Prepzone Pigskin Preview 2017

TWIN LOUPWOLVES
TWIN RIVERTITANS
By: Chelsea Croft
By: Kevin Sjuts
The Twin Loup Wolves were able
to turn the program around in
2016 after several losing seasons.
Head coach Mike Kozeal has lead
the program to 143 wins and 60
losses during his time in Sargent.
Reaching an impressive 12-1
record last season, the Wolves
outscored their opponents by an
average of 34 points per game. In
addition, limiting other teams to
an average of 14.4 points per game
speaks a lot about the strength of
their defense.
“Our defense was very good last
year and we will need to replace
four three-year-starters,” Kozeal
said.
That one loss in 2016 was to Falls
City Sacred Heart in the state
championship. This year they feel
they can bring home the school’s
second state football title.
“We need to take the next step
and continue to improve. We are
good enough to go a long way in
the playoffs, how far is yet to be
determined,” Kozeal added.
Twin Loup only lost four players
this season and have most of their
starters coming back with a lot of
experience.
“Depth and experience, we have
numerous players that could
step in and help,” Kozeal said.
“We have a returning all-state RB
(Horky) and two-year starter at
QB (Oxford) and an all-state kicker
(Kraus). We also have six or seven
kids capable of playing in the
line.”
Alex Horky is a key player
for the team, playing multiple
positions including special teams
as a kickoff/punt returner. He
has 198 career tackles and four
interceptions as a safety. He also
racked up 1,950 career rushing
yards along with 43 touchdowns
at running back. That helps the
team’s average of completing 261
rushing yards a game, which is
the strong point of Twin Loup’s
offense.
They only averaged 77 passing
yards per game in 2016, and that’s
an area that can improve upon.
Quarterback Rowdy Oxford is
coming into 2017 with 954 passing
yards, 15 touchdowns and only
two interceptions in his career.
Twin Loup is expecting tough
competition from all of its
opponents this season, but are
looking for the biggest battle to be
with Sandhills-Thedford.
2017 SCHEDULE
8/24 Sandhills/Thedford
9/1 @ Anselmo-Merna
9/8 Stuart
9/15 @ North Central
9/22 Sumner-Eddyville-Miller
9/29 Pleasanton
10/6 @ Ansley-Litchfield
10/13 @ Central Valley
In 2016, the Knights challenged
the Wolves the most out of the
other seven regular season teams.
In the regular season, they put
up the most points against Twin
Loup than any other competition
and limited the Wolves, scoring
more than any other school.
That matchup against Sandhills-
Thedford this season will be the
season opener at home on Aug. 24.
Key Players:
Alex Horky (5’9” 170 lbs) Sr. RB/S
Rowdy Oxford (6’3” 185 lbs) Sr.
QB
Hunter Kraus (6’2” 175 lbs) Sr.
OLB/K/P/E
Twin River is looking to snap a 10-
game losing streak as it enters the
upcoming season. The Titans had
a 0-9 record in 2016, yet optimism
surrounds Todd Connelly’s
program.
“We return a lot of young men
that played a lot for us,” Connelly
said. “For most of them, they saw
their first varsity experience last
year. Hopefully the experience
will provide us a jump start to this
season.”
Most of that experience is in
Twin River’s junior class. Jaxson
Hinkle, Curtis Miller and Dylan
Loewe will all become two-year
starters this year. Hinkle returns
as the Titans’ quarterback after
completing 31 of 70 passes last
season.
Hinkle hopes to lead an offensive
resurgence at Twin River. The
Titans were shut out five times
in 2016, including the final four
games of the season. Offensively,
Twin River averaged just 111 yards
per game while competing in the
mighty C2-6 district.
“We need to find some
playmakers,” Connelly said. “The
young players we have need to
make a big step up this year.”
Connelly added developing his
offensive line will be key to Twin
River’s success.
Up front, the Titans have four
returning starters, as David Kunes,
Dylan Loewe, Jacob Czarnick and
Tucker Alexander will anchor
the line. Alexander, along with
classmate Grant Swantick, saw
varsity action as freshmen last
year.
Overall, Twin River has starters
returning at 13 different positions.
Jayden Schoder is perhaps the
most talented player on the Titans’
roster. Schroder will likely be
the focal point of Twin River’s
offense. He rushed for 103 yards
on 27 attempts last year. Corbin
Miller will also be an option out
of the backfield. The Schroder-
Miller combo looks to replace the
production of Justyce Stankoski
and Beau Wattier, who made up
more than half of Twin River’s
rushing yardage last year.
The Titans’ schedule opens with
a home game against Shelby-
Rising City. The schools will
meet on opening night for the
fourth straight year. Twin River’s
toughest stretch comes during the
middle of the season. The Titans
face returning playoff qualifiers
2017 SCHEDULE
8/25 Shelby-Rising City
9/1 @ Lutheran High Northeast
9/8 @ Hartington Cedar Catholic
9/15 Crofton
9/22 @ Cross County
9/29 Central City
10/6 Arcadia-Loup City
10/13 @ St. Paul
10/20 @ Centura
in four straight weeks, starting
with a Sept. 9 match-up against
Hartington Cedar Catholic. The
following week, the Titans host
Crofton, who reached the Class C2
championship game last fall.
Key Players:
Jayden Schroder (5’10” 155 lbs) Sr.
RB/LB
Curtis Miller (5’8” 145 lbs) Jr. RB/
DB
Dylan Loewe (5’11” 175 lbs) Jr.
OL/DE
TEAM FACTS
TEAM FACTS
Team Name: Wolves
Class: D2
2016 Record: 12-1
Head Coach: Mike Kozeal
Career Record: 143-60
Assistant Coaches: Rusty
Ruppert, Zane Young, Cory Beran
307 S Highway 183 • Sargent, NE• 308-527-3440
GOOD LUCK TO THE TWIN LOUP WOLVES!
Team Name: Titans
Class: C2
2016 Record: 0-9
Playoff Appearances: 1
Head Coach: Todd Connelly
Career Record: 9-34
Assistant Coaches: Josh Majerus
and Dan Parry
Best of luck this season!
402.993.2231 • 502 Willard Ave, Genoa, NE • www.genoacb.com
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