Tuesday, August 30, 2016
FALL SPORTS PREVIEW
PAGE 9
MSAD FOOTBALL
WEM FOOTBALL
Buccaneers hope offensive line jells early on Trojans enter post-Peters era with talent on D The Buccaneers have a young offensive line this year, and how that front performs will have a big say in how the Waterville-Elysian-Morristown football team does in 2016. Still, the same could be said about last year’s group, which was inexperienced but jelled quickly and helped the Bucs claim an undefeated regular season. This fall, Luke Polzin, Gage Eastwood and Will Storch will try to anchor a group of linemen that has some depth, but not much collective experience. Still, there’s some confidence, which a consistently solid program like WEM can afford to have. “We’ll still be pretty good this year, still contend for that district title,” senior Dallas McBroom said. There should be plenty of experience at the skill positions for WEM, with two senior leaders in tailback Brody Boran and tight end
Zac Olson, among others. At quarterback, McBroom will take over, running the offense when he’s not roaming the defensive backfield on the other side of the ball. McBroom got some reps in as a sophomore before transitioning to wide receiver. That combined experience was beneficial, as he got a better understanding of the routes and timing while catching passes as a junior. “It’s helped a lot, I feel like it’s made me better, especially being a reciever last year to now,” he said. WEM made it through the South Central Blue unscathed a year ago before falling in the section semifinals. Not too many teams in the division played the Bucs tough, but they’re not taking any games for granted. Dates against Maple River, New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva and Sibley East stand out on the schedule, but every game could be a grind, and McBroom said the Bucs aren’t talented enough to just coast through opponents. “We have to go 110 percent each snap this year,” McBroom said.
Any time a team loses a three-time All-American, transitioning to life without that player is presents a major challenge. That’s the challenge the Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf football team faces this upcoming season, as superstar running back Junior Peters is no longer in the backfield for the Trojans. But MSAD’s cupboard is hardly empty as several key players return, many of whom are ready to step into a new and expanded role. “Junior is a great athlete and has been a huge part of our offense,” said head coach Jason Branden. “His skill on our team was speed, which we sorely miss. But he didn’t do it alone.” No one player will replace what Peters did for MSAD. It’ll take a village, but the Trojans have a number of good athletes who could see increased opportunity in the backfield including Kyrell Cummings and Daw-
son Moder. In the meantime, MSAD may find itself relying more on a stout defense this year; which should also be better as a lot of the team’s top defenders are back. Cummings turned in an All-American season last year, despite missing the first four games. He’ll anchor a defense that includes Moder, Javis Johnson and John Fechter. “This team is a lot different than some we’ve had the last few years,” said Branden. “There are more players with great character though and we’ve got a lot of players with great leadership skills. I’m really excited to get this season started.” Branden enters his first season as the head coach of the team after serving as an assistant coach under Kevin Rademacher. He’ll lean on that veteran leadership a lot this year. And there’s a lot of it. Given the Trojans’ success in recent years, there’s no reason to think they should be in for any sort of major drop off.
THE LOWDOWN
THE LOWDOWN
2015 INFO
2015 INFO
Record: 5-3 DeafDigest 8-man National Champions
Record: 9-1 (7-0 South Central Blue) South Central Blue champions Postseason: Lost 17-14 to Blue Earth Area in Section 2AA semifinals
WHO’S GONE
WHO’S GONE
Junior Peters, Matt Sherman, Josh Strom, Anthony Barger
Kallen Dorenkemper, Mitch Wolter, Tyler Tegmeier, Justin Hill, Hunter Frechette, Travis Miska
WHO’S BACK
BRODY BORAN A longtime contributor for the Bucs, Boran will look to help drive the WEM offense out of the backfield, whether carrying or catching the ball.
Sr. QB Dallas McBroom, Sr. HB/LB Brody Boran, Jr. RB Taylor Glende, Sr. TE Zac Olson, Sr. OL Luke Polzin
Jessica A. Hafemeyer Law Office, P.A.
WHO’S BACK
DAWSON MODER Moder returns to help bolster a Trojans defense that was dominant against deaf school opponents in 2015.
Sr. RB Kyrell Cummings, Sr. Dawson Moder, Jr. Stefan Anderson, Jr. OL Adam Rohde, Sr. LB Javis Johnson, Sr. TE John Fechter
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