Bill Kibby was the head coach and Tom Powers the running backs and defensive backs coach for Jefferson-Scranton/Paton-Churdan’s football program for many years. Kibby spent 49 years as a football coach and Powers put in more than 35, mostly at the high school level. The two were asked to comment about Brent Mac Lagan, the 1995 Jefferson-Scranton High School graduate, who was one of six former Iowa high school players inducted Friday night into the Iowa High School Athletic Association Football Players Hall of Fame. The ceremony took place inside the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls at halftime of the Class 4A State Championship game.

Kibby said, “Brent was a tremendous athlete for us. He made the Elite All-State team as a senior, was a track star, and really was just a great all-around athlete. This is a great honor for him, the school, communities, and the football program.” Mac Lagan is the first player Kibby coached to receive the Hall of Fame honor.

Powers relays a story from Mac Lagan’s playing days. “During the freshman game, we (the varsity  players and coaches) were walking out to watch that game and a couple players from the other team commented, ‘That’s their stud?’ Brent kind of turned to me and I told him to just do his talking on the field. That night he went off for more than 400 all-purpose yards including 288 rushing, and ran both a punt and kickoff back for touchdowns. He did his talking on the field and that’s just the way he was. He was never cocky about it. He was about as quiet and unassuming type of kid you’d ever coach, but one of the best!”

Mac Lagan played on teams that won seven games in 1992, seven in ’93, and seven in ’94, and the team his senior year upset highly rated Boone and ADM to advance to the Class 3A playoffs. The losses were to traditional powers Harlan and Webster City during the regular season, and at Washington High in Cherokee in the playoffs.

A four-sport athlete in high school, Mac Lagan chose track and field in college, where he earned multiple all-conference honors in the Missouri Valley Conference while competing for the University of Northern Iowa. He resides in Coralville with his wife, son, and daughter.