Prepzone Pigskin Preview 2017

ALMACARDINALS
AMHERSTBRONCOS
By: Austin Miller
After a solid 2016 season, in
which they finished 7-3, the
Alma Cardinals could have
another great team, but the
big question around town is
whether their star player will
suit up.
Jackson McKenzie is one of the
top players in Class D1. The
junior is a jack-of-all-trades
player and has been used as a
tight end, quarterback, running
back, and linebacker. However,
after suffering his second
concussion in a playoff loss to
Palmer last season, his status
for this season is still up in the
air with no timetable on when,
or if, he can return.
“Jackson is a difference maker
on the football field,” Alma
Head Coach Isaac Frecks said.
“He has a nose for the ball on
defense and is a playmaker on
offense”.
Even without their star player,
this year’s team features plenty
of upperclassmen, including
four returning starters on
offense and five on defense.
Frecks will have an important
TEAM FACTS
Team Name: Cardinals
Class: D1
2016 Record: 7-3
Playoff Appearances: 11
Head Coach: Isaac Frecks
Career Record: 48-50
Assistant Coaches: Jesus Felix
and Chris Mahalek
piece in the trenches in senior
offensive lineman David
Ehrke. At 6-foot-3, 240-pounds,
Ehrke has the look of a great
lineman, but it’s his work ethic
and awareness on the field
that’s made him a problem for
opposing defenses.
“David really improved into
one of the better lineman we
have had at Alma last year,”
Frecks said. “He is a great kid
on and off the field. (He) does a
great job finishing blocks and is
a smart player”.
Coach Frecks does have
one concern, and that’s his
backfield. With two of their
three backs gone from last
year, plus McKenzie’s status in
question, the Cardinals could
have to replace their entire
backfield. Juniors Jarod Asche
and Joseph Felix will need
to step up in order to fill that
void.
If Alma’s schedule looks
familiar this season, that’s
because it’s the exact same
opponents as last year in the
same order. The only change is
the home teams have flipped.
2017 SCHEDULE
8/25 @ Dundy County-Stratton
9/1 Northern Valley KS (Almena KS)
9/8 @ Franklin
9/22 Medicine Valley
9/29 @ Cambridge
10/6 Bertrand
10/13 Elm Creek
10/19 @ Southwest
“I see us being very
competitive with everyone on
our schedule,” Frecks said.
One game this team will
certainly have circled on their
schedules is their rematch with
Medicine Valley. Last year, the
Cardinals lost by one on the
road. This year, they’ll have
their chance for payback at
home.
Key Players:
Jackson McKenzie (6’1” 170 lbs)
Jr. QB/RB/LB
David Ehrke (6’3” 240 lbs) Sr.
OL/DL
Cooper Wright (6’3” 170 lbs) Sr.
TE/DE
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703 MAIN STREET • ALMA, NE • 308.928.2606
8/25 @ Bertrand
9/1 Perkins County
9/15 @ Burwell
9/22 @ Overton
9/29 Elm Creek
10/6 South Loup
10/13 @ Ravenna
10/19 Cambridge
22 2017 Prepzone Pigskin Preview www.1011now.com/prepzonepigskinpreview 23
By: Spencer Schubert
Talk about an about-face for
the Amherst football team in
2016.
Just the year before, the
Broncos were the talk of Class
D football. They ran the table
en route to an undefeated
regular season, including a late
season win over rival Burwell.
They entered the playoffs as a
top-seed, but bowed out early.
Last season, the team went
2-7, eventually losing in the
first round of the playoffs as a
16-seed, falling to top-ranked
Palmer 56-15.
It’s a season head coach Ron
Evans saw coming. After all,
staying on top of Class D
might be the toughest chore
in high school football, given
the amount of turnover in the
eight-man game.
Now, with the calendar
reading 2017, the Broncos
are looking at a fresh start.
Unlike in 2016, when there
were a bunch of new faces in
fall camp, Amherst will be
returning 22 letter winners this
year. They also have exactly
TEAM FACTS
Team Name: Broncos
Class: D1
2016 Record: 2-6
Playoff Appearances: 23
Head Coach: Ron Evans
Career Record: 142-93
Assistant Coaches: Joe Radke,
Eric Rippen, Colin Pfeiffer
half of their starters back on
both sides of the ball, giving
the Broncos some muchneeded
guidance.
Amherst enters the year
looking to simply get better
after a rough 2016. Will the
Broncos make it back to the
state championship game
for the first time since 2000?
Experts would go against
the notion, but Evans says
confidence can still be born
from a losing season.
After all, his team returns
players at a lot of key
positions. It starts under
center, as quarterback Trace
Baasch is back for his senior
campaign after getting the
reins of the team last year.
He’ll be joined by three other
senior returning starters,
and they’re all ends - Holden
Eckhout, Riley Thomsen and
Evan Palmer.
The spread offense of Amherst
will look to establish more of a
run game in 2017. The Broncos
netted 251 yards per game
through the air last season,
but it didn’t open up much of
a running attack. The Broncos
only rushed for 64 yards per
game.
That’s where the head ball
coach hopes to go to work over
the summer, as Evans said his
team’s success will start and
end with how good his guys
are up front.
“Staying healthy and
developing offensive and
2017 SCHEDULE
defensive line depth (will
be important),” Evans said.
“We should be explosive on
offense.”
The 2017 schedule doesn’t
do the Broncos many
favors, however. Upcoming
opponents combined for a 37-
27 record in 2016, but it’s a
bit of a camoflauged statistic,
considering half of their
schedule is against four teams
who combined to go 29-3.
That includes defending state
champion Burwell.
It’s tough to tell if the
upcoming season will be the
bounceback campaign coach
Evans is hoping for, but he’ll
be the first to tell you if the
Broncos want any chance
this year it will begin with
developing overall depth
and keeping his quarterback
upright early and often.
Key Players:
Trace Baasch (5’8” 175 lbs) Sr.
QB/LB
Holden Eckhout (6’ 200 lbs) Sr.
WR/DE
Riley Thomsen (5’11” 145 lbs)
Sr. WR/DB