City High went into this season without an official starting quarterback. There were three options at QB, one senior quarterback or two sophomore quarterbacks. Ultimately, the team decided to go with the dual quarterback system with the sophomores, Chris Kabaiza and Coden Kurtz.
“Being a young QB in these big games is a little bit nerve-racking, but what helps the most is getting one or two completions to be more comfortable and have the nerves go away and more confidence,” Kurtz said.
Kabaiza, who was awarded the start in the team’s first game against West High, had a lot of eyes on him entering the game.
“There’s some pressure, but you just have to not think about it and go out there and give it everything you got,” Kabaiza said.
Both QB’s didn’t come from families that played football. Kurtz family comes from a wrestling background, with his father Marcus Kurtz coaching his children in Mat-Pac wrestling club and wrestling collegiately. Both of Kurtz’ older siblings also wrestle at Coe College. Kabaiza playing football was out of the ordinary. No one in his family had ever played before, he played mainly basketball and ran track. After some convincing from his friends and coaches, he decided to come out.
“I started playing maybe 6th grade, but I got really into it in 7th, being inspired by OBJ when I used to watch clips of him. It definitely has not been the easiest task but just slowly developing from here on out,” Kabaiza said.
Neither of them saw the varsity field at quarterback last season; however, Kurtz did start the final four games of the season at safety. Kaibaiza played mostly on the freshman team at QB last season. Despite a rocky start for both, there have been flashes of talent on the ground and in the air. Both have faced some difficult secondaries in the first couple of games, with games against Bettendorf and West, both of which have defensive multiple D1 commits.
“Rotating two QBs has been good because when I need a break from defense, Chris is there to pick me up, and we build off each other’s mistakes as well,” Kurtz said.
Running the ball has been the main part of City High’s offense, so they have had less opportunities to throw the ball, with sophomore standout Marshall Sheldon and senior running back Dom Roe getting the majority of the plays on offense.
“I admire their work ethic every day and their jump in maturity this year. They’ve stepped up a lot since last year. There is still a lot of work to be done, but I know they’ll turn out to be great leaders and players,” teammate Owen Raefield ‘26 said.  Kabaiza had his best game against Cedar Falls. Boasting 233 passing yards, 90 rushing yards, and both a passing and rushing touchdown.