Vikes look to build on 2009 season

The 2009 football season was a big one for the Bigfork Vikings as the boys broke a 28 game losing streak and ultimately finished the season 4-1 in District 7B and tied Eureka and Plains for the regular season title despite having to cope with a myriad of changes.

This fall the Bigfork boys will be looking to build on that progress. The return of Todd Emslie as the Vikings' head coach for a second year in a row should help provide consistency in the program for Bigfork as the team makes a run for a spot in the playoffs.

The Numbers

Still on the rise

The same program that just three years ago didn't have enough players to have a separate offense and defense campaign found itself ordering extra equipment this summer in order to suit up the 49 boys who have signed up to play football.

"We're older this year and we're more mature," Emslie said of his team. "We came with a positive season under our belt. The kids came ready to play. I was able to open up the playbook on them."

The team is a mix of returners and fresh faces. There are 10 freshmen as well as 13 additional players who are joining Emslie's program for the first time. Seniors Brandon Hoering, Jesse Kelso, Brett Sward, Taylor Johnson and Andrew Olson have joined the team for their final year of high school. Along with the nine returning seniors, they are expected to bring leadership to this year's squad.

O Captain! My Captain!

Last week the Vikings voted on which seniors they would like to have as their four captains. Travis Knoll, Christian Ker, Jerry Rose and Anthony Curtis were selected to take on the duty.

New to the middle class

Three juniors, Mitchel Harsh, Ryan Hayes and Kyle Hayes, join the largest class on the team, which now has 15 athletes. The Hayes brothers played as freshmen and sat out last season. Sophomore Austin Jordt, who played soccer last year, has switched to football for his second year of high school. David Toman, Blake Weimer and Josh Sather, who are all sophomores, are also suiting up for the Vikings for the first time alongside seven other sophomores.

"Having 49 is a great number," Emslie said. "I wish they would've played sooner. You lose those years of experience and it catches up with you when you're a senior. They're doing great, though."

Kicking it

Bigfork junior Dillon Charlebois will be pulling double duty this fall. He is a standout on the boys soccer team and has also signed up to be the football team's kicker.

"He's going to be solid," Emslie said of Charlebois. "It's really good to have a kid like him. I'm confident with him at 30 yards and I wouldn't hesitate putting him out there to kick a 35-yard field goal."

Missing men

Although the Vikings were able to increase their numbers with a plethora of additions, the team is missing some of the boys they expected back this year.

"The kids that aren't playing are all doing so for good reasons," Emslie said.

Seniors Ben Sandry and Carter Sorensen have opted not play this year due to past injuries and intend to focus their time this fall on basketball. Senior Steven Schuster, junior Nathan Flores and sophomore Zach Buff have moved out of the area and no longer attend Bigfork High School. Ryan Gembala has also elected to not return for his senior season.

Graduates gone

The Vikings lost a relatively small pool of seniors to graduation in June. However, the four they did lose — Alex Griner, Derek Minemyer, Kenny Patrick and Brandon McDonald — were solid contributors to making plays on the field and providing leadership. McDonald has since walked on to the Montana State University football team. Minemyer, who switched from a lengthy career as a soccer player to football his senior year, is hoping to earn a spot next year on the University of Montana football team as a kicker.

Surprising return

Junior Jackson Boese, who moved out of the area last spring, has returned and is eligible to be back on the field with his old teammates. Now standing at 6-6, the tight end and defensive end is a welcome asset back on the team.

Although rumors flew that he would be pursuing other interests this fall, senior James Vale has decided to play football. After finishing up playing the guitar in the band at the Bigfork Summer Playhouse, the 5-11, 264-pound lineman arrived to the third day of two-a-days ready for the gridiron.

Injury report

Addition on hold

Since those who have chronic injuries have decided not to play, there is just one player on the Vikings team who is currently battling an ailment. Johnson dislocated his meniscus during the Bigfork cheerleading camp while practicing stunts. The new recruit will likely be ready to go by mid-September. At 6-3 and 265 pounds, his efforts will be gladly welcomed on the line.

Starting quarterback Ker's knee was an issue for him last year and effected his basketball and track season. However, he has had multiple surgeries on it, most recently in April, and Emslie said it hasn't been an issue so far for him this fall.

Solid strengths

The first line of defense

The Vikings' line is one of their biggest strengths. When they say biggest, they are pointing to the four boys who stand at about 6-0 and weighing in at more than 240 pounds as well as the eight others who are sitting around 200 pounds.

"Our line is pretty stout and we have lots of depth there," Emslie said. "That's a really nice position to be in. We have kids that are really battling for spots on the offensive and defensive line."

Another part of the team that gives Emslie faith in the season ahead is his boys in the skill positions, especially Knoll who will return at running back and defensive back.

"Travis is back and he is looking really fast," Emslie said.

Other players who will be moving the ball down the field with speed are juniors Cody Dopps and Ian Lorang.

"I don't think there's anyone in our conference who can stop our run," Emslie said. "We'll run into teams that can in the playoffs, but that's why we have to lock down our passing game."

The Vikes are sitting well at quarterback as well. They boast a strong candidate for the job at every grade level.

"I don't think I've ever had a group of quarterbacks that are as solid as this group," Emslie said. "We have Christian Ker, (junior) Colter Mahlum, 'sophomore) Colter Trent and (freshman) Stephen Jochen. We are deep."

Working in progress

Most of the teams' greatest weaknesses are carryover issues from last season. The overall team speed is lacking, as a whole they need work on their tackling and the special teams need improvement.

Coach talk

Last year Emslie replaced Bruce Corbett as the Vikings' head coach and became the team's third coach in four years.

Emslie, who is a teacher at Swan River School, had previously served as an assistant and head coach for the Vikings football team prior to taking five years off from the job.

With his return last season also brought the return of several men who had been a part of the program in the past and are now back to serve as assistant coaches for a second year. Jim Epperly, John Little, Jake Hill, Ed Buttery and Fred Sterhan are all back to help Emslie and the boys.

The team has also picked up additional assistant coaches. Ken Sharr, who is the Ferndale Fire Department chief, will be heading up the coaching responsibilities for the froshmore team and Rhett Rieke has signed up to act as a volunteer coach for the froshmore team. The other assistant coaches will be lending a hand with the froshmores as well.

"The hard work that the coaches are putting in is really paying off," Emslie said of those who have been helping him and his team. "Their effort is incredible."

Constant compass

With the coaching staff staying the same as last season and most of the starting lineup returning, the boys are thriving off of the consistency.

"The offense is so far ahead of where we were last year," Emslie said. "With the consistency, the kids know it and can understand it and can apply it to what we're doing on the field."

The Offseason

Boys of summer

Emslie and his assistants held passing open field sessions over the summer and provided the football team with open weight room time. They were happy to see many of the players take them up on both of these opportunities, as well as attend the Bigfork football camp in June.

"It was easy to see once two-a-days started which receivers were here this summer," Emslie said. They were throwing their routes really well. There was a lot of hard work this summer on the field and in the weight room."

Looking back

Even though they finished the 2009 season tied with Eureka and Plains for first place in District 7B, they were not allowed to advance to the Class B State playoffs because there were only two teams allowed to do so from 7B last year.

A tiebreaker rule was used in which the two teams that scored the most points in their victories over the other teams in the tie were allowed to advance. Bigfork lost to Eureka, but beat Plains in its first win of the season. However, Bigfork's win over Plains was by the smallest margin. Therefore they did not advance. This year, due to the rotation between districts, 7B will advance three teams to the playoffs.

Goals to get there

Emslie said that his goal for the boys is to make it a step further than they did last year.

"Our goals will change and shift as we secure our spot in the playoffs," Emslie said.

The Road Ahead

Coach's view

"Personally, I'm excited for the season," Emslie said. "The kids are excited too and they're ready to go. We came a long way from the first game to the last game last year. We just have to keep building on that."

Rivals

The Vikes will be looking to sweep their opponents in district play. There are a few questions marks in regards to the status of some of those teams though. Plains and Hot Springs, which play together on a combined team, graduated several seniors. Eureka, which is the largest Class B school in the state, will continue to be a solid force, as will Troy, which is a much smaller school. Mission is also looking down in numbers on its football roster.

Game time

The Vikes open up their season tomorrow, Sept. 3, on the road in Missoula against Loyola in a non-conference matchup. Although the team is a perennial powerhouse across the board in athletics, the Vikings are up for the challenge.

"They are monsters and they are tough," Emslie said of Loyola's football team. "Win or lose we're going to take a lot away from that game."

Bigfork's first home football game is at 7 p.m. Sept. 10 against Conrad. That game will also be a non-conference contest. Sept. 17 Bigfork will have its first conference game of the season when the Vikes travel to Plains.