Welcome back, Boys of Fall

Sonja Karp
NLJ Sports Reporter
 
The Friday Night Lights will be shining in just a few days as the Dogies kick off their season this Friday. After playing last season with a pretty young crew, head coach Matt Conzelman is looking forward to fielding a much more veteran squad this year.
The Dogies lost Bradyn Frye to graduation as well as Tristan and Dillon Wornkey who transferred out of the district. Other than that, Conzelman is returning nearly all of his varsity squad.
Frye and Tristan Wornkey saw a lot of action on the gridiron last season. Frye’s nickname was the Swiss Army knife because he played several positions including quarterback, receiver, kicker, and punter while Wornkey picked up the majority of the yards for the Dogies as a ball carrier.
However, there are several players to watch and who are ready to step up and fill those shoes.
“When I take a look at the roster, the first thing I see is a lot more balance,” Conzelman exclaimed. “One class has 10 guys and the rest have nine and that’s what you want your roster to look like.”
A very welcome aspect of that balanced roster is that Conzelman’s varsity squad is made up of mostly seniors and juniors. 
“It’s exciting because we now have the option of being able to roll some guys in and out so we can get people a break when they need it,” Conzelman smiled. “That’s really been a true blessing this year.”
Slade Roberson will be stepping into the starting quarterback position this season. Last year, as a sophomore, he was able to get some good time on the field and got quite a few reps so is coming into this year with some good confidence.
“He knows what we expect and knows the offensive scheme pretty well,” Conzelman began. “I’ve been really pleased with how he started this week out.”
There are a few options to slide into Wornkey’s position. Those include seniors Chauncey Jenerou and Christian Santos, as well as sophomore Holden McConkey. 
Brett Reed is joining the coaching staff, replacing Beau Gregory this year. Reed has been with the team hit-and-miss since Conzelman has been at the helm so he is aware of what he brings to the table. 
“It’ll be a little different after coaching with Beau for 10 years, but so far it’s been pretty seamless,” Conzelman admitted.  
Reed is coaching the offensive-defensive line and the offensive end of the game. Scott Beehler is returning and will be in charge of defense while Dave Christiansen will take over special teams.
“For the last few years, I’ve coached the offense, but this year I’m turning over the reins so I can oversee all aspects of the game,” Conzelman explained. “I think that will be better for me to be able to be more involved with everything.”
During quarantine, Conzelman used his down time to revamp his game plan and change up some of his schemes on both sides of the ball. 
“We had gotten kind of one-dimensional, so I decided to try to mix things up a little bit,” he grinned. “We put in some balanced stuff offensively so we’ve been working on that and the guys have picked up on it pretty quickly.”
Defensively, Conzelman has looked at his personnel, and has made some adjustments. As such, fans will also see some changes there as well. 
The team also is fortunate to have the athletes to be able to mix it up a little this season regarding running the ball versus putting it up in the air. 
Conzelman noted that the foundation of the team is the offensive and defensive line who don’t get a lot of recognition but without them, there would be no offensive and defensive standouts. 
The coach is also pleased to welcome back a couple of big seniors to the squad in Kayne Hinshaw and Xavin Gallardo. Sophomore Jackson Lamb is also joining the squad with some great size for the line. 
Killian Gorman is starting this season healthy so will be joining the line as well, so after a couple of years of being a little small, the Dogies will be a force to reckon with this season. 
Two new kickers are suiting up to fill the vacancy left by Frye. Senior Emily Beastrom and junior Ezra Anderson — both of whom are Dogie soccer players — are working on putting the boot to the pig skin this year. 
“Emily approached me last year after she started watching a girl kicker from Pierre who was also a soccer player,” Conzelman explained. “We just kept talking and she was still interested so that’s exciting.”
Both Beastrom and Anderson spent some time on their own this summer working on getting used to the different dynamics of kicking a football versus a soccer ball, and have been taking reps this week and are making progress and focusing in on their roles.
Both players will just serve as kickers, and each are showing some proclivities for certain roles. 
“Emily doesn’t really care for punting, or drop-kicking as she calls it,” Conzelman chuckled. “So it’s looking like Ezra will be a little better in that area.”
The Dogies will get things rolling with their first contest this Friday, Aug. 28, at 7 p.m. in Hot Springs. Currently, South Dakota has no restrictions regarding fan attendance.
Dogie Cards are available, and if you are interested in purchasing one, get in touch with Coach Conzelman at 746-2713.