BOLD Warriors

BOLD running back David Garcia heads downfield late in the first half of an Oct. 9, 2020 game against Benson at Brock Field in Benson. Joe Brown / West Central Tribune

BOLD has some question marks

Warriors hope to have new faces shine in 2021

BY JOE BROWN | West Central Tribune

OLIVIA — With more than 77 percent of the team’s total yards gone due to graduation, there’ll be plenty of mystery to the 2021 iteration of BOLD football.

But, the Warriors plan to put up a fight and show they’re among the area’s best squads when the season kicks off on Sept. 3 at home against Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City.

“We are going to have to bite and claw for every inch,” said BOLD thirdyear head coach Derek Flann. “But I think we have the kind of kids that are going to go out and give everything they have to try to win ball games.

“At the end of the day, I think that will give us a chance to be competitive each week.”

Six starters return on both sides of the ball for the Warriors. And on the defensive end, four of the top five tacklers from last year’s 6-2 team are back in seniors Connor Plumley (63 tackles), David Garcia (53), Ethan Sullivan (35) and George Garcia (34).

Plumley, a linebacker/fullback, was an All-District pick in 2020.

Other returning starters are senior linemen Xavier Basaldua and Cayden Kubesh along with senior WR/CB Hunter Borer and junior WR/CB Stevie McMath.

On offense, the goal will be to replace the production of quarterback Drew Sagedahl (933 total yards, 16 touchdowns), fullback Tim Peppel (881 rushing yards, 10 TDs) and tight end/wideout/quarterback/linebacker/kicker Braeden Tersteeg (five touchdowns on offense; 37 tackles). Flann said sophomore Rylan Gass and freshman Jack Gross will compete for the starting QB job.

BOLD does return its top receiver from a year ago in freshman Hudson Vosika (23 catches, 237 yards, 2 TDs). Flann expects the youngster to play a larger role this fall.

“We are not going to be big, but we have a lot of ‘want to,’” Flann said. “We have a good amount of depth at a number of positions and a number of people competing for starting spots. … Competition is great for everybody and we will see who steps up and wins each job.”