With eight returning starters and 14 letterwinners returning this fall, the Britton-Hecla football team has high expectations, but the Braves will be tested in their season opener when they hit the road to play Great Plains Lutheran in Watertown on Friday at 7 p.m.
“Great Plains Lutheran played us really tough last year (44-34 B-H win),” said fourth-year coach Jacob Skogstad. “They lost probably their two best offensive linemen, but the quarterback (Brody Scharlemann) that ran all over us is back and they have a really aggressive defense. We’re pretty excited to get out and see what we have against them.”
The Braves held a public scrimmage last week Wednesday and for the most part Skogstad was pleased with what he saw.
“We still have a lot of stuff that we need to clean up, but I loved the overall effort, and our execution was pretty good when we got the snap down.”
The B-H boss stressed that establishing the run game would be a key to success in the opener.
“It sounds like it’s going to be pretty windy, so establishing the run game and getting behind our big offensive and letting our runningbacks do their thing will be a key for our success. Defensively, we have to make sure we have our eyes on their quarterback and wrap him up. He’s an elusive kid and runs hard and can be kind of scary in the open field. We need to try to bottle him up and make the other guys beat us.”
Britton-Hecla has its largest squad in a number of years with 39 gridders reporting to fall practice. Heading that list are eight returning regulars that include seniors Ty Fagerland at wide receiver, Dawson Treeby at receiver, Collin Benaer at linebacker, and Andre Herrera in the offensive line. Junior starters returning include Dashel Davidson at linebacker and Connor Furman at offensive line. Sophomores back that started last season are Bryce Hawkinson at runningback and defensive back, and Payton Pearson at tight end and defensive end.
Skogstad did not name a starting lineup this week with some of the positions still up for grabs.
“I’ve been really impressed with how we’ve been able to have very competitive practices,” said Skogstad. “Practices have just been awesome. Every day kids are competing for spots and it’s been fun. Hands down, our practices have been the most competitive in the four years I’ve been here.”
Skogstad has also been pleased with what he’s seen from his younger players.
“I’ve been pleasantly surprised with our young guys and how quickly they have grasped onto how to do things. That’s a credit to our junior high and youth programs that run the same things we do at the varsity level.”
The numbers, competitiveness, and returning veterans all add up to a feeling of optimism this season.
“The last three years we have made the playoffs but we had to travel for the first round, and it hasn’t gone well,” concluded Skogstad. “We’ve talked about it as a team, and we want to put ourselves in a position where we can hopefully host at least one game and play deeper into the playoffs.”
