Blake Reiss went high to deflect the ball away from his Tracy-Milroy-Balaton opponent in the scrimmage Saturday at Tracy.

State champs ‘reloading’, not rebuilding

Coach Chad Johnston bristled a bit when he was told an opponent’s fan wondered what Minneota was going to do this year after losing key players from last year’s state championship team?

“We’ve got a lot returning and a lot of people to work with,” he said, adding, “We have a lot of balance out there.”

Fact is, Minneota is re-loading, not rebuilding. “We’re not starting a lot of positions with brand new kids,” he added.

A year ago, everyone wondered if the re-built offensive line was going to be good enough to lead a talented and experienced backfield down field.

“Last year, our question mark was our offensive line. Now we’re back — and if they stay healthy, I think we’re going to be decent and be right where we need to be,” said the coach.

Saturday at the Tracy scrimmage, the expected “rough spots” were definitely there — but a high-powered offense and solid defense showed up against Tracy-Milroy-Balaton, Pipestone and Springfield.

Only Pipestone scored more touchdowns and delivered an even-up battle against the Vikings.

Yes, gone are Isaac Hennen and Alex Pohlen, the runner and quarterback who led the team to three state championships and a 51-1 record in four years.

But what’s more important is what is still there — not what’s gone. “Cole (Sanow) is getting reps (carrying the ball), along with other people,” said the coach.

“He’s a kid who just works hard,” the coach said.

Last year, Isaac (Hennen) wasn’t touching the ball 25-30 times a game. Others got their chances — and much of the time it was Sanow.

“We had a lot of success doing that. We lost that kid (Hennen) and now it’s got to be Cole, and he’s bigger and stronger.” Sanow is getting a good chance to run “The Wildcat”, a play in which the ball is snapped directly to him.

“I think he’ll be ready to go,” said the coach. Moving into Pohlen’s spot is sophomore Jacob Hennen, a gifted 6-3 signal caller who has been playing the position for years.

He’s most comfortable throwing to his senior brother Thomas, which will likely be successful, but the coach says, “There are other receivers. It drives me crazy sometimes,” indicating Jacob’s propensity to pass to his brother.

“Thomas is a big guy, big target. But guys will catch on to that.” As a result, Jacob Hennen is learning to, “Spread the wealth a little bit.”

Other than Thomas, the receivers are new ... including Tanner Sterzinger and Alex Saltzer. But they’re getting more and more chances and more and more confident, said the coach.

“Throw junior Grady Moorse into the receiver mix as well,” the coach added. “We’re seeing more and more improvement (from the receivers) as the days goes on,” said Coach Johnston.

This team’s “stability factor” is going to come from an offensive line led by third-year center Ty Lipinski, who by the way, will go both ways.

“Most definitely. He’s kind of the core of the line and will be the core of our defensive line for the most part, too,” confirmed the coach.

“We know what we’re going to get and we’re trying to push him (to be even greater)” the coach said. “A lot of our success comes off the strength of our linemen,” he added.

Cole VanOverbeke, Shawn Buysse, Mitchell Rost and Logan Sussner are all back. And sophomore Beau Banish is stepping into the line as well.

“Beau Banish has been looking great in summer camp,” said Coach Johnston. He’s been showing quickness in the line and will help the offense this year.

As a blocker, Logan Sussner, “Is a year older and a has had a year in that position. He looks great. We’ve got things to build on,” the coach said.

On defense, the leader is Shawn Buysse and, “He’s back in his spot at middle linebacker. We’re pretty happy where we sit with Shawn, Rost and VanOverbeke.

“Isaac (Hennen) was a great player, but these kids (on the line) just got better and better all year and there were some pretty impressive holes for him to run through.”

“Our linebacking core includes Cole Sanow, Blake Reiss and Josh Laleman, with Austin Kloos rotating in. We still need a little more depth at the outside linebacker,” the coach added.

Thomas Hennen will hold down a corner defensive back position and Jacob could go at safety — although the staff is trying to hold him out to keep him healthy to play quarterback.

Kids like Sterzinger and Saltzer will also likely see time on defense. “But the question is, who are the kids who will step up,” said the coach. When it comes to kicking, foreign exchange student Sebastiano Beraldo is giving it a try. He’s not a strong soccer kicker, but he’s had some experience.

Otherwise, it’s sophomore LaShad Smith who will provide the leg power. Smith is also running back material and could get a solid chance to run the ball.

“LaShad gives us something a little different than our other runners,” said Coach Johnston.

Also in the mix is Austin Kloos, a junior who will be counted on both offense and defense. Mentioned most often as the team to dethrone Minneota in Section 5 is BOLD, a team always knocking on the door but not yet able to beat Minneota.

And they have a lot of veterans back. “We’re not afraid of them,” said the coach.

But he was quick to add, “Don’t write off Dawson-Boyd. They’re the flip side of us. They have their skilled people back and are replacing a lot of linemen. They don’t have those big linemen back they always seemed to have. But they’ll come at us — they always do. They are a well-coached team and they’ll be right there.”

It’s never easy, but even the easy games are good because it gives a lot of players a chance to play and gain experience.

“There is talent out there and there’s good competition. We have to play good ball. But I think we’re right there,” said Coach Johnston.

The coach added, “I think it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

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