Here is a recap at the Season Preview Sports News
(Season Preview) Fergus Falls Girls Tennis
The Fergus Falls girls’ tennis team lost eight seniors from their 2022 team that finished with a 9-10 record.
“We had a great team year, winning nearly half of our matches in a tough Section 8AA and Central Lakes Conference,” reported Head Coach Jamie Lill, now in her eleventh season with the Otters.
“Highlights included first singles player Isabella Abrahams peaking and playing amazing tennis at the end of the season and narrowly missing a big upset in individual play against a top-seeded player, and our doubles team of senior Leila Nasri and freshman Ashtyn Lill pulling off some major upsets to advance to the section tournament.”
Abrahams, Hannah Anderson, Clara Stephan and Kylie King are returning seniors with Abrahams serving as captain.
Other letter winners back from last year are sophomores Ruby Ellison, Hattie Fullart and Lill. Freshman Kaia Ness is also back.
“Layla Zosel and Kaia Ness are looking so sharp already this fall,” commented Coach Lill.
“It’s clear they’ve been putting in the work and are prepped and ready to fill some varsity roles this year. We have some vacancies in the lineup and are just looking to see who else has prepped themselves to fill these roles for us this year.”
Lill will be assisted by Roy Anderson, Jesse Schneeberger and Norm Newell. She sees Brainerd and Bemidji as the top teams in Section 8AA with Brainerd the Central Lakes Conference favorite.
“We are excited for an influx of experience in many younger players this year,” added Coach Lill.
“We have some younger girls who have already played at the varsity level. When you mix that with our established veterans, it has us excited for our potential lineup. With the leadership of our veterans and some new youngsters, we can’t wait to hit the courts!’
(Season Preview) West Central Area Football
The West Central Area football team has only five returning starters from last year, but a number of players with varsity experience will be claiming starting positions this fall.
Head Coach Nate Wood is in his sixth season at the helm and will be assisted by Kevin McNamara, Dave Stone, Todd Hickman, Ross Anderson, Jordan Lohse and Dallas Koplin.
The Knights were 6-4 a year ago, as they struggled through a year that saw them lose teammate Tyler Stone to an early season accident.
Highlights included Anthony Sykora setting the all-time school career rushing record and career TD record, and Cole Anderson setting the all-time receiving TD and receiving yards record.
Three members of that team are continuing to play at the collegiate level with Sykora at MSUM, Beau Robinson at Central Lakes Community College in Brainerd and Blake Flint at M State in Fergus Falls.
The Knights also lost Brett Amundson, Damon Sanstead, Issac Kreft, Justin Blascyk, Parker Stach, Peyton Hanson and Cole Anderson to gradation.
Seniors Adam Lohse (WR/DB), Brady Lindquist (QB/LB), Nas Dotts (RB/LB) and Will Rustan (OL/DL) and junior Hunter Gruchow (RB/LB) are back from the 2022 team as starters.
The following players will be vying for playing time and starting positions: Seniors – Ben Nyreen (OL/DL), Jackson Nadgwick (OL/DL), Weston Ulrich (OL/DL), Lorenzo Somerset (RB/DB), Adam Merkins (OL/DL), Cam Anderson (WR), Grant Lindquist (LB), Tayten Blascyk (RB/LB) and Tristan Fagre (WR/DB) Juniors – Ben Bye (TE/LB), Cash Nelson (RB/LB), Gavin Flint (OL/DL), Jeremy Blascyk (OL/DL), JR Redearth (OL/DL), Owen Sanstead (OL/DL), Sam Hansen (WR/DB), Tucker McGee (WR/DB), Tyler Girard (RB/LB), Zach Vick (OL) and Alan Pederson (DE) Sophomores – Austin Bennett (TE), Brody Brunkow (DB), Gavin Backman (Long Snapper, OL/DL), Joseph Nessman (RB/DB), Logan Long (OL/LB), Marshall Dewey (QB) and Sam Olson (RB/LB) All seniors will serve as captains for the Knights.
“This team is a fantastic group to be around,” stated Coach Wood.
“They work hard and have fun with great team chemistry. The mentality that we are going to get better every day is apparent in all players. An area we need to figure out still is who is going to step up as a big-time playmaker.”
Wood says the District is strong from top to bottom with KMS and BBE as probable front runners, while Breckenridge has had great success the past few seasons in Section 6A.
(Season Preview) Barnesville Football
The 2022 season was one for the history books in Barnesville as the Trojans (13-0) won their District title, were Section 8AA champs and went on to with the Class AA State Football Championship.
Head Coach Bryan Strand is in his 19th season at the helm.
“We have a good solid core back this year and should be very competitive,” said Strand.
The Trojans lost Tim Wells (Mayville State), Aaron Baker (Scholastica-Duluth), Jonny Robideau, Tate Inniger, John Roller, Braeden Bredman, Andrew Peterson, Jordan Kroll, Austin Bolgrean, Owen Riddle, Brodee Gray, Isaac Maneval, Connor Loeks, Wyatt Suter and Logan Yeske to graduation.
Returning letter winners include seniors Zachary Bredman (QB), Ethan Larson (RB/DB), Justin Krueger (C/DT), Levi Eickenbrock (LB/OL), Avery Schroeder (DB), Asher O’Brien (FB/DB), Tyler Drees (OL/DL), Christian Lien (OL/DE), Noah Stanford (OL/LB), Peyton Amundson (TE/DE) and Hunter Blilie (RB/LB), juniors Gannon Bolgrean (FB/DB), Nick Robideau (G/LB), Aiden Kent (OL/DL), Jack Maesse (TE/DE) and Jack Bredman (RB/DB), and sophomores Major Ness (RB/DB) and Cameron Halverson (RB/DL).
Strand feels that the main challengers to the Trojans in both Section 8AA and the District are Hawley, Pelican Rapids and Frazee.
Phil Trowbridge, Nathan Strand, Jacob Grosz, Michael Strand, Dain Biewer, Aaron Schindler, Kirk Peterson and Adam Tonsfeldt will round out the coaching staff.
(Season Preview) Underwood Football
Senior captains Jayden Harig and Hunter Haugen, and 2-way starters Connor Campbell and Conner Nelson were all lost to graduation last spring; however, the Underwood football team has a lot of returning starters who gained valuable varsity experience last season.
“We had a tough season last year,” said 4th-year Head Coach Ryan Hendrickson.
“Our main focus is to move forward and control out season one practice and one game at a time. We will not get caught up in anything besides what we are doing right now to impact short term and long-term goals for the positive. We have some outstanding leaders that will help us maintain a fierce focus.”
Returning starters include seniors Kale Rich (G/DL), Noah Link (TE/LB), Brock Hasling (TE/LB), Michael Lanoue (OL/DL) and Blayre Lundgren (RB/LB), juniors Owen Harig (WR/DB), Collin Lukken (RB/DB) and Evan Lundgren (WR/DB). Rich and Link will serve as team captains in 2023.
Other returning letter winners are seniors Gaiden Hoeper (WR/DB) and Brady Moore (OL/DL), and juniors Kaleb Hammes (RB/LB) and Conner Thompson (OL/DL).
Key newcomers to the varsity include juniors Leo Bye (OL/DL) and Olin Link (OL/DL), and sophomores Drew Evavold (QB) and Levi Evavold (RB/LB).
“We are really excited to see what another year of experience can bring to our Rocket football team,” noted Coach Hendrickson.
“We played pretty young and inexperienced last season in our backfield and receiving corps. I look forward to the excitement and eagerness of our team to get back into the swing of things. Of course, we feel as though we can contend with and put ourselves in the driver’s seat versus all of our opponents. Our goal by the end of the year is to shock our Section and have them say that the Underwood Rockets Football Team is for Real!”
Casey Foertsch, Jason Rogers, Rick Harig, Evan Meece and Adam Baker will serve as Assistant Coaches.
(Season Preview) Underwood Volleyball
After a successful 15-11 volleyball season in 2022, the Underwood Rockets are gearing up for another promising year under the guidance of fourth-year Head Coach Breck Grove. With a strong core of returning players, the team is poised for continued growth in 2023.
“The girls are committed and excited to come together as a cohesive team,” remarked Coach Grove, emphasizing the team’s unity.
“Our focus also includes prioritizing player health to prevent recurring knee injuries, which affected us in the past two seasons.”
Seniors Liz Lukken (OH), Ezrah Baker (OH), Katie Hess (DS), and Brooklyn Christianson (RH), along with juniors Kallyn Grove (S) and Mily Albjerg (MH), provide valuable experience as returning letter winners.
The roster is further bolstered by senior Kaily Burgau (DS/RH), juniors Addison Lanoue (RH/MH), Esme Larsen (OH), Gracyn Kugler (DS), and Lily Borgos (DS), as well as sophomore Emma Dirkman (MH) and freshman Sia Olson (DS).
Assisting Coach Grove in guiding the team are Carly Jensen, Megan Dreger, and Kali Koehn, while Chelsea Cruz and Desiree Frie contribute their expertise to the junior high program. The combination of experienced players and dedicated coaching staff sets the stage for an exciting and competitive season ahead.