The Northwood-Solon Springs Evergreens hope to put a lingering question to rest on the football field this year.
Can speed triumph over size?
“We’re definitely not the biggest team, so we rely on speed and intelligence,” said senior Ryan Hill. “We seem to know what we’re doing for the most part, and if you’re fast and you know what you’re doing, that’s really all you need in 8-man.”
The Evergreens open their season Saturday with a game against New Auburn at Cameron. It marks the fourth year since the Evergreens made the switch to 8-man football, and program numbers have increased each season since.
Northwood-Solon Springs has 34 players on the roster this year, up from 27 at the start of last season. The team lost only four seniors from 2014 and returns a large percentage of its starters.
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The 2015 team is comprised of nine seniors, 10 juniors, 10 sophomores and five freshmen. Team captains are seniors Matt Benson, Hill and Brody Waggoner and junior Jase Kuffel.
Matt Hager, entering his second season as head coach of the Evergreens, said the program has rebounded from its low of 18 players in 2012 - the first year of 8-man play. Numbers are now on the upswing, but the Evergreens are still behind the curve in our area.
“We barely have two guys over 200 pounds,” Kuffel said. “But we work with what we’ve got and make the most of it.”
Size remains a weakness for Northwood-Solon Springs heading into the 2015 season. The Evergreens have only six players who top 200 pounds.
They counter their lack of size, however, with speed and agility.
“We don’t have much for size at all, but we can throw our passes deep and we’ve got some good receivers,” Waggoner said. “And we’re going to get those plays off quick because our line isn’t that heavy.”
Academic suspensions and injuries will leave the Evergreens without their full roster for two weeks, but the team still expects to improve upon its 5-4 finish from last season.
To reach that goal, every player will need to be at the top of his game.
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“If one person misses a tackle, the guy can run 70 yards for a touchdown,” Benson said. “It’s a lot better for scoring, but it makes your defense have to be 10 times better. Otherwise your offense is going to have to put up 60 points a game, which isn’t very easy.”
But it isn’t unheard of in 8-man football. The Evergreens topped 60 points twice last season and passed 50 points on two other occasions. They averaged about 41 points per game and allowed about 24. In the highest scoring game of the season, Northwood-Solon Springs and Luck combined to score 120 points.
“We’ve put up big numbers and we’ve let up big scores too,” Benson said.
Offense
The Evergreens switched to more of a shotgun offense last season, and Hager said this year’s team will have a similar look.
“We’re going to add more formations just because a lot of our kids are two years into the program now,” Hager said. “So there will be more formations but a lot of the same in terms of strategy, I suppose.
“And we’ve added in some read concepts now. We’re still going to do a lot of the same stuff we did before but just with a read concept.”
Key returning starters are quarterback Benson and running back Walker Grenier.
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Benson threw for 1,630 yards with 28 touchdowns and eight interceptions last year. He led the Lakeland 8-Man Conference in passing yards and passing touchdowns.
Grenier led the Evergreens on the ground with 468 yards rushing as a sophomore. He also had 11 catches for 244 yards and seven touchdowns.
Randy Fosberg returns at wide receiver to fill the shoes of graduate Brady Vig, and Hill returns at center.
The Evergreens also have a few new additions this year.
“The thing I like about this team is we’ve got two seniors that came over from Solon who played two years ago, didn’t play last year, and this year I think are going to be pretty big contributors to our team,” Hager said. “It’s nice to have some Solon kids again who are really contributing to the team.”
The Solon Springs seniors rejoining the team are fullback Lucas Conner and halfback Corey Pajtash.
When asked to grade the offense, Benson gave the Evergreens a B- with the potential to improve to an A.
“We aren’t at the top of our potential yet but we’re getting there,” he said. “There have been practices where we’ve struggled to move the ball and run the offense fluently, but I’m not too worried. We’ll get there.”
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Defense
“Defensively we’re changing a little bit,” Hager said.
He was inspired to make adjustments after serving as a coach at the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association All-Star Games this summer.
“It was just the stuff I picked up from the other coaches that are a lot more veteran than I am,” Hager said. “Defensively I was kind of limited last year in my background knowledge, so getting some background from other coaches, I stole a lot from them over the summer.”
The Evergreens are looking to add a flex backer to help them better match up with opponents, and the team has put more emphasis on proper technique this preseason.
Leading Northwood-Solon Springs on defense will be Kuffel at linebacker, Grenier on the line and Hill at defensive end.
“Someone who doesn’t get a lot of notoriety but is always really solid is Ryan Hill at defensive end,” Hager said. “He always does a good outside contain; he does his job so other people can make the plays.”
The defense is coming together, Hill said, but some gaps remain as players move into new positions. He’d give the Evergreen defense a B to start the season.
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Conference outlook
“Prairie Farm and Luck. They’re going to be the ones again,” Hager said. “Luck and Prairie Farm both lost a bunch of great seniors just like we did, but just knowing some of the kids that are still at Luck, they’re still going to be huge. They’ve still got two kids that are pushing 300 pounds and move well and are very athletic kids.
“And then Prairie Farm is just always solid. They just do what they do, and they do it really well.”
Prairie Farm has dominated the Lakeland 8-Man Conference since it formed, with Luck following close behind. The Evergreens are hoping to sneak into the top tier this season, but they will not face the favorites until late in the season.
Northwood-Solon Springs plays at Luck Oct. 7 and finishes at Prairie Farm Oct. 17.
“Playing the tough teams like the Lucks and the Prairie Farms, you have to be pretty much no mistakes that game,” Benson said. “They’re hard hitters and they’re good, smart football players. They’ve got good coaching and good leadership.”
“We really have to get our heads in the right mindset,” Kuffel said. “You think about what they’re capable of and how big they are, but at the end of the day it’s whoever goes out there, gives it there all and hits hardest.”
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Northwood-Solon Springs
2015 Football Roster
Gr. Pos. Height Weight
4. Hunter Almer......................................... So. FB/DB 5-7 155
9. Randy Fosberg....................................... Jr. WR/DB 5-9 145
10. Brandon Daleiden.................................. So. QB/LB 6-0 170
12. Matt Benson........................................ Sr. QB/LB 6-0 160
13. Ben Henson........................................ Fr. HB/DB 5-7 110
20. Jase Kuffel......................................... Jr. WR/LB 6-1 180
22. TJ Rosin............................................ Jr. TE/DE 6-2 170
23. Tommy Androsky................................... Jr. HB/DB 5-7 145
27. Lucas Conner....................................... Sr. FB/LB 6-0 170
32. Walker Grenier...................................... Jr. FB/DL 5-11 185
33. Corey Pajtash...................................... Sr. HB/DB 5-10 150
37. Elijah Volz........................................... So. HB/LB 5-9 165
39. Hunter Phillips...................................... Fr. QB/LB 6-1 155
40. Evyn Volz........................................... Sr. TE/DE 5-11 170
42. Dustin Stone........................................ Fr. FB/LB 5-7 140
49. Ryan Hill............................................ Sr. C/DE 6-5 185
52. Brody Waggoner.................................... Sr. TE/LB 6-2 145
53. Jacob Gabriel....................................... So. OL/TE/DE 6-1 165
56. Noah Miller......................................... So. OL/LB 5-10 170
57. Connor Block....................................... Sr. WR/DB 5-10 140
62. Elliot Luedtke....................................... So. WR/DE 6-1 190
63. Derek Fouks........................................ So. OL/DL 5-9 220
64. Randall Mays....................................... Sr. OL/DL 5-9 240
65. Ethan Skaggs....................................... So. OL/DL 5-7 175
66. Luke Nickell........................................ Sr. TE/DE 6-1 155
68. Jesse Rudolph..................................... Jr. OL/DL 6-0 335
71. Chet Sullivan....................................... Jr. OL/DL 6-0 255
72. Ryan Volz........................................... Jr. OL/DL 6-2 190
73. Thomas Gouge..................................... Fr. OL/DL 5-5 180
76. Michael Kurowicki.................................. So. OL/DL 5-5 200
77. Dane Banks........................................ So. OL/DL 6-2 235
82. Garin Davies........................................ Jr. TE/LB 5-10 170
83. Dustin Sohn........................................ Jr. TE/DE 5-11 170
89. Robert Pearson..................................... Fr. TE/DE 6-0 150
Head coach: Matt Hager
Assistant coach: Bill Frahm
