The ‘Boys of Fall’ are back in action
Sonja Karp
NLJ Sports Reporter
The Dogies endured a challenging season full of adversity in 2020, but head coach Matt Conzelman’s team is returning to the gridiron in 2021 as veterans to hardship who are ready to take on whatever is thrown at them in the coming months.
“Compete, find a way and be all in,” Conzelman began. “That’s our philosophy this year and we are going to be focused on doing all of those things this season.”
Senior quarterback Slade Roberson was sidelined for all of his junior year after an ACL tear he suffered early in the first game of the season last year, however he is back and is good as new and ready to take the reins and lead his team.
“It’s great to have Slade back,” Conzelman nodded. “His leadership ability is so important and he is a young man who just grew up through his injury last year — he persevered and got stronger. He was 160 pounds when he got hurt and now he’s 205. He really did everything he needed to do as he worked through his injury.”
The loss of the lone All-State selection, Kale Corley, to graduation means that there are some big shoes to fill, however Conzelman feels confident he has players who are ready and able to lace up those cleats.
“We have 12 returning letter winners, and seven players from each side of the ball back,” Conzelman explained. “So we have quite a few guys who got some good experience including Holden McConkey, who was All-Conference as well as Aidan Chick, Hogan Tystad and Josh Womack, who were Honorable Mention All-Conference recipients.”
The team was able to return to Mallo Camp for the annual boot camp to start off their practice schedule. It had been since 2018 that the squad has been afforded the opportunity to take advantage of the benefits of the all-inclusive training opportunities the camp provides.
“These seniors were freshmen the last time we were able to get up there, and we’ve missed it,” Conzelman said. “It’s an accelerator to get them in shape, and the team bonding that it affords when they are immersed together eating, sleeping, and hanging out is great. It’s just a special place.”
The 2021 season is starting a little rougher than Conzelman would have liked as the pandemic made sure not to be forgotten. A couple of players have had to miss some practices due to quarantine protocol, and, as such, will not have the requisite 10 practices amassed in time for the first contest on Friday.
“Because we are down a couple of linemen, we are having to make some personnel changes,” Conzelman sighed. “But the guys are doing a great job of transitioning and stepping up to these new positions.”
Womack will return to the field to lead the line, Roberson is back as quarterback, Braden Jenkins will be playing tight end, Aidan Chick will be a target for Roberson as wide receiver, Heath Henkle is back as
center, while Kalen VanGundy will be on the line. Tystad is back as a wide out, while
Quint Perino is another wide receiver. Tate Engle is a versatile player who can play as a running back, wide receiver or quarterback, and Ian Simmons was a full back, but may have to drop into the line.
New to NHS is junior Tanner Nielsen whom Conzelman expects to provide an immediate impact to the team.
“Tanner looked good right away,” Conzelman stated. “He’s got some size to him and he has a cousin who is a freshman who is even bigger, so that’s awesome!”
On the defensive side of the ball, Conzelman explained that Jenkins was a disrupter and did some great things during summer camp, and adding Womack and Henkle to the defensive line means the squad is going to be pretty solid on D.
The Dogies are blessed this season with returning some veteran players to the field who also possess a lot of speed.
“This is the most speed we’ve had in a while and guys have become stronger and faster over the summer, so that’s pretty exciting,” Conzelman said.
Numbers for the Dogies once everyone is back and ready to go are looking to be around 39 players, which is great for Conzelman after a few years of struggling to find enough players.
“We’re looking around, wondering if we have enough helmets,” Conzelman chuckled. “It’s a good problem to have.”
Looking around the conference, Conzelman noted that the top teams will be pretty salty, and one that came to his mind right away, though they may be a little bit of a sleeper, is Tongue River. He quickly followed that up by identifying Wheatland who will be big and talented as usual, Upton-Sundance graduated a lot but will be small and fast, while Big Horn will also be small and fast.
The Dogies will kick off their season with a home opener against Hot Springs on Friday, Aug. 27, beginning at 6 p.m.
“By the time we see them, they will have three weeks
and a game under their belts so we need to be ready,” Conzelman cautioned. “They have a junior running back who went over 200 yards and had four scores against Hill City last Friday, so he will be one we have to corral.”