IOLA – For a time, University of Wisconsin commit and Class of 2027 standout Korz Loken wasn’t sure he’d get a senior football season.
A broken arm slammed the door shut on his junior year just two games into 2025. Then, as Iola-Scandinavia’s dwindling numbers cast doubt on whether the program could field a team in 2026, Loken was left wondering if he’d ever get the chance to finish his high school career.
Instead, he’ll do it in a way no Iola-Scandinavia senior ever has before: leading the Thunderbirds into their first season of 8-player football – and he’s embracing every bit of it.
“I want to help my team in any way possible, whether that’s me blocking, me running routes, me playing quarterback. I just want to lead my team,” Loken said. “I want to play as many games as possible, and win as many games as possible. It’s going to be a little bit of an adapting process to get into the eight-man rhythm, but I just want to have fun with my team and help them develop the same way that some of the seniors when I was younger helped me develop.”
Loken feels he’s entering his senior season having filled gaps from his game, and has become a more well -rounded player.
Though the transition to 8-player football has induced a natural learning curve, he has no doubt about the switch slowing down his progression.
“I definitely don’t think that it’s going to change my development or change exposure very much, and nobody should be afraid of it. It’s still football at the end of the day,” Loken said.” You know, you’re still going out there playing four quarters, and grinding against the other team.
“It’s going to war. Just because there’s three less people doesn’t make it any more or any less intimidating. Doesn’t make it any less of a battle. And I really am just grateful that we have a football team, and that I get to go out there with my closest buddies and go to war with them.”
Loken deflected many out-of-state opportunities to transfer. A move that would have granted him an opportunity to get one more season of 11-player action before riding off into Madison.
He never considered it.
“I never felt comfortable with that,” Loken said. “I never felt like that’s what I should be doing because Iola is my home. It’s where I’ve grown up. And I just feel like if I would have left, it wouldn’t have meant as much. But I know it’s going to mean a lot for me this year, and I want it more than anybody else could even imagine.”
As far as how the Thunderbird group as whole is adjusting, Loken said not much has changed.
“Well, yesterday was our first day of practice, and you wouldn’t be able to tell it was 8-man because we don’t care,” Loken said. “I mean, we’re just happy to be out in the field and back in the locker with our guys. It’s an awesome feeling.”
As Iola-Scandinavia approaches their inaugural season of 8-player competition, the Thunderbirds will have a new playing field to conquer.
For Loken, regardless of the outside chatter; this is a statement year.
“Well, honestly, I don’t pay attention to rankings much, but I did drop quite a bit just because I couldn’t play,” Loken said. “You know, I just want to prove that I’m still the same player I was, if not significantly better, and I plan to really show it.
“People might say, “Yeah, eight-man stats overinflated, but I think it’ll get to a certain point where there’s so much dominance on the field that it’s kind of hard to ignore. My goal is just to just show people that I am who I say I am. I am who other people say I am, and the real deal. And I live what I say, so I’m gonna back it up.”
Contact or send game stats/info to Sports Reporter Alfred Smith III at alfred.smith@usatodayco.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @AlfredS_III.
This article originally appeared on Wausau Daily Herald: Why Iola-Scandinavia’s Korz Loken never considered leaving: ‘Iola is my home’
Reporting by Alfred Smith III, Wausau Daily Herald / Wausau Daily Herald
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Alfred Smith III, Wausau Daily Herald | USA TODAY Network
