott Becker, Ryan Bixby, Jim Brouwer, Evan Capper, Jordan Choate, Jimmy Clark, Sam DeBoer, Tony
DeGroote, Ryan Downs, Shawn Doyle, Ben Dunegan, Andy Eggers, Jessie Farley, John Folkerts, John Gisch, Chris Grill, James Grill, Colin Groeneveld, Evan Grummitt, Matt Haege, Creed Harkless, Josh Harris, Alex Hornbuckle, John Hubbard, Jared Jansen, Drew Johnson, Ethan Johnson, Craig Junker, Justin Koenen, Alex Kreimeyer, Shawn Krusey, Kim Little, Pat Little, Brendon Luhring, John Luhring, Lane Luhring, Bryce McCauley, Alex McDaniel, Tommy Meeks, Bo Meester, Ethan Miller, Jesse Nitcher, Greg Noble, Jeremy Ohrt, Justin Peters, Christian Price, Justin Ridder, Scott Schipper, Michael Sharp, John Simon, Jordan Simon, Scott Sivola, Reece Spree, Klayton Sprole, Damion Stohr, Michael Taylor, Colin Tenney, Alec Thompson, Stanley Tuve, Grant Ubben, Riley Ubben, Ethan Ulfers, Dave Vinton, Cody Vry, Stephen Walters, Justin Weekley, Coy Wiegmann, Michael Wiegmann, Jared Wildeboer, Jordan Young, Adam Zuck.

  2007: Alex Abbas, Matt Adelmund, Mirlind Alimi, Billy Aukes, Tyler Aukes, Scott Becker, Dylan Bellows, Ryan Bixby, Colton Brouwer, Travis Brouwer, Jordan Choate, Zach Choate, Jimmy Clark, Sam Cordes, Sam DeBoer, Josh DeBower, Tony DeGroote, Michael Eastman, Andy Eggers, Jacob Everts, Chris Grill, James Grill, Austin Groeneveld, Evan Grummitt, Matt Haege, Alex Hornbuckle, John Hubbard, Drew Johnson, Alex Kreimeyer, Shawn Krusey, Pat Little, Brendon Luhring, Josh Marsh, Bryce McCauley, Joey McCracken, Alex McDaniel, Connor McDaniel, Tommy Meeks, Jacob Meester, Ethan Miller, Brett Mulder, Derek Niedert, Greg Noble, Christian Palacious, Jonah Patterson, Christian Price, Justin Ridder, Austin Ryan, Scott Schipper, Oliver Schmitz, Justin Schwark, John Simon, Jordan Simon, Scott Sivola, Damion Stohr, Colin Tenney, Alec Thompson, Sam Thompson, Zach Toben, Stanley Tuve, Riley Ubben, Ethan Ulfers, Justin Weekley, Jamey Wells, Coy Wiegmann, Michael Wiegmann, Chase Wildeboer, Jared Wildeboer, Jarod Woodley, Jordan Young.

  2008: Alex Abbas, Billy Aukes, Tyler Aukes, Scott Becker, Dylan Bellows, Ryan Bixby, Colton Brouwer, Justin Bruce, Jordan Choate, Zach Choate, Jimmy Clark, Spencer Cooper, Jack Cordes, Sam Cordes, Alex Custshall, Josh DeBower, Michael Eastman, Andy Eggers, Jacob Everts, Abraham Folkerts, Stephen Graham, James Grill, Jason Grill, Austin Groeneveld, Evan Grummitt, Curry Hoff, Alex Hornbuckle, Robert Janssen, Kyle Kampman, Alex Kreimeyer, Cole Lindaman, Pat Little, Brendon Luhring, Travis Luze, Kyle Maitland, Josh Marsh, Jose Marshall, Bryce McCauley, Dayton McCauley, Joey McCracken, Alex McDaniel, Connor McDaniel, Ethan Miller, Brett Mulder, Shelton Nevenhoven, Shason Niedert, Gabe Nolte, Kyle Ooms, Christian Price, Justin Ridder, Austin Ryan, Oliver Schmitz, Justin Schwark, Brandon Simkins, Jordan Simon, Scott Sivola, Travis Slifer, Brandon Stohr, Damion Stohr, Cory Taylor, Colin Tenney, Alec Thompson, Sam Thompson, Zach Toben, Stanley Tuve, Joe Tyler, Riley Ubben, Ethan Ulfers, Jamey Wells, Matthew Wicks, Coy Wiegmann, Michael Wiegmann, Chase Wildeboer, Jarod Woodley.

  APPENDIX 2

  COACHES

  THE FOLLOWING IS A LIST OF THE COACHES WHO GOT THEIR start with Ed Thomas.

  Northeast Hamilton Trojans Assistants

  Ted Bieth, Mark Vermeer.

  Parkersburg Crusaders Assistants

  Brian Benning, Chuck Block, Brian Cassady, Bruce Crane, Eric Griffith, Steve Hester, Al Kerns, Art Oordt, Keith Schrage, Dale Stearns, Scott Striegel, Brett Thorne, Scott Wagner, Jon Wiegmann.

  Aplington-Parkersburg Falcons Assistants

  Todd Carr, Casey Christensen, Tim Cuvelier, Justin Davies, Dusty DeVries, Jay DeVries, Clint Dohlman, Greg Fisher, Travis Foster, Cory Groeneveld, Jason Halverson, Ryan Halverson, Mark Haren, Scott Heitland, Steve Hester, Mark Hubbard, Levi Hunerdosse, Michael Irvin, Matt Jacobson, Brad Jones, Jeff Juhl, Al Kerns, Jason Key, Matt Kingsbury, Brad Knight, Brett Kramer, Dustin Larson, Justin Manifold, Dave McGill, Pat Rowan, Bernie Sohm, Todd Thomas, Cody Ubben, Milt Ulfers, Heath Walton, Jon Wiegmann, Kelly Williamson.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  FOR COACH THOMAS, EVERY GAME WAS ALWAYS ABOUT THE team. “The only way we win is for us all to work together,” he preached. Although I never played for Coach Thomas, his words echoed in my ears as I worked on this book. It was truly a team effort.

  First and foremost, I would like to thank Jan, Aaron, and Todd for entrusting Ed’s story to me. You shared so much of him with me that I feel like I knew him. I appreciate your opening your lives up in such a personal way during our interviews, as well as your patience with me as I flooded your in-boxes with questions day after day. No one should ever have to live through the nightmare the three of you endured, yet you did so with such grace and forgiveness that through you an act of evil has become a force for good. Thank you for allowing me to play a small role in spreading this message. Thank you as well to Ellie and Candice for sharing your experiences with me through Tony Wilson for this book.

  Speaking of Tony, this book would never have happened without you. Thank you for taking the lead in finding a way to tell Coach Thomas’s story. I appreciate your choosing me as the writer for the book, as well as the way in which you gladly took on the role of my “research assistant.” The stack of DVDs you gave me of Ed’s speeches and the team videos and news coverage of both Parkersburg tragedies were vital to telling this story. I also appreciate all of the interviews you conducted and your constant encouragement during the writing process.

  A special word of thanks to Ed’s sisters, Susan Reynolds, Connie Flaherty, Teresa Morrison, and his brother, Greg, for taking time to share with me stories of life in the Thomas household when Ed was a child. I cannot fathom the hurt the four of you carry from the loss of your brother. Thank you for helping me understand who he truly was.

  The stories within this book came from hours of interviews with Ed’s family, friends, players, and the people of Parkersburg, Iowa. Thank you to Chris Luhring, who gave me many of the stories in chapters 3, 16, and 17. Chris also provided insight into the long and difficult road to passing the Ed Thomas Bill. Ron Westerman told me invaluable stories about the cleanup and rebuilding of the football field. Thank you, Ron, for making time for me on Thanksgiving weekend. Thank you to school superintendent Jon Thompson and high school principal Dave Meyers, who contributed stories about the rebuilding process. The 2008 A-P Falcon players Coy Wiegmann, Alec Thompson, and Michael Wiegmann showed me the summer of rebuilding from the team’s perspective and made Coach’s final season come alive to me. Thank you, guys, for answering my random texts and e-mails in such a timely manner. Former Falcon Rusty Eddy gave me insight into the character of Coach and the impact he had on his players in a very personal way. Thank you, Rusty, for sharing your story with me through Tony Wilson. Thank you as well to Aaron Kampman, Casey Wiegmann, Brad Meester, and Jared DeVries for sharing your experiences with Coach Thomas. Coach Tom Wilson shared the stories about his friend that became chapter 7; while Coach Scott Heitland’s stories of Ed’s last day became chapter 15. Thank you to both men. I also deeply appreciate Tom Teeple and his wife, Sue, for eagerly opening up and sharing so many stories about Ed. Although I did not use most of these, you helped me come to know Ed. The two of you knew him longer than anyone outside of his family. And thank you to Dave and Joan Becker for sharing their stories about Coach.

  Others who were interviewed for this book and the film project by the same name include Pastor Ron Barlett, Scott Becker, Neil and Staci Brumgaard, Rick Coleman, Tim and Shelli Cuvelier, Reid Forgrave, Virgil Goodrich, Jim and Grace Graves, Mark Hubbard, Stub Huisman, Dennis Ihde, Jeff Jacobson, Everett Jansen, Al and Deb Kerns, Orlyn and Wendy Marks, Daryl Myers, Emma Peterson, Mary Rice, Tim and Kim Schnell, Craig Schrage, Jon Wiegmann, Kelly Williamson, and Pastor Brad Zinnecker.

  As with any team, some of the most vital members work behind the scenes. Thank you, Lee Hough, for all you do. We make a great team. I thank God for you. I also want to thank my transcriptionist extraordinaire, Sarah Tabb. Thank you as well to the team at Zondervan. Finally, thank you to the best editor in the world, Liz Heaney.

  ZONDERVAN

  The Sacred Acre

  Copyright © 2011 by Parkersburg Productions, LLC

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the re
quired fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Zondervan.

  EPub Edition © July 2011 ISBN: 978-0-310-33220-6

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  * * *

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Tabb, Mark A.

  The sacred acre : the Ed Thomas story / Mark Tabb with the Ed Thomas family.

  p. cm.

  ISBN 978-0-310-33219-0 (hardcover)

  1. Thomas, Ed, 1950-2009. 2. Christian biography — Iowa — Parkersburg. 3. Murder

  victims — Iowa — Parkersburg — Biography. 4. Football coaches — Iowa — Parkersburg —