Football Preview

Football two thousand SIXTEEN area high school

Preview

Former Laker jOSH Omang takes over DL fOOTBALL

detroit lakes lakers • frazee hornets • lake park/audubon raiders hawley nuggets • MAHNOMEN INDIANS • perham yellowjackets pelican rapids vikings • NCE/ULEN-HITTERDAL TITANS • WAUBUN BOMBERS

2016

2

Frazee building off late season momentum im Jacobson’s first year as head coach in Frazee was a seesaw affair that had the Hornets opening the season with five consecutive losses, the fifth a heartbreaking, marathon, six-overtime defeat at home to Osakis 42-36.

“We have a lot of seniors, some big guys and a lot of guys with experience,” Jacobson said.

The Hornets will be trouble for defenses on the ground with a hefty offensive line that should average over 230-pounds per player.

“We’re just trying to get them to come together,” Jacobson said. “”We’ve got some size.”

Jacobson also has versatility and reserves on the line as 10-12 players are

battling for positions on both sides of the ball.

“That’s definitely a plus,” he said.

The Hornets rebounded last season with four consecutive victories before a 24-8 section semifinal loss in Sebeka to the eventual section champs United North Central. The Hornets had big hopes in the semifinals having won in Sebeka 19-6 a fortnight prior.

“Big finish and we just kind of gelled and we’ve had some really good practices this year,” said Jacobson. “We need to get some of these guys to grow up mentally, too.”

Frazee is two seasons removed from reaching the section final in 2014 losing to a talented Hawley Nuggets squad.

The Hornets broke a streak of losses last season to Hawley that stretched back to 2003 defeating the Nuggets 1914 in the section quarterfinals on a six001381961r1

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yard game-winning touchdown run by quarterback Logan Wacker.

“That was a monkey off our back and we know we can play with those guys,” said Jacobson.

Frazee was young last year and lost star running back Tanner Bachmann to graduation, but returns players with needed experience and firsthand knowledge of finding success by not giving up. Wacker, a junior, returns at quarterback and has his own story of coming back from adversity. Wacker missed all of his sophomore season with a broken hand and battled through last year’s 0-5 start to lead the Hornets into the postseason.

“He understands the offense so well

and is a terrific athlete,” said Jacobson.

Wacker will be aided by experience in the backfield as seniors Charlton Wake and Jeff Marshall will handle much of the load rushing the ball.

“...we just kind of gelled and we’ve had some really good practices this year,” — head coach Jim Jacobson.

“Those are some guys who have been back there in previous years,” said Jacobson.

Rory Drewes, Hudson Hiemenz, Joby Giefer, and some kids who haven’t been

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2016 in scoring roles will also find time with the ball. Drewes and Giefer also bring back some names to the lineup from successful teams of Frazee’s past.

Defense is where Frazee will have a few guys up front who have played a lot and the Hornets will have less depth than on offense.

Tanner Tappe had a solid season last year on the D-line.

The Hornet defense also returns players who were initial starters as juniors but missed most of last season with injuries in seniors Victor Bachmann and Alex Splonskowski.

Wake and Marshall will see double duty moving from their running back positions to linebacker spots on defense, while Wacker will head up the secondary, quarterbacking both sides of the Hornet scheme.

Breckenridge handed Frazee the first of five losses to open 2015. The Cowboys come calling Friday, Sept. 2 for Frazee’s home opener.

The Hornets begin the year with three of the first four games at home and end the year with a UNC rematch at Fargodome Oct. 20.

“Guys are excited and we have a lot of kids who have said this is the most excited they’ve been for a season and that’s from kids who have been on state wrestling teams.”

Breckenridge and Frazee played a close opener last year with the Cowboys jumping out to a 28-0 lead and winning 2812. Like the whole of the 2015 season, Frazee came on late.

“We made a big run in the fourth and just ran out of time,” said Jacobson. “We’re going to build on momentum from last year and we have 13 seniors, with juniors who are going to fill some roles and maybe some freshmen, sophomores, who will find themselves some playing time too.”

United North Central returns a big roster and the defending section champs are definitely in the hunt for another state berth.

“It could be a five-team race,” said Jacobson.

Kickoff between Frazee and Breckenridge on Sept. 2 is scheduled for 7 p.m.

3

HORNET ROSTER # 1 2 3 5 9 15 19 20 22 24 25 28 30 31 36 40 41 42 45 52 54 55 56 58 59 60 61 62 64 65 68 70 71 72 77 78 79 82 84 87 89

Name Rory Drewes. . . . . . . . . . .

Cole Fleisher. . . . . . . . . . .

Jeff Marshall. . . . . . . . . . .

Gabe Drewes . . . . . . . . . .

Lukas Volstad. . . . . . . . .

Jon Hoffmann. . . . . . . . .

Nate Nolan. . . . . . . . . . . .

Charlton Wake . . . . . . . .

Mason Newling. . . . . . . .

Kaleb Beimert. . . . . . . . .

Robert Christenson. . . .

Caleb DeGroat. . . . . . . . .

Luke Tweeton. . . . . . . . .

Micah Hanebuth. . . . . . .

Hudson Hiemenz. . . . . .

Joby Giefer. . . . . . . . . . . .

Kahle Scott. . . . . . . . . . . .

Logan Wacker. . . . . . . . .

Hunter Suedel. . . . . . . . .

Brock Riewer. . . . . . . . . .

Ryan Tollefson. . . . . . . . .

Alex Hardy. . . . . . . . . . . .

Wes Kropenske. . . . . . . .

Taylor Armstrong . . . . .

Tanner Tappe . . . . . . . . .

Alex Splonskowski. . . . .

Joenah Hodnefield. . . . .

Victor Bachmann. . . . . .

Cole Zick. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Anthony Santos . . . . . . .

Andrew Malikowski. . . .

Tucker Nundahl. . . . . . .

Tony Malikowski. . . . . . .

Austin Engel. . . . . . . . . . .

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2016

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Robertson takes over at Lake Park-Audubon

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rian Robertson is the new head coach at Lake Park-Audubon replacing Brad Dunham. Robertson accepted a high school mathematics teaching position and the head football job after school board approval in late June.

“It’s been good,” said Robertson.

“I’ve gotten a lot of help from the assistant coaches. That’s been nice to have that continuity.

The staff remains the same other than the addition of Robertson, a North Dakota State University graduate with eight years of football coaching experience. He was an assistant coach at Barnum for five years and head coach for three.

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teaching in 2015 and wanted to get back into both fields. He and his wife, a Concordia graduate, found jobs nearby each other here in lakes country and the Fargo/Moorhead area where both attended college.

The assistants and Robertson have been working to mesh two different styles of play on both sides of the ball to get the look of this year’s Raiders.

“Offensively is the biggest change you’ll see,” said Robertson. “Last year they were more spread and shotgun with multiple receivers. This year, we’ll be traditional, Wing-T with two tight ends.”

New faces will be in the LP-A backfield as well. The Raiders have graduated senior, starting quarterbacks the past two seasons, Reese Mattson last year and Tim Brekken the prior season.

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to the kids,” Robertson said. “As coaches, we try to be positive and with that we have to take our mistakes and find ways to correct it. We want to find ways to compete.”

The Raiders were knocked out of the playoffs in an opening round 21-14 home upset by No. 5-seeded New York Mills (3-7).

“You don’t want to focus on wins and losses, but you’ve got to win some tough games,” said Robertson. “Even the taste of a tough loss. If you lose a heartbreaker, you get that taste and it’s going to push you more to learn how to compete and finish games.”

LP-A opens the season with the same opponents as last year with the first game in Swanville Friday, Sept. 2.

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Mahnomen. Those three opponents combined to go 26-6. The Raiders three victories in a 3-6 campaign came against Badger/Greenbush-Middle River (09), Fertile-Beltrami (2-8) and Red Lake County (3-6).

This year’s schedule presents the same opponents and level of difficulty.

“You always want to be realistic,” said Robertson. “One goal I have is finish higher and go further than last year. At the same time, I don’t want to put a ceiling on what they can do to.”

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last season, gets the nod under center. He was also a starter on defense.

Last year’s leading rusher Trent Rosing also graduated. Mitch Hall and Carter Raaen will be make up the wing backs, with Jack Osborne and Chase Roy battling for the starting fullback position.

Hall will be making some adjustments in the Wing formation after leading last year’s Raiders in receiving with 680 yards on 32 catches and eight touchdowns.

He has already looked impressive in preseason scrimmages and Raider fans will have a keen eye on how he is used in the new set.

“We’re going to make sure he gets touches,” said Robertson. “We like him one-on-one with anybody.”

Hall will likely spread out in an I-formation set to work the sidelines and get up the field.

On defense, the staff is combining last year’s 3-4 pro style with a lot of blitzing to Robertson’s 5-3 with little blitzing.

The Raider D will show a 3-5 front with more stunting than blitzing.

“That’s a good way of how we mesh together,” said Robertson.

“Out of the 3-5, you have to blitz a little bit just to mix it up. If anything is going to look the same, it’s the defense, but we’ve made some changes.”

Senior Casey Mann is a leader and returning starter on the offensive line.

“He does things the right way,” said Robertson.

Issiah Evans will provide quickness and strength on the defensive line.

LP-A struggled early last year against three tough opponents in Upsala/Swanville, Fosston and

5

2016

6

Hawley Nuggets aim to get back to dominance n the past decade, the Hawley Nuggets have put up double figures in the win column with regularity. Hawley missed in 2010, but still finished with a winning record of 6-4, which makes last season’s 4-5 finish something to spur motivation in this year’s group.

“It was good for everybody, though,” head coach Peder Naatz said. “Everybody comes back to earth and gets a dose of reality. It was good for the community, the team and the coaching staff.”

Much of last year’s struggles came from the big-time success of 2013 and 2014.

“We weren’t so young last year,” said Naatz. “We were inexperienced. That was the main issue we had - not a lot of real speed and real-time game expe-

rience, other than JV stuff and mop-up duty.”

The Nuggets had a full-time platoon squad in 2014 with 19 seniors that all played including Ben Ellefson, who now plays at North Dakota State University, along with Bison pitcher Jordan Harms and a solid number of other star players. That team made a run to the state quarterfinals after a run to the state semifinals the year prior. Hawley won three consecutive Section 8AA championships from 2012-14 with three state tournament appearances.

That level of success can create a lull in participation numbers with few spots open on the gameday lineup card and can create a level of apathy in underused underclassmen.

“It was also a result of not a lot of commitment in the offseason,” Naatz said. “We didn’t have a lot of time spent in the weight room with the senior lead-

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ership core. You can’t create that and you can’t force that.”

Progress this preseason has been hampered by illness. A sickness bug has struck preseason practice and slowed up some parts of early team development, especially, in the offensive scheme.

“Primarily we’ll run the same,” Naatz said. “We’ve got some shotgun plays in with some jet sweep action as a new package.”

Part of that new package is considerably delayed by players who have missed early practices. One day six players were out due to illness, while three missed nearly the entire second week. Those days add up when there

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are only two weeks to prepare for the opening game.

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Then again, the Nuggets have had a working formula for the past decade on the offensive side of the ball.

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7

Nuggets ROSTER

“If we get in trouble, we’ll go right back to the veer,” said Naatz.

Drew Thompson will be the starting quarterback with sophomore Jacob Vetter at backup.

“They’re almost identical in size; Jacob is probably a little more physical of a runner,” Naatz said.

“Looking toward the future, the more experience he gets, the better we’re going to be too.”

Donnie Loegering will get the start in the backfield with sophomore Trayton Cossette working in as the primary ball carriers at tailback.

“Donnie is a lot bigger than he was last year; he’s probably grown four inches and put on 15 pounds, so he’s getting close to six-feet, 175-pounds,” said Naatz. “It’s nice to have some better size there. Trayton is a little smaller guy, pretty compact and stuck together and he has an immediate burst of speed. He doesn’t know anything but full throttle.”

Providing short yardage runs and blocking will be Tyler Todd and Blake Omberg splitting time at fullback.

In the short run, the plan of attack is typical of the preseason in getting the time in to be competitive week one.

“Right now, it’s week to week, getting better and getting people comfortable, whether they’re in new spots - we’re getting more time in - our defensive package isn’t

real complicated. That’s primarily where we’re at,” said Naatz.

Todd, a junior, is pushing 200 pounds and should be the Nuggets’ leader on defense.

“He’s very dedicated in the weight room and he’s a kid that’s a football guy,” said Naatz. “Whatever he does is directed towards football,” said Naatz. “He just wants to get better and he’s all in for football.”

Which is the turnaround this year in Hawley, where the team aspect is again taking hold and despite missing a few players the Nuggets are poised to get back to where they’re accustomed to being, at the top of the standings in Midwest White District.

“It’s a neat group of kids.,” Naatz said. “They’re really selfless; they’ll do anything. The older kids will run and grab a dummy. They’ve done a nice job of showing leadership that way. The juniors, sophomores and freshmen don’t have to do all the dirty work.”

The District has some of the old Heart O’ Lakes feel with Barnesville, Breckenridge, Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton, and Pelican Rapids, plus the additions of Crookston and Warroad.

Hawley finished fourth last year at 3-3. Breckenridge ran the table at 6-0 to take sole possession of the District title, followed by D-G-F (5-1) and Barnesville (4-2).

United North Central is the defending section championship team coming off a trip to the state semifinals that has created an uptick in confidence and participation numbers for the Warriors.

The Nuggets open the season on the road at Ted Meinhover Field in Perham Friday, Sept. 2 looking to avenge a 3614 defeat in last year’s home opener.

# 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 18 19 20 21 22 24 25 26 27 28 32 34 35 37 44 47 51 52 54 55 57 60 62 64 65 67 70 72 78 80 82 84 85 87

Name Will Bauer. . . . . . . . . .

Josh Wolbeck. . . . . . .

Gunnar Berg. . . . . . . .

Noah Glad. . . . . . . . . .

Wyatt Blakeway. . . .

Drew Thompson. . . .

Trayton Cossette. . .

Josh Fenske. . . . . . . . .

Riley Byklum. . . . . . .

Ben Omberg. . . . . . . .

Ethan Peterson. . . . .

Karter Kopacek. . . . .

Jacob Vetter. . . . . . . .

Garrett Peterson. . . .

Harrison Nord. . . . . .

Blake Omberg. . . . . .

Caleb Neset . . . . . . . .

Cale Bickler . . . . . . . .

Brendan Flores. . . . .

Hunter Magnusson.

Donnie Loegering. . .

Julian Wilke. . . . . . . .

Joey Stuhaug. . . . . . .

Parker Tjaden. . . . . .

Tyler Todd. . . . . . . . . .

Chase Libak. . . . . . . .

Gunnar Lawson . . . .

Brayden Boe. . . . . . . .

Jonathon Schledt. . .

Scott Kluck. . . . . . . . .

Grant Klevgaard. . . .

Sam Wamre. . . . . . . .

Sam Harrison. . . . . . .

Gage Eastman. . . . . .

Marshall Ness . . . . . .

Zach Ellingson. . . . . .

Garner Moe. . . . . . . . .

Brady Petermann. . .

Cameron Lunde. . . .

Conner Ness. . . . . . . .

Lucas Crompton. . . .

Thomas Hines. . . . . .

Jayden Carlisle. . . . .

Ben Burkel. . . . . . . . . .

Mason Klevgaard. . .

Ian Lilleby. . . . . . . . . .

Matt Thompson . . . .

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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Pos Grade WR 12 . TE 12 WR 12 . TE 10 . RB 12 . QB 12 . RB 10 WR 12 . RB 12 WR 12 WR 12 WR 10 . QB 10 WR 10 . QB 11 . RB 12 . RB 12 WR 11 . RB 10 . RB 10 . RB 11 WR 12 . RB 10 . TE 11 . RB 11 WR 10 . RB 10 . RB 10 . LB 12 . OL 10 . OL 12 . OL 11 . OL 11 . OL 12 . OL 11 . OL 12 . OL 11 . OL 12 . OL 10 . OL 11 . OL 12 . OL 10 WR 10 . RB 10 . TE 10 . TE 10 . TE 9

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2016

8

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By ROBERT WILLIAMS

Indians ROSTER # 0 3 5 7 9 12 13 14 20 21 23 24 25 28 34 37 50 51 53 54 57 62 63 64 65 67 69 70 74 75 77 78 81 83 83 88

Name Dan Snetsinger. . . . . . . .

Hawk LaFriniere. . . . . .

Sam Olson. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Kael Snetsinger. . . . . . . .

Brian Schoenborn . . . . .

Jon Starkey. . . . . . . . . . . .

Skylar Lafriniere . . . . . .

Jameson Beckman. . . . .

Izaiah Asher. . . . . . . . . . .

Craige Brown. . . . . . . . . .

Gabe Bjorge. . . . . . . . . . .

Jack Miller. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Roy Bjorge. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Nikkiah Liebl. . . . . . . . . .

Mitch Foss. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Caleb Svendsgaard. . . .

Chris Busche . . . . . . . . . .

Jerell Londo. . . . . . . . . . .

Bobby Weaver. . . . . . . . .

Chris Podlak. . . . . . . . . . .

Jeremy Londo . . . . . . . . .

Chandler Guinn . . . . . . .

Nick Podlak. . . . . . . . . . .

Chandler Guinn . . . . . . .

Skylor Morgan. . . . . . . . .

Logan Bendickson. . . . .

Sam LaVoy-Brunette. .

Kim De La Cruz. . . . . . .

Charlie Coleman. . . . . . .

Isaac Svendsgaard . . . .

Patrick Mahoney. . . . . .

Robert Keezer . . . . . . . . .

Richard Beckman. . . . .

Logan Kettner. . . . . . . . .

Logan Kettner. . . . . . . . .

Sonny Wadena . . . . . . . .

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rwilliams@dlnewspapers.com

H

ead coach John Clark, Jr.’s Mahnomen Indians had a similar plight to their neighbors down highway 59, Waubun, reaching the state playoffs before losing for the first and last time of another successful 10-1 campaign.

The way the Indians were escorted out of the playoffs was not very Mahnomen-like, a 44-6 drubbing by quarterback Josh Larson and the Braham Bombers at Bemidji State University in the state quarterfinals.

Another anomaly not indicative of the usual Indians’ roster is a significant drop in participation numbers this season.

“We’ve probably got 17 players 10-12,” head coach John Clark, Jr. said.

Pos Grade . OL 11 . RB 12 . RB 11 . QB 9 . QB 12 . QB 10 WR 9 WR 10 . RB 10 . RB 10 . QB 8 . RB 9 . RB 9 WR 9 . RB 12 . RB 10 . OL 11 . OL 12 . OL 10 . OL 9 . OL 9 . OL 10 . OL 11 . OL 10 . OL 9 . OL 9 . OL 8 . OL 12 . OL 12 . OL 8 . OL 9 . OL 9 .WR 12 WR 0 . TE 10 WR 12

There are six seniors on the squad who will be integral with leadership and continuing a sixyear streak advancing to the state playoffs. The last year Mahnomen did not appear was 2009.

Leading the way on offense will be Brian Schoenborn at quarterback. Detroit Lakes summer baseball fans got a look at his athletic ability as the starting third baseman for the 20-win Post 15 Legion team.

He has also handled quarterback duties plenty in the last three seasons behind graduated starter Tom Pavek. Pavek is likely to see touches for Concordia College in Moorhead this season.

“Great experience for him and he’s a smart kid,” Clark, Jr. said of Schoenborn. “As a freshman he played quite a bit and got a lot of reps as a sophomore. He’s like a fifth-year senior. He’s got the

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physical tools and he’s also football smart. In our offense, he gets to do a lot and we’re pretty comfortable with him back there.”

Schoenborn was cast into the limelight last season when the Indians got a taste of a big loss in early October when Pavek was injured for the remainder of the season with a broken leg caused by a horsecollar tackle in a blowout victory at New York Mills.

Schoenborn will have the usual batch of talent in the backfield led

by Mitch Foss, another player who missed significant time last season because of injury.

“Mitch is going to be the thunder and Izaiah Asher will be the lightning,” Clark Jr. said.

Asher’s role comes with some hope from Mahnomen fans and the coaching staff as he is banged up. He’s coming off a broken ankle, dislocated ankle, and torn tendons

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WINGER 938-4126 001381455r1

2016

suffered in section wrestling and will begin the season at less than 100 percent.

“It just kind of ruined his gait,” said Clark Jr. “He hasn’t gotten back to his running gait yet.”

Craige Brown and Hawk LaFriniere will also be available in the backfield.

LaFriniere has a lot of speed.

“He’s like a little joystick,” Clark, Jr. said. “Brown, he’s a sophomore, and if we can keep him mentally into it he’s going to be something too.”

The line returns two starters and does not have a lot of backup making injuries a potential for disaster again this season. Junior Nick Podlak is one lineman to keep an eye on.

“He’s just one of those classic, good, Mahnomen football players,” Clark, Jr. said. “He’s farm-kid strong and farmkid tough and he’s going to do his job every time. We’re pretty comfortable with that first group of line, but boy, we are thin after that.”

Mahnomen prevailed in four games

9

with Pavek on the sideline last year. He led Mahnomen to the team’s last state championship in 2013 as a sophomore.

The Indians never fell short of the state quarters during Pavek’s tenure under center.

Much of the pressure at quarterback in Mahnomen is typically alleviated by a punishing run game.

“We’re going to pound it until you stop us and Schoenborn can throw, so hopefully, we can develop a short passing game,” said Clark, Jr. “Our defense isn’t going to be as stout as it’s been.

Hopefully, we can control the ball a little bit more.”

Regardless of injuries and change, the end of the season plan is the same as it always is in Mahnomen - the state title game.

“These guys have one goal,” said Clark, Jr. “It’s neat because they think they’re kind of being undersold this year because we don’t have as many kids and lost some pretty talented kids last year. It’s neat that we’ve had the success we’ve had, but they have a collective chip on their shoulders. You can sense that already. There’s not many of them, but their attitude and work ethic

are outstanding.”

Quarterback Schoenborn, running back Foss, linebacker Jerell Londo and lineman Charlie Coleman captain this year’s squad. Londo is a player to keep in view on defense and should provide plenty of momentum defensively with his ability to hit hard.

“That kid can thump; when he hits you, you know you’ve been hit,” said Clark, Jr. Mahnomen outscored their opponents on average 45-10 in 11 games and that was doing it the kind and respectful way of pulling starters before games got ridiculously out of hand.

The Indians easily could have put up 100 points on a number of squads last year and will return in 2016-17 as the team to beat in District Northwest Red and Section 8A. The Indians open on the road at Pillager Friday, Sept. 2. The Huskies had the displeasure of opening last season at Mahnomen and made the drive home on the losing end of a 53-0 rout.

The section is likely a race between the Indians and Polk County West, which would provide a rematch of last year’s 8A final - won by Mahnomen 44-7.

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2016

10

Titans face a tough, early season schedule T

rwilliams@dlnewspapers.com

wo seasons ago, head coach Dustin Flaten’s Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal Spartans were the talk of 9-man, Section 6 with a last-minute goal line stand semifinal upset of then No. 2-ranked Waubun on the Bomber’s field.

The Titans took that momentum to a section championship victory over Nevis as the No. 5 seed and all the way to the state semifinals before losing to eventual state runners-up Edgerton/ Ellsworth in an improbable playoff run.

Last year’s team was unable to conjure up the same magic in a 2-7 season that ended with five consecutive losses and a first round 30-8 playoff defeat at home to rivals Norman County West.

“We’ve got a lot of experience coming back and a lot of skilled positions; we’ve got some guys who have started three years for us now,” said Flaten.

“We’re not the biggest, but I think our overall speed is pretty good. Our experience is our strength right now.”

Senior quarterback Brett Braeseth

bring much of that experience to the Titan offense under center.

“He’s not a big kid; he’s probably 140-pounds soaking wet, but he plays much bigger than that,” said Flaten.

Braeseth has been a mainstay for the Titans on defense, as well.

“He’s started since he’s been a sophomore on both sides of the field,” Flaten said. “He’s a great leader for us, makes good decisions. He throws a decent ball and we’re looking to have him carry the ball a little more than we’ve called on him the last few years.”

Fellow senior Brady Sirjord was the lone junior in a running back by committee, senior-heavy, backfield last year.

He recorded over 1,000 yards in 2015.

“He’s going to get the bulk of our carries,” said Flaten.

Sirjord will be backed up by a followup committee of runners in the backfield, led by junior Kyle Syverson, the fastest player on the Titan’s squad.

“We’re looking to get quite a few yards from him,” Flaten said.

Sophomore Noah Klemetson will also carry the ball and give Titan fans a look at the future of the offense.

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2016 In their own section, 6-9-man, the Titans face more tough teams in defending champions Waubun and Peyton Syverson; an improved Ada-Borup squad, Nevis and rivals Norman County West, who is big this year and have experience in the backfield with senior running back Steele Armstrong.

“It’s a tough schedule; it definitely is,” Flaten said.

The Titans have proven in the recent past that a .500 team can come out of Section 6 and players on this team remember being on the field as sopho-

mores in 2014.

“Our goals are high and that’s good to have,” said Flaten. “We want to be playing in the section championship game. These kids remember that state run from a couple years ago and they want that.”

Defensively, Sam Bates returns as last year’s leading tackler despite missing two games with a serious elbow injury.

“He just played through it; he’s a tough kid,” Flaten said. “We’re expecting the same thing this year.”

Another kid who will be coming back tough as nails is senior lineman Ivan Holm, who will miss the first game of the season due to graduating from basic training.

“We’ll try to get him caught up to speed and see where it goes from there,” said Flaten. “He kept telling me ‘I promise I’ll come back ready to go.’

There’s no doubt about that.”

NCE/UH travels to Argyle in week one Thursday, Sept. 1 looking to avenge a 40-6 trouncing by the Storm last year in Ulen to begin the year.

Titans ROSTER # 1 2 4 5 6 8 10 12 14 20 22 24 26 28 30 34 36 38 40 42 46 48 51 55 60 69 70 71 77 79 80 82 84 86 88

Name Chace Degroat. . . . . .

Dalton Green. . . . . . . .

Brett Braseth. . . . . . . .

Tate Maesse. . . . . . . . .

Chase Green. . . . . . . . .

Griffin Maesse. . . . . . .

Tate Hoseth. . . . . . . . .

Isaac Stene. . . . . . . . . .

Steffen Sather. . . . . . .

Isaac Habedank. . . . .

Kale McCollum. . . . . .

Brady Sirjord. . . . . . . .

Alex Hamernik. . . . . .

Noah Klemetson. . . . .

Toby Bjerklie. . . . . . . .

Kyle Syverson. . . . . . .

Sunny Resnick. . . . . . .

Zane Mickelson. . . . . .

Treyton Klemetson. .

Marshall Stumbo. . . .

Sam Bates. . . . . . . . . . .

Kasy Lisburg. . . . . . . .

Prestin Douville. . . . . .

Riley Resnick. . . . . . . .

Chris Braaten. . . . . . . .

Tanner Douville. . . . .

Eric Begg. . . . . . . . . . . .

Ivan Holm. . . . . . . . . . .

MIlo Winter. . . . . . . . . .

Kennedy Ramstorf. . .

Hunter Crompton. . . .

Dylan Braseth. . . . . . .

Skyler Moen. . . . . . . . .

Jesse Fain . . . . . . . . . . .

John Nodsle . . . . . . . . .

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Pos Grade . RB 9 . TE 10 . QB 12 . QB 10 . QB 9 WR 12 . RB 10 . OL 11 . TE 10 . TE 11 . TE 10 . RB 12 . TE 9 . RB 10 . OL 11 . RB 11 . RB 10 . RB 9 . RB 9 . RB 9 . FB 12 . TE 9 . OL 10 . OL 9 . TE 11 . OG 9 . OL 11 . OL 12 . OL 11 . OL 9 . TE 10 . TE 9 . RB 12 . TE 11 . TE 10

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“He’s stepping up and showing us that he can get some minutes,” said Flaten.

NCE/UH opens up with a tough schedule against perennial powers Stephen-Argyle and Clearbrook-Gonvick on the road and open the home schedule in week three against Kittson County Central. Those three opponents combined to go 23-10 last season Stephen-Argyle took out both the Bears and Bearcats in securing the Section 8-9-man championship before losing a tight 19-14 state quarterfinal to Ely.

11

2016

12

Bombers ready to unload on opponents he Waubun Bombers have put a scare into their opponents the past two seasons with only two losses against 20 victories. Both losses came in the playoffs. Waubun’s potential return to the postseason got a big scare mid-summer when starting quarterback Peyton Syverson broke a bone in his foot.

Syverson was originally diagnosed

with a possible Achilles tendon injury, and a bruised tibia, before a second opinion and MRI disclosed the broken bone.

“It was kind of tough,” said Syverson. “I did some physical therapy and that made me appreciate physical therapists a lot more than I thought before.

Taking it slow was the biggest thing for me. That was the toughest part, not being able to go all out. You just have to look forward.”

For head coach Paul Clark, the inju-

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up quarterback in a tough position potentially having to start the season on the road at 2015 Section 8 runnersup Kittson County Central (7-4). Then again, Waubun’s backup has family ties in Syverson’s brother Parker.

“We had our team camp and his brother Parker is going to be the backup and he exceeded all expectations,” said Clark.

Parker leads a big group of sophomores who will play a huge role in the success of the Bombers; a team that has

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ry was more of a worry on Syverson’s mindset, as opposed to the physical recovery.

“It was obviously a scare just because the kid has worked so hard and had such a great year last year,” said Paul Clark. “The scare was more worried about him mentally. I had every confidence that he was going to come back. But, for him to miss one practice darn near killed him, much less a game.”

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By ROBERT WILLIAMS

2016

13

Bombers ROSTER # 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 13 15 18 20 21 22 23 26 28 30 32 33 34 55 66 68 68 69 72 76 78

one junior on the roster. The sophomores will need to get up to speed behind a strong core group of senior leadership.

“We have to get them in the rhythm,” senior lineman Hunter Cukla said.

“They’ve got a lot of potential.”

There is little hand holding going on at practice as senior wideout Sam Rothschadl has big expectations and even bigger tests for the underclassmen during workouts.

“They need to step up a lot this year,” he said. “If they don’t hit us hard we’re going to hit them harder. They need to get used to it. We’ve got some big teams coming in this year.”

The Bomber seniors have experienced a playoff upset to division rivals, the Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal Titans, who spoiled an undefeated run in the second round of section playoffs in 2014. The group followed that up with last year’s trip to the state semifinals.

“I definitely feel as confident coming

1

downs in a season breaking previous marks all set by Jesse Lhotka.

The Bombers will need a new target to lead the passing game after the graduation of Darius Woods-Steichen.

Waubun was forced to do that late in the 2015 season when Woods-Steichen went down with a broken right hand in the section title game.

Rothschadl proved his versatility on both sides of the ball last season and will certainly be on the lookout for passes this season and he can run the ball. Senior fullback Mason Bartos will also handle the ball effectively in the backfield.

As in all football games, the lineman are going to have to step up to make space for all of Waubun’s key position players, but will benefit from a group with excellent team speed.

“Obviously, our expectations are

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high but with a schedule like that and playing half the team sophomores, we think they’re ready; you just never know,” said Clark. “Plus, same as every other northern Minnesota 9-man team, one injury can change the whole dynamic of every team.”

Waubun is undefeated in the regular season the past two years and the team goal is to do the same and make a run at the state final.

“We were fortunate to make it to the state semis game and that was a lot of fun,” said Syverson. “We definitely have that going for us and that taste in our mouth. We want to get back there.”

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“I definitely feel as confident coming back from that year,” — senior Sam Rothschadl

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E-Z

back from that year,” Rothschadl said.

“I think we’re working a lot harder,” said Cukla.

“We’re going to be as good, if not better, than last year,” Clark said.

“The teams in our sections and on our schedule are so much better too.

You’ve got Ada-Borup who is loaded on the line and has some good athletes.

Norman County West is big and strong everywhere and they’re starting to believe over there. The Titans had a little down year last year and they didn’t like that much. They’re going to be there in the end. Nevis is always tough. We’re going to have to be better than last year to win one section game, much less win the section. That’s what is so difficult this year. Making sure we take care of business so we’re ready for the playoffs.”

Syverson rewrote the Waubun offensive record book in 2015 setting new marks as the all-time leading scorer, most touchdowns in a season, most rushing yards and most rushing touch-

Name Peyton Syverson. . . .

Mason Bartos. . . . . . .

Tayvis Zima. . . . . . . .

Chase Dorman. . . . .

Ethan Lefebvre. . . . .

Sequoyah Tonihka. .

Trenton Johnson. . . .

Sam Rothschadl. . . .

Dayton Makey. . . . . .

Tanner Lefebvre. . . .

Jayden Heisler. . . . . .

Jorge Quijada. . . . . . .

Parker Syverson. . . .

Dean Sargent. . . . . . .

Jason Lyons. . . . . . . .

Teddy Lyons. . . . . . . .

Adam Syverson . . . .

Treston Spalla. . . . . .

Brodie Bement. . . . . .

Douglas McArthur. .

Will Bly. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Jeffrey Cukla. . . . . . .

Gus Vanata. . . . . . . . .

Dion Makey. . . . . . . . .

Rohan Thompson. . .

Matt Wierschke. . . . .

Quentin Bellanger. .

Bradley Weaver. . . . .

Jacob Riggle. . . . . . . .

John Clark. . . . . . . . . .

Hunter Cukla. . . . . . .

Levi Mertens . . . . . . .

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2016

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Jackets rebounding from close losses in 2015 he 2015 season marked the first full season under head coach Kyle Knutson for the Perham Yellowjacket football team and it was an up-and-down season for the Yellowjackets. The season started well with a 36-14 victory over Hawley, but, it ended with an upsetting, 34-28, defeat to Park Rapids Area in the Section 8AA playoffs.

It was the tale of the Yellowjackets season; they never could get on track and get a winning streak during the season. Four of the five losses for the Yellowjackets were by eight points or less, including a pair of one point losses to Pequot Lakes, 29-28, and Detroit Lakes, 33-32. The Yellowjackets hope to turn those losses into wins during the 2016 season.

The Yellowjackets have had a couple of strong weeks of practice, including

a pair of scrimmages, starting the 2016 season.

“Things are going well. We have had a good couple of days, but the kids are working hard,” Knutson said.

The Yellowjackets will have to find a way to fill the void left by last year’s senior class which included several running backs and wide receivers, as well as quarterback Dylan Perrine.

“The seniors that graduated are going to be missed. We miss them every year when they go,” Knutson said. “Fortunately for us, we have talented kids coming up to replace them and they are eager for their roles.”

Jonathon Staebler, Roo Schmitz, Reid Moser, Noah Christenson and Jack DeConcini are a few of the key returners for the Yellowjackets. One of the areas the Yellowjackets will have to grow up quickly will be on the line. They have some inexperience according to Knutson and they are working to build depth on the line.

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It will be the second season under offensive coordinator Ryan Beachy.

The team participated in a few camps this past summer, allowing them to become more familiar with the offense, along with that; Knutson said the team is more comfortable with his style “The kids are more comfortable with the style that he likes to run. He is able to worry about his basic install,” Knutson said. “He is able to reach out and expand his offense a little bit, which will make things more powerful for us.”

DeConcini, Zach Peterson and Noah Christenson are expected to see some action in the backfield, among others for the Yellowjackets. Jenson Beachy is expected to take over the reins at quarterback, along with Tanner Knutson and Connor Breitenfeldt.

Knutson said the Yellowjacket defense will be solid, despite not having much size on the defensive line.

“The kids are coming in with the right mentality,” Knutson said. “We

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won’t have necessarily all size on the line, but we have power and quickness from our kids. Our linebacking crew is looking very solid for whom we think is going to play there. We have a lot of numbers in the secondary; we have to get the people in the right spot.”

The 2016 season marks the second season of the district scheduling.

The Yellowjackets are part of the Midwest District Red Division. They open with Hawley and East Grand Forks, before heading on the road to Thief River Falls and Pequot Lakes. They return home for a contest with Park Rapids, before back-to-back road trips to Detroit Lakes and Roseau, before closing out at home with Fergus Falls.

“We have the 4A schools on our schedule again with Thief River Falls, Detroit Lakes and Fergus Falls and they will be tough,” Knutson said. “They always are. Park Rapids and Pequot Lakes are always solid. We have a lot of tough teams to play. Our kids don’t shy away

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2016

15

Yellowjackets ROSTER

those teams were not to have beaten us.”

Knutson is back for his second season as head coach after taking over for Mike Jordahl. They return a full coaching staff with Ryan Beachy, John McEachran, Lance Rach, Paul Sturdevant, James Mulcahy, Tyler Doll, Grant Dierkhising and Stephan Sweere.

Knutson said this is an awesome

Show your school

Spirit!

Name Dawson Honer. . . . . . .

Jensen Beachy. . . . . . .

Reid Moser. . . . . . . . . .

Noah Christenson. . .

Dylan Johnson. . . . . . .

Zack Zajac. . . . . . . . . . .

Jace Kovash. . . . . . . . .

Ty Moser. . . . . . . . . . . .

Connor Breitenfeldt. .

Josh Jeziorski. . . . . . . .

Kaleb King . . . . . . . . . .

Sam Still. . . . . . . . . . . .

Seth Johnson. . . . . . . .

Evan Guck. . . . . . . . . . .

Wyatt Guck. . . . . . . . . .

Ryan Kalina. . . . . . . . .

Trevor Guck. . . . . . . . .

Logan Zajac. . . . . . . . .

Gage Paurus. . . . . . . . .

Matt Bush. . . . . . . . . . .

Zack Peterson. . . . . . .

Tanner Knutson. . . . .

Max Tostenson. . . . . .

Noah Monson. . . . . . . .

Anthony Dahl. . . . . . . .

Jack DeConcini. . . . . .

Logan Thompson. . . .

Ryan Schmitz . . . . . . .

Jon Enamorado. . . . . .

Elias Hoffman. . . . . . .

Tristan Groff. . . . . . . .

Colton Kostynick. . . .

Logan Richter. . . . . . .

Blaine Richter. . . . . . .

Domonic Erdmann. . .

Takoda Germain. . . . .

Nolan Wade . . . . . . . . .

Juan Martinez. . . . . . .

Nick Shumansky. . . .

Jonathan Staebler. . .

Terrell Bellanger. . . . .

Jace Wilprecht. . . . . . .

Hunter Ditterich. . . . .

Keith Nordick. . . . . . . .

Ryan Dahl. . . . . . . . . . .

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Pos Grade WR 11 . QB 10 WR 12 . FB 12 WR 11 WR 11 . RB 11 . TB 10 . QB 11 WR 10 WR 10 WR 10 WR 11 . FB 12 WR 11 WR 11 WR 12 WR 10 . RB 12 WR 10 . RB 10 WR 11 . FB 10 . RB 11 . RB 11 . RB 12 . OL 10 . . C 12 OG 10 . OL 12 . OT 12 . . C 10 . OT 11 . OL 10 OG 11 . OT 12 . OL 10 . OL 11 . OL 10 . OT 12 . OL 11 . OL 12 . . K 12 WR 11 . TE 12

group to coach.

“They are great kids. I’m proud of how hard they are working and how they are listening right now,” Knutson said. “We just hopes that keeps up.”

The Yellowjackets kick off the new season on Friday, Sept. 2 with a 7 p.m. start against the Hawley Nuggets at the Ted Meinhover Field in Perham.

001474256r1

from that. They are not scared of a 4A school and I am proud of them for that. They play them like they belong to be there.”

Knutson said if they can stay healthy during the season, the schedule should help them prepare for the Section 8AAA playoffs.

“Staying healthy is the key. You don’t want to lose any key players in those types of games,” Knutson said. “If we can stay healthy, playing those larger schools is definitely a plus for us.”

Another key for the Yellowjackets, according to Knutson, is the team’s ability to stay together. Knutson said they preach to the team to work hard and be coachable. He said if they can focus on that and look at what can help the team will be a key as well.

Three close losses last year has the Yellowjackets motivated heading into the new season. It was something that stung the team and hurt their win loss record.

“We are not real happy with that.

The kids last year knew that those games should have been ours,” Knutson said. “On paper we beat them and won all three of those games, but when you don’t get it in the win-loss column it really hurts.

What we took away from that was desire. We have desire to show that

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2016

18

Robert Williams/Tribune

Left: Head Coach Josh Omang has the Lakers prepared fo rthe season-opening game Thursday, Sept. 1 at Little Falls. Right: Ben Nordmark will be a terror to defend for opposing teams as the lead runner in the Lakers’ offense.

New era to kickoff for Detroit Lakes football

rwilliams@dlnewspapers.com

F

ootball in Detroit Lakes sees a changing of the guard at head coach with Flint Motschenbacher retiring directly to the Minnesota Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame and 1999 DLHS graduate Josh Omang taking the helm.

Omang’s hire keeps the coaching ranks in file in DL history as he is only the third head coach at Detroit Lakes since 1985 and played for both Rick Manke (1985-1998) and Motschenbacher (1998-2015).

“The nice thing from where I came from, our head coach was really good about letting us coach,” Omang said. “Going from D to head coach is not a lot different other than you have to have a scope of the whole program.”

Omang brings metro experience coaching against bigger schools as the former defensive coordinator at Class 5A Chanhassen. The Storm reached the section semifinals in 2015 before losing to Chaska. Omang’s coaching history stretches from both of these schools as the defensive coordinator at Chaska 2003-07 and a year as the offensive coordinator during the 2007-08 season, before moving to Chanhassen.

The first-year head coach has spread the scope of the whole program down the line to the players.

Rather than electing captains, the Lakers are operating with a unity council. The concept dates back to Tom Osborne, the former head football coach at the University of Nebraska, as a way to develop leadership. There are nine players, sophomores to seniors, rep-

resented.

Groups of players are also spreading that to the younger players in the FM youth program.

“We’re going to weekly position groups to the FM practices to do some stuff with them and build a relationship,” Omang said.

Mollberg Field and the attached practice fields were a haven of football during the last scrimmage of the preseason with Bemidji, Perham and Moorhead taking on the Lakers on Mollberg, while a bunch of FM youth games were played next door.

One aspect of Laker football this season that will be no surprise to anyone is the DL run game.

Omang begins his tenure in Detroit Lakes inheriting all-district, workhorse, running back Ben Nordmark, who enters his junior season already in the school’s top

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2016 10 all-time in rushing yards. He is not the only runner in the backfield who is going to make opposing defenses pay.

“Sophomore Ben Boomgarden is big strong athlete,” Omang said.

“Aaron Schnathorst, Tristan Rader another physical back - they’re hard working kids, not afraid to run the ball in there. Tough kids.”

Rader stood out at the final scrimmage. He leads a bunch of options in the backfield including Carson Tunheim, who has the unique résumé of playing defensive tackle and running the ball.

Keep an eye on Isaac Cihak, as well, he’ll bring his aggressive and physical game to both sides of the ball.

“It’s nice to have other guys who can easily go off for 100-yards themselves,” said Omang.

With talent in the backfield, the Lakers are young on the offensive line.

“That’s the stuff we’re working on right now, fundamental stuff,” said Omang.

One key aspect from the halls of Laker past that Omang has brought to the program is a resurgence on getting players into the weight room.

“Our biggest lineman when I played was 230,” he said. “We did a lot of work in the weight room, got a lot stronger. For us, that’s just part of practice.”

Joining Tunheim on the line will be Sam Busker and Scott Heinecke is another hard working kid, according to Omang.

“We’re not going to line up and be bigger than you across the board,” he said.

Coming from Class 5A experience, Omang also knows how im-

19

Lakers Seniors portant it is to diversify the offense.

DL may be loaded in the backfield, but will need to take to the air to be successful, especially in the playoffs.

“You could be bigger, stronger than the other team, that rarely happened,” he said. “They would just load the box up and make it tough to run. We need to be able to throw and hurt teams in the passing game.”

Two underclassmen are vying for the starting nod under center in junior Jackson Haire and sophomore Jake Bettcher.

“They’re both really good athletes, and young, so there will be a lot of learning,” Omang said.

Exactly who will be the main target in the passing game is to be seen. One addition to the team this year is senior Adam Daggett.

“Adam Daggett is a playmaker,” said Omang.

Defensively, DL will be somewhat of an anomaly for early teams to scout. Omang ran a 3-4 in the cities and has been working on a new scheme for an experienced group.

“We have more returners on D than on offense,” he said. “We focus on that a lot.”

The Laker first-team defense showcased their abilities at Saturday’s scrimmage in shutting down the first-team offense from Moorhead, not allowing a sniff of the end zone to the Spuds on half a field.

That effort had players pumped up.

With a lot of change in the program and new experiences for even veteran players, the goals in DL are as lofty as ever.

“The kids sit down every year to set goals - obviously, lofty goals,” said Omang. “I didn’t come up here to go backwards. I don’t expect us to not win games and be okay with it. We want to find that balance.”

There is definitely a stingy foe in the section that has caused DL problems and knocking the Lakers out of the playoffs the past two seasons - the Rocori Spartans. DL also faces an old foe in the return of Fergus Falls to the schedule.

“I’m glad its back, that rivalry,” Omang said.

The Lakers finished with a record of 7-2 in 2015 and held sole possession of second place to Fergus Falls in the final District Midwest Red standings. The Otters handed DL their first loss of the year at Mollberg Field 14-0 in a renewal of the long-standing rivalry.

The teams will meet again this season in week three at Fergus Falls.

Detroit Lakes hits the road to Little Falls for the season opener Thursday, Sept. 1. The Flyers came to Mollberg Field to open last year’s season and gave DL a stiff test in a 21-14 loss to the Lakers. DL needed a late touchdown in the final seven minutes to break a 14-all tie.

The remainder of the coaching staff looks the same as last year to complement Omang in his first year at the helm in assistant coaches: Vern Schnathorst, Kelly Kalina, Rob Nielsen, Mike Labine, Dave Meyer, Josh Bettcher, Reed Hefta, Mark Whiting, and Ben Pederson.

Lakers ROSTER # 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 16 17 18 19 20 21 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 33 38 40 42 43 44 46 47 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88

Name Jackson Haire. . . . . . .

Kai McLeod. . . . . . . . .

Adam Daggett. . . . . . .

Brady Labine. . . . . . . .

Mason Blank . . . . . . . .

Cameron Erb. . . . . . . .

Tanner Doppler. . . . . .

Jacob Bettcher. . . . . . .

Jaeger Gulseth. . . . . . .

Alex Lubins. . . . . . . . . .

Tristen Rader. . . . . . . .

Reed Reller. . . . . . . . . .

Isaac Enggebraaten.

Michael Erickson. . . .

Jeffrey Newburey. . . .

Tristan Knopf . . . . . . .

Brady Morris . . . . . . . .

Isaac Cihak. . . . . . . . . .

Connor Froke. . . . . . . .

Ben Nordmark. . . . . . .

Carson Tunheim. . . . .

Jacob Swiers. . . . . . . .

Brennen Sather. . . . . .

Sully Wood. . . . . . . . . .

Trey Greer. . . . . . . . . . .

Ben Stearns. . . . . . . . .

Fabyon Greer. . . . . . . .

Ben Boomgaarden. . .

Jackson Brusewitz. . .

Will Green. . . . . . . . . . .

Cam Gilbertson. . . . . .

Dylan Coalwell. . . . . .

Jared Renney. . . . . . . .

Zane Freeman. . . . . . .

Chase Davidson. . . . .

Josh Wolfe. . . . . . . . . . .

Scott Heinecke. . . . . .

Reece Skarie. . . . . . . . .

Jay Nielsen. . . . . . . . . .

Ryan Genz. . . . . . . . . . .

Reiley Draack. . . . . . . .

Connor Kalway. . . . . .

Brandon Carpentier .

Jacob Walther. . . . . . .

Jacob Hanson. . . . . . .

Spencer Heimark. . . .

Brett Wawers. . . . . . . .

Sam Busker. . . . . . . . .

Donte Green. . . . . . . . .

Noah Olds. . . . . . . . . . .

Henry Vogt. . . . . . . . . .

Sean Lundeen. . . . . . .

Aaron Schnathorst. .

Lane Moe. . . . . . . . . . . .

Gary VanPelt. . . . . . . .

Alex Willette. . . . . . . . .

Jack Schramel. . . . . . .

Charles Barnett. . . . . .

Goliath Zahrowski. . .

Tyler Myhre. . . . . . . . .

Jacob Retz. . . . . . . . . . .

Nick Meier. . . . . . . . . . .

Tristan Wimmer. . . . .

Jake Kerzman. . . . . . .

Eli Brooks. . . . . . . . . . .

Braden Heinecke. . . .

Terron Gettel. . . . . . . .

Cody Kellerhuis. . . . . .

Shem Boeckel. . . . . . .

Noah Steffl. . . . . . . . . .

Jeric Giwoyna . . . . . . .

Zach Brandt. . . . . . . . .

Ethan Schweigart . . .

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Pos Grade . QB 11 .WR 12 WR 12 WR 12 WR 11 . RB 11 WR 11 . QB 10 WR 11 . RB 12 . RB 11 WR 10 WR 11 WR 12 . TE 10 WR 11 . RB 10 . TE 12 WR 11 . RB 11 . RB 12 .WR 12 . TE 10 WR 10 . RB 12 WR 10 . RB 10 . RB 10 . TE 10 . . S 10 WR 11 . TE 10 . OT 10 . . K 12 . RB 10 . RB 12 . DG 12 . DT 11 . DG 11 . DG 12 . DT 10 . TE 11 OG 10 . TB 12 . OG 11 . DG 12 . . C 10 . TE 12 . DG 11 . DG 10 . DG 10 . TE 12 . RB 12 . TB 11 . OT 12 . OT 12 . DG 10 . OT 10 . OT 10 . RB 12 . OT 12 WR 11 . RB 11 . TB 11 . TE 11 WR 11 WR 10 WR 10 . TE 10 . TE 10 . TE 12 . TE 11 WR 11

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Former Laker Omang takes over DL football program

By ROBERT WILLIAMS

J

rwilliams@dlnewspapers.com

osh Omang, a 1999 Detroit Lakes graduate, has accepted the head football coaching job vacated by retiring hall of famer Flint Motschenbacher and Omang is excited to be coming back to his home town.

“We always wanted to move back to the outstate,” Omang said. “My wife is from south of Mankato; she’s an outstate kid too. We believe in raising our kids in outstate and that stuff. It was always kind of in the plan to move back and of course, this is a dream job for me.”

Omang has kept in touch with DL football over the years and has continued a relationship with the program since his playing days. Omang played under Rick Manke in the 1996 and ’97 seasons and was a senior under Motschenbacher in his first year in 1998.

“He was just a very intense and smart football player,” Motschenbacher said.

“He was, definitely, even as a lineman, a leader on the 1997 team that lost in the state championship and in my first year.”

wasn’t the case in my situation. The one thing that I always looked back on when I started coaching was their ability to motivate kids and get them to believe in our system and what we were doing. Just how prepared they were.

It’s interesting. When I went to play at Gustavus I realized I learned more about football in DL from those guys than most of the other people that I encountered. At the time you don’t always realize that when you’re 16 or 17, but certainly later. I look back at that and there is no doubt that is why they were so successful.”

“He’s a Laker,” said Motschenbacher. “He knows the culture and I think that’s going to help. He’ll bring his own thing to the table, which is good. True and true, his culture is Laker culture.”

Omang was a wellness instructor in Chanhassen until the end of the school year and was the varsity defensive coordinator for the Class 5A Chanhassen Storm football team.

Omang has coached football and has been the track and field throws coach at Chanhassen since 2009. He was the varsity defensive coordinator from 2003 – 2007 and the varsity offensive coordinator from 2007 - 2008 at Chaska High School.

He recently passed up a chance to take over the head coaching job at Chanhassen after Bill Rosburn retired.

“I was kind of the next guy here,” said Omang. “They came to me right away but they had known we were looking at moving up north.”

Motschenbacher’s retirement came at a perfect time for the Omang family, albeit unexpected.

“I was in pretty good contact with Flint and those guys over the years,” said Omang. “I didn’t know he was retiring. I was actually shocked when he did.”

“He knows the culture and I think that is going to help,” — Flint Motschenbacher Omang played football and graduated from Gustavus Adolphus. He went to college as a pre-med major, but credits Manke and Motschenbacher with instilling the desire to pursue education and coaching instead.

“Those guys had a major influence on me going into teaching,” Omang said. “Most people that you talk to that are in teaching they have somebody in their family that was a teacher. That

Omang slings football quotes that are reminiscent of both Manke and Motschenbacher.

“If you can’t run the ball and you can’t stop the run, you can’t win titles in high school football,” he said.

Omang brings a Class 5A mentality to 4A Detroit Lakes.

“As cool as everybody thinks it is to watch these spread teams, if you come down here and play against Eden Prairie, Minnetonka or any of those teams, if you can’t run the ball or stop the run against them it doesn’t matter, you’re not going to have any success,” he said.

“We want to be physical and run the ball, but at the same time I’m not afraid to try new stuff and spread it out either.”

Omang inherits a great threat for playing smash mouth football in starting running back Ben Nordmark, a sophomore who has quickly moved into the top 10 all-time in Laker rushing.

“I’ve heard about him and watched

some of the film already,” said Omang.

“Yeah, that’s not going to hurt.”

Omang came to DL in April for a first meeting with players and to discuss the immediate future with the coaching staff.

“Trying to get the behind the scenes stuff organized now so when I get there we can focus on football, the fun part,” he said.

Laker football fans can look forward to some similarities as Omang’s hire keeps head coaching duties in the DL family with a new approach.

“We ran a lot of the same stuff they did when I started coaching down here, but we’re not afraid to change it up.”

DL got off to a 1-0 start to the season winning at Little Falls 18-3 in Omang’s debut at the helm.

The Lakers played as he predicted, as a physical football team that was defense first and outhit the Flyers all over the field.

Joe Mollberg glad to be back for Hawks

By WAYNE NELSON Forum News Service

M

idway through the 2014 season, Joe Mollberg limped the field at Eccles Coliseum in Cedar City, Utah, with a torn Achilles heel—perhaps the worst injury in any sport.

Mollberg was UND’s quarterback; he was in his second season as the Fighting Hawks’ starter and—to that point—had thrown for 2,648 yards and 10 touchdowns.

The severity of the injury cast doubt whether Mollberg would ever play football again.

But Mollberg, a celebrated athlete out of Detroit Lakes, Minn., erased any doubt.

“There was no doubt I wanted to finish my career and be a part of this team,” said Mollberg on Friday as the Hawks wrapped up their sixth practice of the spring season at the High Performance Center. “Day in and day out, it was a long process in getting back; there was a lot of hard work.

Mentally, it was a challenge.”

This season, though, Mollberg has switched positions.

He’s now a tight end. On Friday, the 6-foot-2, 235-pound senior showed he has some promise at the position, hauling in a one-handed catch that caught the attention of a number high school coaches who were in attendance as part of a UND coaching clinic.

Joe Mollberg

“My body feels good; I’m feeling strong; I’m sweating a lot more than I used to and I’m glad to be out here with the guys,” said Mollberg.

The decision to convert Mollberg into a tight end was mutual, said UND coach Bubba Schweigert.

“He understands the concepts of the position,” said Schweigert. “He knows where to go. Now, he has to work on the actual blocking assignments and combinations.

“We’re giving him a great opportunity and he’s taking advantage of it. He’s working hard and I really like what I see out of him so far.”

“It was a long recovery for him; and it’s tough to come back from that injury. What gets lost in this is that he didn’t run for six months. Then you have to get over that mental block. Can you plant on that

foot, make that switch. But Joe really wanted to play football.

I’m really impressed with his attitude. He approached things the right way and I’m really proud of him for that.”

How much Mollberg sees the field in the fall, however, remains to be seen.

Also, the possibility exists he may see playing time on special teams.

The position change also gives UND another option. Mollberg could serve as an emergency quarterback if the Hawks face the worst-case scenario.

“Joe would be able to do that; to get us out of a game,” said Schweigert. “That gives you a huge advantage, especially on the road.”

2016

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Healthy Vikings look for bounceback season T

rwilliams@dlnewspapers.com

he Pelican Rapids Vikings were decimated by injuries in 2015 to the tune of having to forfeit a first round playoff game against Breckenridge to end a winless season.

The Vikings (0-8) had nine starters out due to injury and only four juniors and seniors remaining for what would have been the Minnesota Class 2A, Section 6 quarterfinal game. This year, they look to bounce back from maybe the most difficult ending for any 2015 high school football team in Minnesota.

Thankfully, the Vikings have escaped the preseason in full health.

“We’re okay with a first unit and kind of a key backup at each position, but we don’t go much further than that,” head

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coach Dave Haugen said. “Injuries are important to every team; it’s critical for us.”

The 2015 Vikings had one sniff at victory in a week four, home, overtime 3331 loss to Midwest White Division opponents Crookston - one of only two wins for the Pirates and their first of the season.

Pelican converted a 37-yard field goal in the final minute to force overtime and were beaten on an extra point bootleg by Crookston quarterback Chris Wavre and a hold by the Pirate defense in the Viking backfield on their extra point attempt to tie.

“Last year, we just got beat down too far,” said Haugen. “We’re a little bit older; our numbers aren’t any better than they were a year ago, but the distribution of the numbers is better. We’ve

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got more of what you’d consider varsity level athletes to fill out the top couple grades.”

Taking the snaps under center this season is junior Oakley Kress.

“He does a little bit of everything pretty well,” said Haugen. “I think what he is going to bring is his understanding of the game and giving him some freedom to make sure we’re always in the right play and allowing him to check some things at the line of scrimmage. He’s a little bit quicker than you think he is and a tough kid. I think he’ll be able to get us in some good situations.”

Kress will have a strong run game to

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balance the attack with senior workhorse Donovan Young in the backfield.

“Last year, we just got beat down too far,” — Vikings’ head coach Dave Haugen.

“We need him to be our workhorse,” said Haugen. “He’s a dynamic back and needs to be ready for a lot of touches and hopefully, we can limit some of his defensive reps because of that and try to keep him fresh. He doesn’t need a lot of good blocking in front of him; he just needs some. We need to be just good

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Name Donovan Young. . . . . . .

Reggie Funk. . . . . . . . . .

Damien Britten. . . . . . .

Nick Schermerhorn. . .

Daimen Such. . . . . . . . .

Gavin Haugrud. . . . . . .

Oakley Kress. . . . . . . . .

Matt Osborne. . . . . . . . .

Ismael Mejia. . . . . . . . . .

Hayden Christenson. .

James Furey. . . . . . . . . .

Josh Nehk. . . . . . . . . . . .

Matt Hanson. . . . . . . . . .

Carlan Haugrud. . . . . .

Matt Ziebell. . . . . . . . . . .

Zane Brosowski. . . . . . .

Zack Sjolie . . . . . . . . . . .

Carson Haugrud. . . . . .

Max Dykoff. . . . . . . . . . .

Lucas Burnside. . . . . . .

Joel Diaz. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Tyler Booth. . . . . . . . . . .

Tyran Carrier. . . . . . . . .

Preston Hart. . . . . . . . . .

Tucker Fladmark. . . . .

Michael Peasley . . . . . .

Armando Diaz. . . . . . . .

Obedt Franco. . . . . . . . .

Kaleb Tollefson. . . . . . .

Colm Fitzsimmons. . . .

Eli Sytsma. . . . . . . . . . . .

Jacob Gottenborg. . . . .

Dillon Such. . . . . . . . . . .

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said Haugen. “We’ve got experience coming back everywhere.

That’s helpful and we can build on that. They understand the need for game speed.”

Pelican has a solid group with experience in eight returning starters on both sides of the ball.

Special teams are up in the air with the loss of Alex Diaz to graduation. Diaz was a mainstay kicking the ball and solid from 40 yards in field goals.

The 2015 Vikings got an early taste of losing talent with the loss of twin brother Hobet Diaz. He went down in week two last year with an ACL injury.

“Hobet Diaz, on paper, is a big loss,” said Haugen.

Haugen will be assisted by coaches Ryan Syverson, Kyle Haugrud, Dan Beck and Cole Forsgren;

“We’ve got experience coming back everywhere.

That’s helpful and we can build on that,” — Haugen Senior Preston Hart heads up the linemen, who will be crucial to the Vikings’ offensive success.

“We’re good to one side and catching up with the other side,”

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three of the four played for Haugen. The coaches’ goals are enjoying the season and finding the path back to W’s in the win colum.

“We want to give them a good experience, first of all,” said Haugen. “We have to get a couple wins.

If we can pull something off early, we can get up to four or five wins.

That would be a really good season.”

Pelican opens the season at home versus the Osakis Silverstreaks Friday, Sept. 2.

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enough up front and give him a little bit of room. Hopefully, the other backs, too, can present enough of a threat to keep defenses honest.

One of those backs is Carlan Haugrud.

“He had some downs last year; he has great speed. We’re working hard with him to play to his ability. He needs to be a more physical player this year.”

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