Waukee Northwest’s Mack Heitland Keeps Rolling as Wolves Eye 2026 Return to Title Hunt

Waukee, Iowa — The snapshot from Friday, Oct. 17, 2025, says it all: junior quarterback Mack Heitland tucking the football and turning upfield, another defender left in his wake. One season after guiding Waukee Northwest to the Class 5A semifinals, Heitland and the Wolves are already penciling in a repeat trip—this time with championship intentions.

The 2026 schedule, released this week, offers five home dates and four road tests, beginning with an immediate measuring-stick game against Ankeny. The Hawks remember last year’s 25-24 heart-breaker and arrive looking for payback. A week later, Valley visits fresh off its own semifinal run; Waukee Northwest edged the Tigers 27-24 in 2025 and expect another fourth-quarter dogfight.

After the early gauntlet, the Wolves catch a breather—at least on paper. Iowa City High and Cedar Rapids Prairie come to town, followed by road swings to Des Moines East and Ottumwa. In 2025, Northwest hung 45-plus on each of those four opponents and will hope to keep the scoreboard operators busy again.

The regular-season finale sets up storylines galore: Southeast Polk, owners of multiple recent 5A crowns, invades in late October, followed by an emotional regular-season ending against crosstown nemesis Waukee. The Wolves’ only 2025 regular-season blemish came at the hands of the Warriors, 31-28, so revenge will be served cold if the hosts have their way. Norwalk closes the slate, meaning Waukee Northwest won’t leave city limits for the final three games—a scheduling quirk coaches believe could pay dividends when playoff seeding arrives.

Heitland’s 2025 stat line borders on video-game numbers: 202-of-254 passing (79.5%) for 2,962 yards, 28 touchdowns, zero interceptions. When defenses dropped extra coverage, he burned them on the ground for 164 yards and four additional scores. With leading rusher Ryan Woodruff graduated, sophomore Paulo Tobongye—who averaged eight yards a carry and found the end zone eight times—steps into the backfield spotlight.

At receiver, the graduation of 1,013-yard threat Isaiah Oliver stings, but Jordon Green returns after a 68-catch, 1,189-yard, 14-touchdown breakout. Junior Joe Vinyard (40 receptions, 464 yards, 3 TDs) gives Heitland a reliable second option. On the other side of the ball, Eddie Kennedy, Ben Gallagher, Charlie Hemmer and Eli Eckerman headline a defense that generated 28 turnovers last fall, including 17 interceptions.

If the Wolves stay healthy and the defense maintains its takeaway pace, another deep November run feels less like hope and more like expectation. And if Oct. 17, 2025, was any indication, expect plenty more photos of Mack Heitland sprinting past would-be tacklers along the way.