Prepzone Pigskin Preview 2017

NORTH CENTRALKNIGHTS
NORTHWESTVIKINGS
By: Joe Musso
Despite only winning three games
in 2016, the North Central Knights
made their third trip to playoffs in
the last four seasons.
It was anything but smooth sailing
for head coach Ryan Richey in his
first year at the helm. The season
started out with a win followed by
four consecutive losses, but North
Central managed to win two of
their final three games and sneak
into the playoffs.
Despite the roller coaster ride that
was 2016, Richey is optimistic about
the outlook for 2017.
“We return a good nucleus of
players,” Richey said. “Our young
guys are very experienced and we
expect to be a competitive team.”
That core of experienced leadership
includes 12 returning starters, six
on each side of the ball.
“We have good overall team speed
and a bunch of kids that work hard.
But a lack of size and depth will be
our weaknesses,” Richey said.
The Knights will present a
traditional I-formation attack on
the offensive side of the ball. Last
season North Central hung right
around 50-50 run to pass.
Whether through the air or on
the ground, junior quarterback
Jakob Heerten will be responsible
for a large portion of the Knights
production.
“Jakob is a very accurate passer, he
throws a good deep ball,” Richey
said. “He’s mobile enough to buy
extra time in the pocket as well.”
Heerten was thrown into the fire
last season as a sophomore and
emerged a grizzled veteran. During
his first season as a starter, Herteen
threw for just shy of 1,000 yards.
His touchdown to interception ratio
was above 12-10, an impressive feat
for a 15-year-old. Richey expects
increased production from his now
seasoned junior QB.
One of Herteen’s favorite targets
in 2016 was also a sophomore.
6-foot-1, 185-pound receiver Colton
Munguer poses rare size and
strength at the eight-man level.
Last season, Munger hauled in 20
receptions for 286 yards, averaging
over 14 yards per catch. Expect an
increase in targets for Munger in
2017, as the sophomore led the team
with four receiving touchdowns
while only averaging two catches a
game.
The North Central Knights will kick
off the season against Boyd County.
Key Players:
Jakob Heerten (6’0” 170 lbs) Jr.
2017 SCHEDULE
8/25 Boyd County
9/8 @ Sandhills/Thedford
9/15 Twin Loup
9/22 Osmond
9/28 @ Bloomfield
10/5 Stuart
10/13 @ St. Mary’s
10/19 @ Elkhorn Valley
QB/S
Colton Munger (6’1” 185 lbs) Jr.
WR/DE
Griffin Smith (6’1” 160 lbs) Sr.
WR/S
By: Spencer Schubert
The 2016 season can be summed
up quite simply for the Northwest
football team. They beat the teams
they were expected to beat and lost
to the teams they were expected to
lose to, and they didn’t vary from
that narrative.
The teams Northwest defeated
combined to go 9-35. As for the
teams that beat the Vikings, it was
a different story as they went a
combined 37-8. Head coach Kevin
Stein knows his team has some work
to do, but they might not be far off
of where they need to be.
“We have a great opportunity to
have a nice season,” Stein said. “Our
first four to five games will be very
crucial for us to hit on all cylinders.”
Fortunately for Stein and the
Vikings, he’s got plenty of fresh tape
to look at as the first five games will
be exactly the same as 2016. It’s a
stretch where Northwest went 3-2
and recorded their best win of the
season - a 17-7 win over an Alliance
team that eventually went 5-4 on the
year.
To do so, Northwest will be leaning
on plenty of returning talent.
Quarterback Carter Terry is back for
his junior campaign, and he’ll have
one of his favorite targets to throw
to - senior receiver Brady Gause,
who clocked a 4.8 40-yard-dash this
summer.
The Vikings will also be aided this
fall with a few transfers that might
see playing time immediately.
Offensive and defensive lineman
Ryan Melvin comes to Northwest
from Bennington after starting last
season on both sides of the ball.
Northwest will also be welcoming in
Cal Bosard from Sidney, who Stein
believes would have been a two-way
starter at his old school.
One big change for the Vikings
this fall will be a new man barking
orders for the defense. Kyle Suttles
takes over as defensive coordinator
for the team, and Stein said the
offseason has been spent getting him
acquainted with his new role.
“He will have to get the feel for the
players and vice-versa,” Stein said.
“He is extremely knowledgeable and
the remaining defensive coaches will
stay intact.”
After a 5-4 regular season in 2016,
coach Stein and the boys will be
looking to turn a couple of those
losses to wins with what Stein
believes is a much more experienced
team.
2017 SCHEDULE
8/25 @ Gering
9/1 Alliance
9/8 @ Columbus
9/15 Lexington
9/22 Scottsbluff
9/29 @ Holdrege
10/6 Seward
10/13 Aurora
10/20 @ York
“Two of the best things about this
year’s team (is we are) returning a
lot of starters and contributors, and
(we have) depth at all positions,”
Stein said. “Class B is so brutal from
week-to-week. Having an immature
team that does not have solid backups
is scary.”
Stein continued to say he feels
confident this team can weather
those storms unlike last year, and
his team will need to do so in order
for them to be in a good place come
district time.
The Vikings kick off the season with
a long road trip to Gering before
coming home in week two to take
on Alliance. It’s a stretch that got
Northwest off to a 2-0 start in 2016
- a start Stein would be more than
pleased with in 2017.
Key Players:
Carter Terry (6’0” 185 lbs) Jr. QB
Chance Hall (6’3” 220 lbs) Sr. LB
Brady Gause (6’2” 185 lbs) Sr. WR
TEAM FACTS
TEAM FACTS
Team Name: Knights
Class: D2
2016 Record: 3-6
Playoff Appearances: 5
Head Coach: Ryan Richey
Career Record: 3-6
Assistant Coach: Alex
McCleary
Team Name: Vikings
Class: B
2016 Record: 5-5
Playoff Appearances: 12
Head Coach: Kevin Stein
Career Record: 114-85
Assistant Coaches: Bill Bombeck, Kyle
Suttles, Ken Terry, Brandon Harrington,
Jeff Eynetich, Jeff South, Maurice Donely
308.382.4620
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