BRC PREVIEW: Spartans to battle for BRC football title

The following is another "Have Fun or Get Out of the Way" column by Don Leighton and Mike Granlund and their alter egos, Lance Boyle and Billy Pirkola, which runs occasionally in The Superior Telegram.

Superior High School football head coach Bob DeMeyer refuses to pad the schedule with cupcake teams to increase his chances for a win. Having already played Stevens Point and D.C. Everest, both perennial playoff participants, the Spartans have prepared themselves for the rigors of the tough Big Rivers Conference.

Lance and Billy would like to welcome the newest member of the Lance and Billy Literary Society, Cy Brewer (aka, Dan Tracy) with an opinion of how the conference will play out.

Hudson

The Raiders, under head coach Adam Kowles, bring a confident 2-0 squad to Ole Haugsrud Field tonight. Running a lethal spread option attack on offense, the Raiders have many who will carry the ball. However, the real strength of the Raiders will be the offensive and defensive lines. The offensive front is led by 6-5, 300-pound Sam Cunningham, who has already garnered scholarship offers from Southern Illinois and North Dakota. On defense, Chas Larson is an agile defensive tackle who has already racked up 24 tackles.

Menomonie

In week one, Menomonie almost came back from a 28-point deficit to beat Marshfield but fell short, losing 43-42. With an offensive attack led by dual-threat quarterback Kasey Kruse, the Indians won 27-21 at Wausau West last week. With some questions yet to be answered on defense, the Indians will rely on Kruse and a host of other offensive weapons such as wide receivers Levi Kraft and Austin Berend. The Indians and coach Joe Labuda will be hoping to reestablish themselves atop the BRC after going undefeated in the conference from 2000-06.

Chippewa Falls

The two-time defending conference champions will be one of the favorites under coach and UW-Superior alum coach Chuck Raykovich.

The Cardinals defeated Holmen 36-26 and lost to Division 2 Cedarburg 21-14. The Cardinals are led on offense by a one-two punch at running back in BRC leading rusher junior Brad Heumphner and senior Jared Jaquish. Also, quarterback Shawn Peterson has played well in his first two games and has a big target to throw to 6-foot-4 Matt Leis. On defense the Cardinals are anchored by Division 1 college recruit Jake Sullivan at linebacker.

River Falls

Key departures in running back Levi Johnson (graduation) and quarterback Marty Herum (injury) appeared to set the Wildcats up for a rebuilding year; but they went 2-0 to start the season.

The Wildcats and coach John Bennett have looked to running back and linebacker Ben Wunrow to provide leadership on both sides of the ball. The 2008 all-conference linebacker leads the team in both rushing and tackles. Without Herum, Ryan Kusilek and Mike Bennett have been sharing time under center to start the season.

Rice Lake

With 70 rushing attempts and more than 300 yards rushing last week in a 25-0 win over New Richmond, the wishbone attack is alive and well in Rice Lake.

Led by a versatile backfield, coach Dan Hill's Warriors will start conference play with a 2-0 record following wins over Medford and New Richmond.

The Warriors will rely on a lot of experience to carry them this year with both sides of the ball containing at least eight seniors. The defense will be led by 2008 all-conference linebackers Trevor Kiehl and Max Loew.

Eau Claire North

Going 1-17 over the past two seasons has been tough for the Huskies, and it appears this will not be the year to reverse that trend. Coach Dean Rosemeyer's Huskies were thumped by La Crosse Logan and La Crosse Central in their first two games. The Huskies have an interesting situation at quarterback with both Brett Bodenburg and John Poppe sharing time in the Huskies spread attack. Tyler Sonsalla, who leads with seven receptions, will be their main target.

Eau Claire Memorial

Returning more than five starters on each side of the ball, it appeared that the Old Abes might be able to improve on 2008's 0-9 season but that hasn't been the case as they enter conference play 0-2.

Losing to both La Crosse Central and La Crosse Logan by more than 35 points apiece, coach Paul Kling's team hasn't been able to transfer experience into success. Division 2 recruit quarterback Zac Mestelle and junior running back Ricky Caldwell will lead the offense. Memorial will be looking to Robert Stasney on the defensive line to provide some support for a defense that has already surrendered 87 points.

Superior

The Spartans may be the best 0-2 team in the state. They lost to Stevens Point 35-14 in their opener. Having fumbled deep inside Point's red-zone on three occasions and at their own 2-yard line with 13 seconds to play in the first half, the Spartans shot themselves in the foot with five turnovers. With the exception of the fumbles, the Spartans outplayed Point and could have won the game.

Their second game at D.C. Everest was more of the same. Superior controlled both sides of the ball and lost 15-13.

The defense has been outstanding and the offensive line has played admirably even though it has no returning starters. Junior Cole Schorr was to be the lone returning lineman, but he sustained a broken leg prior to the season. Linebacker Ethan Taylor is one of the best in the state as is running back and North Dakota State scholarship bound Zach Colvin. National champion wrestler Nikko Bogojevic anchors the middle of the defense from his middle linebacker position.

Going back to the playoff loss to Everest last season, the Spartans have had 18 turnovers in the last three games. If these young men start to take care of the ball, great things may be in store.

"The first two games were a test of what kind of team we are," DeMeyer said. "With the exceptions of the turnovers, I am excited about who we are. These two games have prepared us for the conference and we'll be ready Friday night."

Lance predicts, Superior 27, Hudson 15. He also predicts the Spartans will be in the hunt for the conference championship.

Good luck, Spartans.