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‘No one wants to win more than Keszler’ - Castlewood’s Kamden Keszler taking red-hot Warriors into quarterfinal rematch with top-ranked Wall
Castlewood's Kamden Keszler throws a pass during the Warriors' 46-12 win over Dupree on Oct. 23, 2025, in Castlewood.
(Jon Akre / 605 Sports)

‘No one wants to win more than Keszler’ - Castlewood’s Kamden Keszler taking red-hot Warriors into quarterfinal rematch with top-ranked Wall

Oct 26, 2025
  

 

By Jon Akre

605 Sports

CASTLEWOOD — Kamden Keszler and the Castlewood Warriors are looking for revenge.

On Thursday, the Warriors will get a chance to return the favor from last season’s quarterfinal loss to Wall, a 62-12 loss to the Eagles.

And it’s nearly the same scenario from a season ago, with No. 8 Castlewood making the 300+ mile trip west to the top-seed in Class 9A football.

But that was last year, and Keszler says these aren’t the same Warriors.

“We think we’re a dome team,” said Keszler, a senior quarterback. “We’re not the same team as last year. New coaches, new players, new offense. We’ve got everything down.”

Keszler was on that field last season in just his third start at quarterback after switching from a fullback/wideout for the majority of the season.

In his senior season at QB1 adjusting to the position along with first-year head coach Nick Ernst, it’s been a smooth transition for both parties.

Castlewood's Kamden Keszler runs the ball during the Warriors' 46-12 win over Dupree on Oct. 23, 2025, in Castlewood.

“He’s just a kid that’s an athlete, he wants it,” Ernst said of Keszler. “No one wants to win more than Keszler. I have great assistant coaches, I’ve got a running backs coach, I’ve got a wide receivers coach and I’ve got a quarterbacks coach and they all work with him in practice.”

After an opening season loss to Class 9A No. 2 Warner, 23-14, the Warriors have quietly rattled off eight straight wins, including a dominant 46-12 win over Dupree in the first round of the 9A playoffs.

Keszler showcased his athleticism in the win over the Tigers, running for five touchdowns, adding a 48-yard touchdown to his 6-foot-6, 230-pound tight end Leonard Wernke as well.


“That kind of just happened,” Keszler said. “Nothing else was working so I just kept breaking tackles. It was fun though, I like when my team trusts me.”

And it came from an offense that doesn’t rely on just one player to do it himself.

“I don’t think it was the gameplan,” Ernst said. “We’re a team that prides ourselves on everybody getting the rock and fortunately tonight that was the thing that worked the best so we kind of went with it. He’s our emotional leader, the guys feed off of him. The guys came up to me and said ‘Hey, give the ball to Keszler, I want to go block.’ ”

Castlewood's Kamden Keszler throws a pass during the Warriors' 46-12 win over Dupree on Oct. 23, 2025, in Castlewood.

Keszler also alluded to the Warrior defense that’s taken a big step this season. In this eight-game winning streak, Castlewood is allowing just eight points per game.

“Defense is everything. Defense wins championships,” Keszler said. “We take so much pride in it, we work on it every day. Everyday in practice we work on our keys and we’re just so good defensively that we just work on it everyday.”

It’ll be Castlewood’s biggest test since the opening week loss to Warner, but the Warriors look ready for what’s to come Thursday night in Wall.

“These kids want this game,” Ernst said. “I honestly can’t put into words how much it would mean. I don’t care about me, I care about these guys. Since I took the job 5-6 months ago, these guys have given me everything, they put it all on the line, and these guys deserve it.”