Monday morning, bright and early, the Heartland football team reported for their first practice led by Head Coach Ben Lindsay. He has been at the helm for the past seven years and held an upbeat first practice with the team. The Heartland Huskies football team is a bit down in numbers, with 16 boys out this year, but that won’t stop them from gearing up for the new season with enthusiasm.
“The past two seasons, it’s been hard to replace the larger senior classes. This year, we are facing several new opponents on the schedule we’ve never played – Twin River, Centennial (they just dropped down from C-2 to D-1), Meade, and East Butler,” said Lindsay.
“With our low numbers, we are going to have to rely on more freshmen to fill some of those spots and give the older guys a break. They may see more time on special teams or subbing in on defensive plays. Our upperclassmen are pretty solid, with seniors Louis Alvarez, Sam Quiring, and Carter Siebert, who have had plenty of playing experience,” said Lindsay.
Other returners who got some playing time last year are Lane Farrall, Colby Frisbie, Nevada Gloystein, and Weston Panko. “We are just a bit short on depth,” said Coach Lindsay, but he expects these players to make significant contributions to the team. Promising upcoming freshmen that Coach Lindsay expects to see playing time are Brian Barringer and Brook Burgess.
Last year, the Huskies posted a 3-5 record and hope to improve on that. Senior Luis Alvarez will be the starting quarterback who got some experience his junior year said Lindsay. Senior Carter Siebert will be the running back, and Sam Quiring will play tight end.
In mid-July, the team went to Concordia College in Seward for a team camp and followed that up with another one at Lawrence-Nelson.
According to Coach Lindsay, two-a-day practices will begin on Monday, August 12. They will have a long two-hour practice early in the morning and return in the evening for a no-contact one-hour walk-through until school starts.
Heartland has an experienced staff, with assistant coaches Blake Burgess, Tony Rice, and Conner Boehr all returning to assist.
Their first game will be away on Friday, August 30, against Thayer-Central, and will be a tough test as their first opponent.
FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
August 30 (away) Thayer-Central
September 6 – (home) Sutton
September 13 (home) Twin River
September 20 (Away) Shelby-Rising City
September 27 (home) Centennial
October 4 (away) McCool Junction
October 11 (home) East Butler
October 18 (away) Mead
