Manheim Township High School senior Max Kolbrener returns on the offensive line and at linebacker for the Blue Streaks football team in 2026.
Below is a Q&A with Kolbrener conducted at L-L League Football Media Day on Friday, Aug. 7.
Q: What’s your individual football journey?
“I had been wanting to play since I was little. But my mom wouldn’t let me. It was one of those things I had to convince her. She let me wrestle but never play football. In third grade I was a big kid. Coach Evans actually had a conversation with my mom to let me play football then. She told him, ‘My son will never play football.’ I started playing in fifth or sixth grade. And then senior year here we are.”
Q: How does wrestling translate to the football field?
“It translates in every possible way. Leverage. The pure grit, work ethic, effort. It’s all there.”
Q: What does the returning experience look like for those on the o-line?
“We have two returning starters. And a bunch of other guys who rotated in a bunch last year.”
Q: You are one of those two returning starters on the o-line. With that said, how does your role change now that you are more of a leader on that unit?
“There’s a lot more talking. Making sure everyone knows what we’re doing, and holding others accountable. It’s been a good jump for me. Last year I started Week Three or Week Four. Got thrown into the fire. My teammates helped me get through it. Now I’m being that guy for my teammates.”
Q: What did the offseason look like for you and the team in terms of improvement?
“This summer we focused on what we were doing as a team and making sure we’re building up the culture and chemistry.”
Q: Do you have a favorite player you look up to?
“There was a guy who used to play at Manheim Township named Austin Day. I remember watching him when I was in middle school. And that’s the guy I wanted to become.”
Q: Head coach Mark Evans has built Manheim Township football into a powerhouse that is expected to compete for championships year after year. You’ve watched that as you’ve come up through the program. Now you’re a senior starter in a leadership role, having your shot at trying to maintain that success. How much do you feel that pressure to meet that high bar?
“Sure there’s pressure but I think there’s something that needs to be said of what our coaching staff does with the seniors every year. The past two or three years it seems like we enter a season after having graduated a bunch of guys and everyone thinks it’s not going to be the same. Every year we come back and prove them wrong. That’s one of those things that we expect to win every year. It’s the same this year.”
Q: Do you have any siblings?
“I have a sister.”
Q: What responsibilities come with being that big brother?
“You have to be the role model. You got to guide them, help them out, show them what to do. She’s going to be a freshman this year, so we’ll be going to the same school. She plays soccer and she wrestles.”
Q: Time for some fun questions. Let’s say you are stranded in the locker room for 24 hours with unlimited water and snacks. What video game do you have with you?
“It’s got to be Madden. That’s my game.”
Q: What’s a song or musical artist you’d never admit to listen to, but actually do?
“I never thought I’d get into country music. A surprising one is Red Clay Strays. It’s weird country.”
Q: Any old school Taylor Swift country songs?
“That’s in the playlist.”
Q: If your jersey number could be replaced by an emoji, what would it be and why?
“It’s got to be that green dragon. It looks cool. It would be awesome to have on the front of the jersey.”
Q: If you could go back in time three years ago, what advice would you give to yourself as a freshman?
“Head down. Keep working. Keep grinding. That’s what got me here. And that’s what I would tell anybody if they’re in a spot they don’t want to be in. You just got to work at it to get to a spot you’re proud of.”
