Four seniors return to the Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth football program this fall. They are (from left) Blake Hanisch, Curt Schilling, Drew Spykerboer and Lee Jackson. The Patriots open the season in Glenville Friday.By John RittenhouseThe Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth football team will be in a rebuilding mode during the 2003 season.After putting together a pair of outstanding campaigns that featured back-to-back undefeated regular seasons, two Southwest Ridge Conference championships and one appearance in the state tournament, H-BC-E may hit the proverbial wall this fall.Graduation stole 13 players from the 2002 squad, which earned the No. 1 seed for the Section 2 playoffs by going 8-0 in the regular season. The Patriots drilled Southwest Star Concept 47-20 in the section semifinals, but eventual state runner-up Nicollet ended H-BC-E’s 9-1 campaign with a 31-20 upset victory in the section title tilt.Being denied a second straight berth in the state tournament was hard on H-BC-E coach Dan Ellingson, but bidding farewell to the 13 seniors who helped the Patriots become the area’s most dominant nine-man team was even tougher."We lost 13 of our 18 starters from last year," Ellingson said. "When you have 13 seniors on a football team, they are going to play. In high school, losing players of that age and maturity level is something you just can’t replace."When a team loses four of five all-conference players and one all-state performer, the prospect of finding replacements for them becomes an even greater challenge.Chris Reid, Brant Deutsch, Jesse Leuthold and Tyson Metzger are the All-SRC performers who left the program last season.Reid, an all-state tailback, pulled double duty as a starting defensive back for H-BC-E last fall. Leuthold (fullback-linebacker) and Deutsch (offensive and defensive end) started on both sides of the ball, too. Metzger started as a wide receiver.The Patriots also lost a two-way starter in Pat Nelson, an All-SRC honorable mention performer who played as an offensive center and a defensive lineman.Other seniors who started for H-BC-E last fall include Dustin Bonnema (offensive guard), Robert Metzger (defensive end), Dusty Seachris (wingback), Ryan Fodness (defensive lineman) and Kyle Sammons (offensive end).Other senior members of the 2002 squad include Pete Kramer, Jason Jansma and Clint Roozenboom.Last year’s seniors will leave holes to fill on both sides of the ball, and the impact will be especially evident on offense. Ellingson plans to run a new offense in 2003 to get the most out of his personnel."We’re going to run a double-wing offense with a single (running back) this year. We’re going to spread out the wings. We have experience at the center, quarterback and wide receiver positions, and we feel we can pass and run a lot more misdirection plays out of this set," he said.Senior Curt Schilling and juniors Cody Scholten and Zach Wysong are returning offensive starters for H-BC-E.Schilling, an All-RRC performer in 2002, will start at quarterback for the second straight year. The 200-pound Schilling brings an outstanding arm and mobility to the position.Wysong, a 150-pound wide receiver, turned into one of Schilling’s favorite targets last season. Wysong made the All-SRC squad as a sophomore.The 165-pound Scholten started as an offensive guard last season. A SRC honorable mention selection last season, Scholten will take over the center position in 2003.The Patriots also picked up an experienced player in 200-pound junior Tom LeBoutiller. Leboutiller, a transfer student from Westbrook-Walnut Grove, started at quarterback for the Chargers last fall. He will be the running back in H-BC-E’s one-back set in 2003.Inexperience will be a problem for the rest of H-BC-E’s offensive players.Junior Kenny Bittner (220) and sophomore Jason Martens (270) will play the offensive guard positions for the Patriots. Chris Nuffer, a 235-pound junior, will start at one end. Senior Drew Spykerboer (160) and junior Greg Van Batavia (150) will share the other end position.Potential wingbacks include seniors Blake Hanisch (140) and Lee Jackson (125) and junior Travis Broesder (160)."Inexperience and the newness of playing different positions are my biggest offensive concerns right now," Ellingson said. "Last year, with Chris Reid, we had a back who could break off a long touchdown run from anywhere on the field. We don’t have that type of guy this year. What we do have is Curt (Schilling) and his ability to throw the ball down the field to a good receiver like Zach (Wysong) and our other ends."Schilling and Scholten will be the leaders of a big defensive unit in 2003."We’ve got some size defensively," Ellingson offered. "Across the line we have 270-, 235-, 220- and 205-pound players. Our strength will be at the linebacker positions. If our linemen can plug up the middle, our experienced linebackers should be able to make a lot of plays."Schilling and Scholten return as starting middle and outside linebackers respectively. Ellingson expects LeBoutiller to step in as another outside linebacker.Wysong picked up a lot of playing time as a defensive back in 2002. He will be the leader of a secondary that will include defensive back Broesder.Bittner is expected to anchor the defensive line as a nose guard. Brian Gacke, a 205-pound junior, and Martens are potential interior linemen, as is Nuffer. Nuffer also can play the end position along with Van Batavia and Spykerboer.If Patriots can groom some underclassmen to fill in on the defensive line, Ellingson thinks H-BC-E can become a good defensive team."We’ll need some help from our sophomores and freshmen along the way. When you have big guys on the line, it’s tough for them to play every down both ways. We need to develop some younger guys who can help us out on the line," he said.Ellingson expects the SRC to be more competitive than recent years, when H-BC-E had its way with the opponents.Sioux Valley-Round Lake-Brewster has joined forces with Southwest Star Concept to form a team that will be called Southwest United, and Ellingson considers SU to be the team to beat.Lakeview returns a load of talent, and Edgerton will be much improved. Lincoln HI and Lake Benton have merged into a single program this season, creating another team to be concerned about."The SRC will be a much-improved conference this year," Ellingson said. "I would like to think we will finish in the top half of the SRC. With six teams in the conference, finishing in the top three is something we’ll be shooting for."The Patriots open the season by playing Glenville-Emmons in Glenville tonight.
