Last Friday night we started out our season with a loss to our county rivals Dyersville Beckman. The Blazers start the year ranked third in the state in class 2A. As with any game, we learn so much about our team each time we take the field. When asked in pre-season what I thought about our squad this year, I responded with the same answer. We are a talented group, but we are pretty young. Out of the 22 starters on either offense or defense, we only returned 5 guys that have started in a varsity football game before last Friday. I knew that it would take a little time to bring the new starters up to speed. What I didn't know was how good Beckman would be this season or how long it would take us to iron out the wrinkles. The Blazers turned out to be a great team. The have a balanced attack on the ground and in the air. The most impressive athlete of the night proved to be Beckman's Mitch Steger. His five touchdown performance and 300 plus all purpose yards were eye catching to say the least.
The keys to our teams success are always going to be blocking and tackling. I saw some great things in both regards on Friday night. The biggest improvement from last season is Dylan Gansen. What a night Dylan had tallying up 120 yards rushing on 16 carries and punching three of them into the end zone. He ran with great vision and a mixture of graceful cuts and powerful finishes. Dylan was one of our many athletes that made a huge commitment to the weight room in the off-season, and it shows. When I asked Dylan how it looked out there, the first thing he did was give credit to the linemen that were creating the holes. Kyle Kass and Brennan Koerperich did a great job of setting the edge on sweeps. Dylan's humble demeanor was ever present, and he was quick to tell the big guys up front that they were responsible for his rushing success. Dylan was definitely a shining star on Friday night, as were the young offensive linemen.
Defensively we had a tough time containing such an explosive athlete. However, Brennan Koerperich and Bryce Hoerner did exactly what was expected. They came out and played tough football. Both guys made huge off-season gains in the weight room as well. Their commitment to the program has been fantastic, which is why they have been selected as two of our teams team captains. Matt Riniker has been chosen to fill a third captain spot. His leadership has been fantastic, and he has been a role model and an inspiration to all of us. A young bright spot on the line backing core was Alex Wernimont. Alex tallied up a string of tackles and is learning how to play such a difficult position with early starting responsibilities.
We definitely found some areas that we need to improve upon. With five turn-overs and a slough of penalties, we still only trailed the Blazers 27-19 at half-time. We definitely have some loaded weapons on both sides of the ball, but we need to stop shooting ourselves in the foot. This weeks preparation for Maquoketa needs to be focused. We can't wait to take to the field on Friday night and redeem ourselves from a frustrating start. Every game is an opportunity, and we will get better every day!
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