Lane Gunderson and Harris-Lake Park football are inextricably linked.
He was a young spectator in the ‘70s and competed for the high school team in the ‘80s. He then watched as dwindling participation signaled the end of the HLP football program, eventually forcing a co-op with nearby Spirit Lake High School in the ’90s.
After returning to teach and coach at his alma mater, Gunderson’s dogged determination led the school district to field a junior varsity team in 1999. The following year, the Wolves competed in a full varsity schedule.
And the rest, as they say, is history.
Over the past 25 years, Gunderson has led the football program to 11 playoff appearances, four district championships, and a trip to the state championship game in 2016. Following the Wolves’ runner-up finish that year, he was named the Eight-Player Coach of the Year by the Iowa Football Coaches Association.
In typical fashion, the Wolves' head man credited his team and assistant coaches for the honor.
"When you get something from a bunch of guys you really respect, the guys voting for that from the Iowa Football Coaches Association, it's really nice, but it's like when one of our players wins an individual award — it's really just a reflection on the whole team," Gunderson said after receiving the award in April of 2017. "If we didn't have such good year, we wouldn't win any of those things. It all comes back to how hard the guys have worked to get where we are."
This past season, after coaching the Wolves to a fifth consecutive playoff appearance – and coming a last-second touchdown shy of a third consecutive district title — Gunderson decided to step down from the position he’s held since the turn of the century.
“I just thought that it was time,” Gunderson said about his decision. “Sometimes, I think, people need to hear a new voice a little bit and rejuvenate them a little bit so they get in there and do what they need to do. And it's always good to let other people have a chance to do that stuff too. It was just kind of one of those things.”
What kept him coming back all of these years?
“The kids,” he said. “The ones who put in the time and do what you ask of them. You’re so proud of those kids and you want them to do so well that it makes you really look forward to it. Up here (in northwest Iowa) it’s so tough to be successful, because all of the teams —no matter what class it is — are so incredibly good. For many, many years, we’ve always had some senior groups that might not be large in numbers, but there’s always been groups of kids that have listened to the message, have gotten in the weight room and have done what you’ve asked, and you feel obligated to them because it’s like a family. They’ve done the work that you’ve asked and you’re proud of them and you want to be part of it. I’ve always been proud of the guys and how hard they’ve played. I just always looked forward to those ballgames and being around the guys in practice and having the opportunity to go compete.”
A ‘SPORTS NERD’
As a young boy growing up in rural northwest Iowa, Gunderson said he became interested in sports out of necessity.
“Times were different back then. There wasn’t anything else to do when I was growing up,” he said. “We were lucky enough to have a yard big enough that we could go throw the football around, or shoot hoops, or throw the baseball, or whatever it was. So that’s all we did until we got yelled at that it was time to eat. I’m one of those people. I’m a sports nerd. That’s all I really know. I can learn a lot from other people, but that’s the only thing I know a little bit about. I just love it.”
Gunderson said he looked up to his high school coaches, and his admiration for them led him down a similar career path.
“Gary Richardson, who’s still helping us out to this day, was one of my coaches in high school,” he said. “I just appreciated his competitiveness and thought it would be a noble thing to get into. I think sports, especially football, teach you a lot of life lessons.”
After excelling as a multi-sport athlete in high school, Gunderson played basketball at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake. Upon graduating from BVU, he began his teaching and coaching career in Manson before moving back to Lake Park in the ‘90s.
At that point, his old high school could no longer field a varsity football team. Gunderson said the few Harris-Lake Park students who were interested in football competed for Spirit Lake High School.
“From all accounts that I ever got, Spirit Lake treated us very well and gave all of our guys a fair shake. If they deserved to play, they got to play,” he said. “Still, at that point I’m a young guy and we didn’t have any games on Friday nights in the fall, and that just didn’t seem right to me.”
REVIVING THE PROGRAM
At its lowest point, Gunderson said Harris-Lake Park only had a handful of athletes interested in playing high school football, and the school would send as few as one to three football players to compete for Spirit Lake each season.
In order to revive the program, Gunderson first needed to show the school board that there would be enough athletes to consistently field a team.
“It was going to be a huge financial commitment, so they had to know how many people were going to participate and we had to have so many kids make that commitment moving forward,” he said. “It was kind of a stressful time because, at the time, we had a good run going in basketball, so you didn’t want to start up a football program and get a couple of your star basketball players hurt. Looking back, I’m very thankful that a lot of those guys still played. Some of those guys put themselves on the line for us to have a chance to play football. Thanks to them, we got the numbers we needed for the administration and the school board to give us a chance. It was a lot of convincing, but I really think it’s been worth it.”
After convincing the district to invest in the football program, the Wolves fielded a junior varsity team in 1999 before fielding a varsity team in 2000.
Gunderson said the program took its share of lumps in those early years.
“It’s a challenge, there’s no doubt about it,” he said. “When you’re starting things out with a bunch of guys who possibly played in junior high, but had zero high school experience, you’re kind of starting from scratch. You don’t have that knowledge base. I was an assistant under some great coaches at Manson, but when the guys don’t have any baseline or anything to draw from like blocking angles or techniques like that, that was the hardest thing to begin with. You can train people to run pass routes and run a play, but unless you can get the linemen buying in and get those techniques down, the rest of it doesn’t matter. If you get dominated on the line, it doesn’t matter what kind of athletes you have around them. That was the hardest part, trying to teach those guys the correct angles and the correct assignments and all of the little things you have to do. It was definitely a challenge, but when you’re just starting out, you’re just so happy that you have it going. We took every small victory we could. We tried to build on them and keep getting better.”
BUILDING A POWERHOUSE
After several years of near misses, in 2007, the Wolves won their first-ever district championship and qualified for the playoffs for the first time since reviving the football program. They won seven games that season — earning the second-most wins in program history at the time — before falling 41-27 to Ar-We-Va in the playoffs in late October.
“That was huge,” Gunderson said. “We had some good teams before that who started the season really well and had some crushing injuries in 2004 and 2005. We were knocking on the door, but it seemed like things just couldn’t fall into place. That season, we were able to stay somewhat healthy and found a way to get into the playoffs. That really helped us moving forward, because the team we played in the playoffs had beaten us 36-0 earlier in the year. In (the playoff game with Ar-We-Va), we actually had the lead in the fourth quarter, but we weren’t able to finish it off. Our guys saw the amount of progress that we had made during the year and I think that’s something that carries forward with you. That was a great experience and something that gave us all something to hang our hats on. We’ve done it before and we have a chance to make it back there.”
The Wolves returned to the postseason in 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015, but each playoff trip ended before the quarterfinal round.
DREAM SEASON
After back-to-back playoff appearances, the 2016 Harris-Lake Park football team was replacing its starting quarterback, its leading rusher, and several other key players. The Wolves began the season as relative unknowns, but quickly garnered state-wide attention after winning their first three games by a combined score of 178-20 and earned a spot in the Associated Press rankings.
Their winning streak continued through the rest of the regular season, including a pair of nail-biters over perennial powers Newell-Fonda and Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire to clinch a district championship and earn a top seed in the playoffs with a perfect 9-0 record.
However, the Wolves’ dream season was nearly cut short in the first round of the playoffs the following week, as they trailed Audobon 26-19 in the fourth quarter.
A 33-yard touchdown from backup quarterback Cale Hellinga to Jordan Kyle cut the deficit to one, but the Wolves’ ensuing extra point attempt was blocked by the Wheelers. Harris-Lake Park’s defense came up clutch on Audobon’s next possession, forcing a three-and-out with 1:34 remaining.
A long punt return by Trevor Gunderson put the Wolves’ offense in great position at the Wheeler’s 25-yard line. Seven seconds later, Gunderson hit Kyle for what would be the game-winning touchdown, sending the Wolves on to the quarterfinal round for the first time in program history with a 36-26 victory.
"It was just so awesome," Coach Gunderson said following the win. "The guys were so happy and they deserve it so much. We all just are so happy that we have another week. We were staring at the end of our season there with about three minutes left in the game. Like I tell them, these football seasons are like your life. When we're done, we're done. You don't get it back. We just want to keep it going and I'm so proud of the way they never gave up, never lost belief and just battled to the end and found a way to make plays. There's nobody who can be more proud than I am and it's just been so fun to be around them. We just want to keep it going as long as we can."
And keep it going they did.
The Wolves survived a late rally by Ar-We-Va in their quarterfinal game to win 44-36 and earn a trip to the semifinals at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls. In the semifinal match with Fremont-Mills, Kyle’s pick-six in the first quarter set the tone and the Wolves battled through a mid-game lull to earn yet another in a season of firsts, as the Wolves topped the Knights 35-21 to earn a spot in the Eight-Player championship game.
"I'm just so happy for our guys," Gunderson said after the Wolves’ win over Fremont-Mills. "I think they deserve it. I'm just glad they played as well as they did. We had that one little lull in the middle of the game and it looked like they were getting the momentum. But our guys did what they've done all year; in close games, they dig down deep and find a way to battle and wear you down by the end."
The Wolves’ victory set up a championship matchup with powerhouse Don Bosco. At the time, the Dons had played in three of the last four championship games, winning a state title in 2013.
That experience and talent proved to be too much for Harris-Lake Park, as the Don’s won the championship 48-21.
Looking back, Gunderson said he was impressed with how his team continued to battle all season long.
“It was just fantastic because of the shear amount of buy-in we had that year from juniors and seniors,” he said. “You preach that your whole life, that if you work hard and do those extra things, it will pay off. That year, we had some close games where they could have went either way. The thing I was most proud of with that group is that, no matter how bleak it looked – and it looked pretty bleak early in the playoffs that year – you’re in the huddle with those guys and they’re like ‘No, we’re gonna find a way to do this.’ It was really a great group to work with and a great experience. Everything about it was great. It was definitely a treasured memory, that’s for sure.”
A SEASON OF ADVERSITY
Before the sweat or tears could dry following their state championship loss to Don Bosco in 2016, the Harris-Lake Park Wolves began talking about the future.
They spoke about the impact they made in the community. They hoped that future Wolves athletes took the torch and ran with it. And, with the bulk of their team back in 2017, they set their sights on a return trip to Cedar Falls.
"Hopefully, we're starting kind of a tradition," all-everything running back Trevor Gunderson said in the bowels of the UNI-Dome in late November.
Following an intense offseason program, the Wolves — ranked first in almost every preseason poll — looked to pick up where they left off.
"Last year, no one picked us to do anything," Coach Gunderson said during the 2017 preseason. "Most people didn't even think we'd make the playoffs. We've tried to tell the guys that, these expectations that people have for us this season, they don't score us any points, make us any tackles or throw any blocks for us. That's great that people think we're going to be good, but that doesn't help us win games or give us any reason to let up and think we're doing fine. We have to come with the same mindset that we did last year, that we're going to play our best in every game and go out and let people know that we're going to outwork them and play to the best of our abilities. We're not going to worry about what people think. We're going to worry about what we can control, and that's our effort and our preparation."
Along with a winning mindset, the 2017 Wolves roster was loaded with talent.
Stars at running back and linebacker. A second-year quarterback who led the classification in touchdown passes a year ago. Big, physical and talented offensive and defensive fronts that were going to make life difficult for opposing lines. A solid group of young athletes that would add depth and gain valuable varsity experience. And a head coach who rebuilt the program from scratch, and oversaw everything from the time his current athletes were in Pampers.
Then, after just one quarter of football, it all began to unravel.
Returning First Team All-State players Keegan Carpenter and Trevor Gunderson exited the season opener with lower leg injuries. Carpenter — who was second in the state with 121.5 tackles as a junior — was expected to miss just two weeks, but a later diagnosis discovered further damage that required surgery, ending his season. Gunderson was put on the shelf for at least four weeks with a broken bone in his ankle. After returning to the field, Gunderson was never quite as healthy as he’d been the previous year when he accounted for 2,100 yards from scrimmage and 37 touchdowns.
Still, the Wolves soldiered on.
A Week 3 loss to fourth-ranked Remsen St. Mary's put them in scramble mode. A big win over Clay Central-Everly and a bye week were a welcome relief. Gunderson made a speedy return for a homecoming win over West Bend-Mallard, but the win cost the Wolves dearly.
Senior linebacker and homecoming king Zach Heikens went down with a season-ending ACL injury in the first quarter. Quarterback Bryce Perkins and fellow senior Bret Sohn both suffered injuries throughout the season, and Perkins was forced to miss a Week 7 matchup with Newell-Fonda.
The fifth-ranked Mustangs put the final nail in the Wolves' coffin with a 20-7 win on a rain-soaked night in Newell. The Wolves limped their way to a 46-16 win over Kingsley-Pierson in the season finale, ending the season on a high note, but it wasn’t the storybook ending they’d hoped for in mid-August.
“To be honest with you, there’s no way I can ever get over that,” Coach Gunderson said while looking back at how the 2017 season unfolded. “We were so talented on both sides of the ball, including two First Team All-State guys and we had a bunch of other guys who were incredibly tough and smart. We had guys who were out there just kicking peoples’ butts. We were so looking forward to it. They had given it everything they had since third grade. It was just crushing when that happened. That was still in the days when only two teams from each district made it into the playoffs. With those injuries to all of those guys, it was just tough.”
However, Gunderson said he was impressed with how his athletes handled the adversity throughout the season.
“The kids were better about it than I was,” he said with a chuckle. “They were able to say they were just glad they had the experience they had the year before. It’s like life. It really throws you a lot of curveballs. It definitely changed the way I talked to people in the preseason. For years, I said ‘If you guys all work hard and do what you’re asked, good things will happen.’ It turns out — like in life — you might be doing things right, but bad things happen and it’s how you respond to that adversity that matters. Those guys handled it with grace and humility and were really able to work hard and have a successful season. I know the guys gave it everything they had. It was a tough year, but I’m so incredibly proud of how hard that group worked.”
SETTING THE STANDARD
Over the last decade, under Gunderson’s leadership, the Wolves have regularly been in contention for district championships and playoff appearances. They won back-to-back district championships for the first time in program history in 2021 and 2022. If not for a last-second touchdown by eventual state champion Bishop Garrigan last season, the Wolves would have clinched a share of a third straight district title. They’ve qualified for the playoffs in each of the last five seasons.
During his quest to bring football back to Harris-Lake Park, Gunderson said he didn’t expect that the program would become as successful as it has been — but it’s something he’d hoped for.
“I wouldn’t say expected. I’d say I was hopeful for,” Gunderson said. “I wasn’t planning to coach this long and I wouldn’t have done it this long if we didn’t have that kind of success. It’s not necessarily how many games or how far in the playoffs we went. It’s having the guys that have put in the work and being proud of the way that they play. I always tell them that they aren’t just a reflection on their team as a family, but on their actual family and on our whole community. It’s really worked out well. I’ve been so proud of them. When we face a team that’s maybe favored over us, or has more guys than us, or is a little more talented, I always expect that we’re going to find a way to win because we have guys who I really believe in, who will battle and do what it takes. The bottom line is, I’m just thankful for the different players we’ve had over the years. That’s what keeps you going. You’re happy for those guys that really improve as they go through and just keep getting better and better.”
When looking back at his coaching career, Gunderson said there are several moments that stand out.
“Some of my favorite memories are of winning our final home games,” Gunderson said. “Getting to win those games and celebrating with the parents and the fans after the game, the season has been a success and you’re just happy for the guys. Obviously, winning playoff games and getting to play in big games is tremendous. The first playoff win. Winning a game in the UNI-Dome and getting to play in the state championship game the next week. Another one that comes to mind is when we went down and beat a really good undefeated Coon Rapids-Bayard team on the road (in 2020). I was incredibly proud of that group that night when we got that done. I’m just proud of all the groups we’ve had. There’s no doubt about it. I’m just glad to be a part of it. One thing that I’ve figured out over these years — and I’m not the brightest guy around – but I have figured out that, the better your players are, you’re going to have a better season. I’m really thankful for those seasons where we’ve had some pretty special guys and had some pretty special seasons. We’ve had a few of those over the years that can lift the level of the players around them. That’s pretty great to be around those guys too.”
A couple of those special players include Gunderson’s own sons, Trevor and Tyce.
Trevor ended his high school football career with 3,044 total yards from scrimmage and 46 touchdowns. Tyce is third all-time in school history for passing yards (3,589) and passing touchdowns (60). He also ran for 1,572 yards and 33 additional scores.
Beyond the statistics, both athletes displayed the kind of toughness and leadership that the Wolves’ longtime head coach wanted from each of his players.
“It was one of the great honors of my life. There’s no question about that,” Gunderson said about the opportunity to coach his sons. “When I started, we didn’t have any kids. I’d already coached for 10 years in other sports before we got football back. Going into coaching, that wasn’t even on my radar — I didn’t have kids or anything. You go through these years, and they’re growing up around what you’re doing, you just hope that they have heard some of those lessons. You’re hoping that they’ll become the types of leaders and players that you want your guys to be. Those two guys were two of my hardest workers, and toughest players, and smartest players. It was a great honor to coach them and their friends. A lot of those guys, I coached since third grade. It was great. Loved every minute of it.”
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
After stepping down as the Wolves’ head football coach, Gunderson said he still loves the game of football and can’t wait to attend games at Iowa State University with his wife, Ginny, and their two sons.
Trevor works at Ames Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy and Tyce attends Iowa State University.
“We’re hoping to get down to some football games down there and getting to hang out with those guys and just getting to have fun at some games,” Gunderson said. “I love coaching. It’s been a really big part of my life, but it is also fun just to go to games, cheer for your team and — a guy like me – stick up for the coach when everybody is saying stuff about them. As a coach, you might be on a team that’s 10-0 at the time and you’re up 30 points, but you’re still saying ‘Don’t let up. Don’t let up. Don’t let up.’ You’re telling your reserves that are going in that they have to look good. Don’t come in and let down. I love football so much. It’s fun to cheer for a team, enjoy the game and watch what’s going on.”
Gunderson also had advice for young coaches.
“I think the most important thing is to really believe in yourself and believe in what you’re doing,” he said. “No matter if you’re winning every game or losing every game, you’re going to have people questioning you. You’re going to have a few that are with you most of the way and you’re going to have a lot of people asking why you didn’t do this or that. The biggest thing, as a young coach, is just to do things the right way and believe in yourself. It doesn’t hurt either — and I was lucky to have people that coached me when I was young who I could turn to — to reach out to those people and ask them for their advice. You can never be too proud to learn. You hear that from college coaches all the time. Just try to learn from everybody else and believe in what you’re doing. Stay the course and do your best.”
“Coach Gunderson has played a pivotal role in reinstating football at Harris-Lake Park. His efforts led to the reintroduction of a junior varsity schedule in 1999 and the establishment of varsity Eight-Player football in 2000. His dedication to football and his commitment to the development of young athletes have been instrumental in our success. Coach Gunderson has been a cornerstone of the coaching staff at Harris-Lake Park for many years, impacting countless lives through his roles as both coach and educator. He consistently emphasizes to his athletes that achieving excellence on and off the field requires a dedicated commitment and effort, and his guidance has fostered a culture of excellence within the program.”
- Ashley Delaney
Harris-Lake Park Activities Director