Colfax-Mingo football starts season with unknown opponent

Colfax-Mingo football coach Jeff Lietz has watched plenty of game film on the Tigerhawks’ Week 1 opponent. Lietz knows what the BCLUW Comets like to do.

The only problem is, BCLUW graduated most of its top players from last year’s 3-6 campaign.

So Colfax-Mingo, which went 4-6 a year ago, will have to go into its season opener a bit blind and then make the necessary in-game adjustments.

“We don’t know a lot of about them from a personnel standpoint,” Lietz said. “We have to just worry about what we do and then adjust to what they are doing on the fly.”

The Tigerhawks come into the game as favorites in their home opener. The Comets graduated its starting quarterback, their top three rushers and their top three tacklers from 2017.

Colfax-Mingo also has to replace some graduated seniors but welcomes back all-stater Zarek Hill, fellow seniors Ahren Teed, Holister Koenig and Damir Gumerov and juniors Trinity Schroeder and Trystin Ross.

The Tigerhawks have a new quarterback, but junior Brady Berkey threw seven touchdown passes in the team’s Week 0 scrimmage against Class 2A Saydel. Hill and Schroeder caught three TD passes each.

“They were mentally prepared for the scrimmage and played like it was a game,” Lietz said. “There were mistakes like we expected, but the focus was there and we got going right away.”

The biggest concern for Colfax-Mingo against BCLUW will be standout senior Jack Garber, a standout track and field athlete with a crazy amount of speed. Garber caught 25 passes for 484 yards and four scores on offense last and had 26 1/2 tackles with two interceptions on defense.

Lietz is unsure of where Garber will line up though.

“We don’t even know if he’s still a receiver,” Lietz said. “He’s their best athlete so he could be the quarterback or the running back, too. We’ll be aware of where No. 4 is though.”

The other key returner for the Comets is senior Coby Willett, who had 17 catches for 232 yards on offense and 46 tackles on defense.

The Tigerhawk football team will be playing Friday night’s home opener with heavy hearts after senior Deklan Lewis’ father, Jamie, died of cancer on Tuesday night.

“If I know the family and the kid, I think Deklan is going to play in the game Friday,” Lietz said. “I don’t know that for sure though. It’s a sad deal. The guys will be there for him. They’ll help him through it if he decides to play.”

Colfax-Mingo averaged 25 points per game last season, while BCLUW scored 18 points per game. Both defenses allowed 31 points per contest.

Kickoff for the Tigerhawks’ home opener is 7 p.m. in Colfax.

Lynnville-Sully at Pleasantville, 7 p.m.

Lynnville-Sully head coach Mike Parkinson is in a similar position with his Hawks’ program as Lietz is with the Tigerhawks.

The Hawks’ opening-week opponent, Pleasantville, graduated most of its roster from last year’s Class 1A playoff team.

Lynnville-Sully is coming off a 9-0 regular season, and it will face a Trojan team which has to replace its quarterback, primary running back, top three receivers and top eight tacklers. Several members of the offensive line, including standout Chaz Clark, also graduated.

The Hawks’ defense surrendered just nine points per game last year on its way to an undefeated regular season. The offense averaged 38 points per contest and scored at least 30 points in seven of the 10 games.

Senior Gage Vander Leest takes over at quarterback after lining up in several different places on the field last year.

The Hawk offense also brings senior tailback Nate Stock, senior fullback Evan Squires, senior wideout Tyson Vander Linden and senior linemen Rylan James, Grant Wehrle and Caleb Barnett.

Squires, Vander Leest, Wehrle and Stock are the team’s leading returning tacklers from last year.

Squires had 46 tackles and nine tackles for loss and 449 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on offense. Vander Leest finished with 368 rushing yards and eight TDs on offense and 45 1/2 tackles, two interceptions and one sack on defense.

Vander Leest completed two of his four passes last year and one went for a TD. Stock had 457 rushing yards and five TDs as the backup running back and added 31 1/2 tackles, nine tackles for loss and three sacks on defense.

Pleasantville’s top returner is Cael Lester, who rushed for 533 yards and eight TDs last year. Grant Fouch is the top returning receiver after hauling in eight passes for 125 yards on offense and collecting 22 1/2 tackles, one sack, two fumble recoveries and a TD on defense.

The Trojans, who went 8-3 a year ago, held opponents to less than 10 points six times and pitched two shutouts in 2017. The top eight tacklers from that defense are gone though.

Baxter at Coon Rapids-Bayard, 7 p.m.

The Bolts are ushering in a brand new team after going 8-1 in their 8-man debut last season.

Senior linemen Will Clapper and junior quarterback Cole Damman are back along with returning starters Micah Kearns and Andrew Esqueda on the offensive line.

The rest of the team is brand new. Baxter will face a more experienced team in its season opener, and they’ll travel to Coon Rapids-Bayard for a 7 p.m. kickoff on Friday.

Damman completed one pass last year as the backup quarterback but rushed for 157 yards and a TD and hauled in 34 catches for 367 yards and eight scores as the No. 2 receiver.

He takes over the reins at QB this season and will have an experience and talented offensive line to run and pass behind.

Clapper is one of the best players in the state and will do a lot for the Bolts on both sides of the ball. He had 26 tackles, six tackles for loss, four sacks, three fumble recoveries and an interception last year despite missing parts of three games with an injury.

The Bolts averaged 65 points per game in their 8-man debut. The Crusaders, who went 3-6 a year ago, averaged 33 points per game.

Coon Rapids-Bayard does bring back junior quarterback Peyton Clipperton, who threw for 791 yards and rushing 414 yards last year. Junior tailback Jeffrey Eagle also is back after compiling 686 rushing yards a year ago.

Five of the top six tacklers from last year are gone, but senior Lane Namanny is back after recording a team-high 68 tackles, a team-best 11 tackles for loss and a team-high five sacks.