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WILTON, Iowa – Kyle Holmes relishes the leadership role on this year’s Wilton football team.

When it comes to being needed in the clutch, the Beavers’ senior receiver wants to be the one making the big catch.

“Definitely,” Holmes said. “I mean, I know this sounds bad, but I love getting the attention. It’s fun when everyone looks towards you. Being the go-to guy is fun.”

And he has come through big for Wilton (4-4, 3-3 district), which needs to win Friday at North Cedar to make its sixth straight postseason appearance.

“In clutch situations, Kyle is the one (quarterback) Alec (Crawford) looks to,” Wilton head coach Lance Pedersen said. “He (Crawford) has other receivers, also, so they can’t concentrate on him only, but Kyle is a great athlete and can go up and get the ball. He’s got great hands and has done a lot of good things this season.”

Heading into the final regular-season game, Holmes has 30 catches for 530 yards and nine touchdowns.

Last week against Tipton, he caught 12 passes for 232 yards and two touchdowns that provided the Beavers with a 30-6 advantage and eventually a 33-27 win.

“He’s been consistent all season long,” Pedersen said. “Last Friday, he had four different pass plays where he found the open spots. The quarterback also had a good night. You have to have good blocking, run a good pattern. A lot of things have to happen to have a successful passing game, and last Friday, it was the case.”

In many ways, this season has and hasn’t been a surprise to Holmes. Individually, Holmes knew he would connect well with Crawford for passing plays, and he also knew the personnel the Beavers had coming back.

“Based on last year, not really,” Holmes said. “Alec and I have hooked up before. As a team, we anticipated a little of a down season because we basically lost our whole defense, offensive line and an all-state running back. But we had to get over that. I think we’ve done decent.”

Holmes has also had an outstanding defensive season. He was third on the team with 58 tackles out of the cornerback position.

“He definitely has had some outstanding games as a cornerback,” Pedersen said. “He helps with run support. He’s also our punter, and, as of last week, he’s been averaging 39 yards a punt. He’s done a lot of good things.”

As for Holmes, he wants to see his team and himself put forth a good defensive effort against North Cedar in order to make the playoffs.

“I’m expecting our defense will shore up and shut them down,” Holmes said. “We have a lot of confidence and are mentally tough. I know we can do it.

“I know they are going to look to cover me a little better (than last week). I’m just trying to get the team going, everyone going. Last week was a little bit of a surprise. We’ve put in some new plays and we hope to catch them off-guard.”

Preps to watch

- Kyle Paulsen, Wilton, cross country: The senior paced the Beavers to the Cedar Valley Conference cross country title, winning the individual championship in 16 minutes, 42 seconds. Paulsen is ranked 17th in the Class 2A individual ratings by the Iowa Association of Track and Field Coaches.

- Makenzie Meyer, Durant-Bennett, volleyball: Meyer helped lead the Wildcats to the Cedar Valley Conference volleyball title last week. Meyer had 10 kills in the semifinal win over West Liberty and then had nine kills and was 20 of 23 serving with three aces in the 3-0 championship match win against Iowa City Regina.

- Julie Wunder, Muscatine, volleyball: The senior setter had 83 assists in the Durant tournament and then went on to record 27 assists and 10 digs in Muscatine’s loss to North Scott. Wunder came back to tally 93 assists in five matches in a 4-1 swing at Mediapolis.

- Dylan Schrader, Wapello, football: Despite the Indians’ 28-14 loss to Eddyville-Blakesburg, Schrader had 15 carries for 101 yards. He also had 46 yards receiving.