Thanksgiving is a time to reflect for many, and that’s what the players on the Greene County High School football team did when they voted senior Cody Allen as the 2023 Landon Martin MVP of the team. The award is named after the Greene County student who lost his battle with cancer as a 12-year old and many of his classmates now are on the football team.

Allen was an All-District player as a junior for Greene County and all signs pointed to an outstanding senior campaign, not only for him, but for the team. Late in game three vs. Atlantic, a one-sided Greene County victory, Allen’s knee ligaments went in a direction they weren’t intended, and his season and high school career came to an abrupt end. Surgery followed and he’s working to return to athletics with the soccer season in March. as a goal.

While not common for a team MVP to play in just three games, Allen’s impact on his teammates was so meaningful, they understood what they had with him, and what they had missed without him. The Rams won the following week after the injury against a 1-7 Saydel (Des Moines) team, then lost their last four games to finish 1-4 in Class 2A District 8 and 3-5 overall.