Thirteen seniors will lead the Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth football team into the 2002 season. They are (sitting, from left) Dustin Bonnema, Robert Metzger, Dusty Seachris, Pete Kramer, (kneeling) Ryan Fodness, Jesse Leuthold, Pat Nelson, Brant Deutsch, (back) Jason Jansma, Clint Roozenboom, Kyle Sammons, Tyson Metzger and Chris Reid.
By John Rittenhouse
Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth football coach Dan Ellingson knows it's coming. It's the nature of the beast.
A year after his Patriots had one of the best seasons in recent history, Ellingson expects H-BC-E to be a targeted team every time it takes the field in 2002.
The question is, are the Patriots worthy of being the prized trophy team on the schedule of the eight opponents they will face during the regular season?
The Patriots are coming off a 2001 season that featured them winning a Southwest Ridge Conference championship (7-0), recording an 8-0 regular season and winning the Section 2 Nine-Man title (with 26-19 and 21-0 victories over Nicollet and Sioux Valley-Round Lake-Brewster respectively).
The section wins gave H-BC-E its first berth in the state tournament since 1997, when it came up on the short end of a 30-12 decision to eventual state champion Fergus Falls Hillcrest Lutheran Academy.
As great as their 10-1 season was, the Patriots will have to pay a price for it. They will be a marked team every week of the 2002 campaign, and they will have to meet the challenge without a core group of seniors who made success possible in 2001.
"We have two starters coming back on offense and four on defense," Ellingson said. "We knew we would be in this situation at the end of last season. IÕm sure the other teams will want to beat the guys wearing the red helmets this year. At the same time, they also know weÕre a team that lost 12 seniors, and they probably don't expect us to do well. The thing is we expect to play well, while the other teams may not. That could be a good thing for us."
Losing 12 players from 2001 will make the Patriots a different team this year, especially considering the type of kids who graduated.
Brad Haak started at end and safety, making the All-State Nine-Man Team and All-SRC Team at year's end. Kevin Van Batavia (wing back-defensive end) and Darin DeBoer (end-defensive back) were two-way starters who made the All-RRC squad, and Justin Van Maanen drew honorable mention from the SRC coaches as a starting center.
Other starters in last year's senior class include Kyle Braun (guard-defensive tackle), David Top (quarterback), Chris Tiesler (wing back), Lyle DeBoer (fullback-linebacker) and Lee Walraven (nose guard).
Linemen Ryan Ranschau and Randy Krull round out the senior members of the 2001 team.
Like 2001, seniors will form the backbone of H-BC-E's 2002 team. Ellingson reports there are 13 senior members on the 2002 squad, but a lot of them are untested at the varsity level.
"We have a lot of seniors, but we also have a lot of juniors and sophomores who will have to play," he said.
H-BC-E will have three All-RRC performers and one honorable mention selection on the field in 2002, and all four are projected to be two-way starters.
Having Chris Reid back in the ranks does give the 2002 Patriots instant credibility. The 2001 Back of the Year in the SRC, Reid led the Patriots in rushing and scoring as a junior. Reid, a 190-pound senior tailback, was an all-state honorable selection last year.
"I think teams will key on stopping Chris this year, and that should open things up for our other runners and our passing game. With teams gearing up to stop the run, passing will be a necessity this year," Ellingson said.
Pulling the trigger for the passing game will be Curt Schilling, who will replace Top at quarterback. Schilling, a 195-pound junior, made the All-RRC team for his play as a linebacker last season.
Seniors Jesse Leuthold and Brant Deutsch are other key members of the H-BC-E squad.
Leuthold, an All-RRC selection, started some games at fullback last season and was a full-time starter at linebacker. The 175-pounder will be asked to play as a guard on offense this year.
The 210-pound Duetsch drew honorable mention from the SRC coaches as a junior. He will play as an end on offense and defense.