The entire Tri-Center High School football coaching staff, including head coach Jake Gentile, was suspended in October ahead of the Trojans' first-round playoff game, leaving the western Iowa team to finish the season under an interim coach who was pulled from the principal's office.
According to Yahoo Sports, which cited reporting by Western Iowa Today, the Tri-Center Community School District placed the full staff on administrative leave before a Week 7 game against Missouri Valley. The district confirmed the move in a brief public statement and declined to release details.
District confirms staff on administrative leave
“The (Tri-Center) football coaching staff has been put on administrative leave,” the district's statement read. “At no point was the safety of any student athlete a concern.”
“The district will not comment further about this personnel issue. We are trying to move forward and give the kids the best experience in finishing the season,” the statement continued.
The district's insistence that student safety was never at risk leaves a wide gap in the public record. Parents and fans in the Tri-Center community, which draws students from around Neola and surrounding Pottawattamie County areas, still do not know why every coach on the staff was pulled at once during the season. The district has not said whether the leave is paid, how long it will last, or whether any findings will ever be shared with taxpayers who fund the program.
Principal Chad Harder takes over the sidelines
Chad Harder, a Tri-Center principal who also serves as the Trojans' head boys basketball coach, has taken over as interim head football coach for the remainder of the season. His previous football experience came at the junior high level, Sports Illustrated reported.
The shakeup shows up in the team's official listings. On Bound, the official website for Iowa high school sports, no coaching staff names are listed for Tri-Center football. Gentile had replaced Steve Peterson, who held the head job during the 2025 season.
The Trojans opened this season with four straight losses before breaking through with a 51-7 win over Red Oak. From there they went 1-2 down the stretch, beating Missouri Valley around losses to Treynor and Shenandoah, finishing the regular season at 2-6.
Playoff matchup with defending champion West Lyon
Tri-Center will travel to face West Lyon, the defending Class 1A state champion, in the first round on Friday night. It is a steep climb for a program that must now prepare for the state's top competition while adjusting to a brand new coaching structure on the fly.
The Trojans are just two years removed from their finest season. In 2023, Tri-Center went 12-1 in Class A and won the state championship before moving up to Class 1A the following year. The program slipped to 4-5 last season and now sits at 2-6, a slide that has coincided with unusual turnover on the sideline.
Tri-Center has now had four different head coaches across the past three seasons, including Harder's interim appointment. That kind of churn at a small rural school makes sustained success difficult, and the players who won a title two years ago have watched their program cycle through leadership year after year.
Quarterback AJ Harder leads the offense
The interim coach's son, AJ Harder, has been the engine of the offense. In his third season as the starting quarterback, he has thrown for 1,502 yards and 16 touchdowns while completing 63 percent of his passes. He also leads the team in rushing with 621 yards and eight scores.
Cameron Wallar, Rylan Ring and Kane Daughenbaugh have emerged as the top receivers. Ring leads the group with 327 yards, Wallar has 263 and Daughenbaugh has 220.
Who is Jake Gentile?
Gentile is a familiar name to western Iowa football fans. A 2011 Council Bluffs St. Albert graduate, he helped the Falcons win two state championships as a player before going on to compete at South Dakota State University.
His high school resume was impressive. He ran for 961 yards and 14 touchdowns as a junior, then piled up 1,320 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns as a senior. He also caught 20 passes for 259 yards and two scores, intercepted four passes and returned a punt for a touchdown in his final season.
Before taking the Tri-Center head job, Gentile spent one year as an assistant with the Trojans, coached five seasons at Council Bluffs St. Albert and three at Bellevue West in Nebraska.
What happens next for Tri-Center?
Who is coaching Tri-Center in the playoffs?
Chad Harder, a Tri-Center principal and the school's head boys basketball coach, is serving as interim head football coach for the rest of the season.
Why was the Tri-Center coaching staff suspended?
The Tri-Center Community School District has not publicly explained the reason. The district called it a personnel issue and said student safety was never a concern.
Who does Tri-Center play in the first round?
The Trojans travel to West Lyon, the defending Class 1A state champion, on Friday night.
After Friday's game, the district will face decisions about the future of the program. Whether Gentile returns, whether the district explains what led to the suspensions, and how the program rebuilds stability after three years of coaching turnover remain open questions for a community waiting on answers.