Prepzone Pigskin Preview 2017

EUSTIS-FARNAMKNIGHTS
EXETER-MILLIGANTIMBERWOLVES
By: Chelsea Croft
By: TJ Eck
In 2016, Eustis-Farnam had a
winning season in Class D2,
finishing with a 5-4 record.
And once again this season,
the Knights are led by Bryan
Fangmeyer, who is coming into
his third year as the head coach.
He said this year should
be a solid season if the
underclassmen step up and
perform with the returning
starters.
“You know we only return six
upperclassmen, but they’ve all
played a lot of football. You
know our incoming sophomore
class, even though they were
freshmen last year, also played
quite a bit of varsity football
for us and we look forward
to having a very successful
season,” Fangmeyer said.
With only three seniors and
three juniors returning to the
team, Eustis-Farnman has
more sophomores suiting up
than upperclassmen combined,
and that’s not to mention the
incoming freshman.
“We’re going to have to
develop a little bit of depth.
We won’t have a lot of
numbers out so all of the kids
that are out are going to have
to be ready to step in on any
Friday night and play some
varsity football,” Fangmeyer
said.
In addition to working on
their lack of depth, Fangmeyer
said they have a couple other
conditioning and strength
building areas to focus on.
“Right now, our biggest
concern is our overall team
speed. We need to develop a
little bit more quickness — we
have good size. Right now it’s
more just going to come down
to executing what we need to
do and control the game and
work on our team speed,”
Fangmeyer said.
In weight, the Knights
are averaging over 213
pounds for the six returning
upperclassmen and the
average height is about 6 feet.
One of the biggest returners on
the team is senior quarterback
Kaleb Gibbens.
2017 SCHEDULE
8/25 Sumner-Eddyville-Miller
9/1 @ Brady
9/15 @ Maxwell
9/22 Loomis
9/29 @ Hitchcock County
10/6 Wauneta-Palisade
10/13 @ Wallace
10/19 Arapahoe
Fangmeyer added, “We kind
of follow his lead and when
he keeps his head about him
and does what we need him
to do on offense and defense,
our team really responds to
him. And he’s just one of those
natural leaders. He doesn’t
force it upon himself and the
kids really respond to what he
does on the field.”
Key Players:
Kaleb Gibbens (6’3” 250 lbs) Sr.
QB
Christian Timm (5’9” 190 lbs)
Jr. TB
Ayden Boller (6’3” 250 lbs) Sr.
G
Playing in the postseason has
been an annual affair for Exeter-
Milligan. The Timberwolves enter
the 2017 season having made the
playoffs fourteen straight years.
E-M’s recent success includes a
pair of state titles (D1-2013, D2-
2014) and a state runner-up finish
(D1-2012). But the T-Wolves are
looking to rebound after bowing
out in the first round of the 2016
playoffs following a 62-8 defeat to
Bloomfield.
E-M returns four starters on
both sides of the ball, including
junior Colton Bossaller and
senior Joey Bartu, who are both
two-way players. Despite a
number of starters returning,
the Timberwolves will have a
relatively young team in 2017 with
just two seniors expected to see
significant time. “We will need our
younger players to step up early,”
head coach Dean Filipi said. “We
will have good senior leadership
and that should help the younger
players.”
Junior quarterback Spencer Pribyl
(6’3” 167 lbs) is back to lead the
E-M offensive attack. Filipi says
the T’Wolves “will lean on (Pribyl)
this year.”
Bartu (5’10” 181 lbs) brings
starting experience to the running
back position and junior Mitchell
Manning (5’10” 149 lbs) adds
depth in the backfield. Bossaller
(5’11 170 lbs) is back after starting
last season at the end position.
Senior Seth Maxson (5’11” 153 lbs)
and juniors Trever Zelenka (5’9”
115 lbs) and Blake Steuben (5’11”
120 lbs) fill out the depth chart
behind Bossaller. The offensive
line is expected to feature a young
group of players led by junior
Johnny Babula (6’0” 216 lbs), who
is the only returning starter up
front.
Defensively, E-M’s strength
comes at the linebacker position.
Three starters return in Bossaller,
Manning, and Bartu. The trio will
look to lead an improved defense
after the T-Wolves surrendered
44 points or more in a game four
different times in 2016. The only
other returning starter on defense
is Maxson, who plays the safety
position.
Despite a playoff berth, 2016
didn’t live up to the lofty
2017 SCHEDULE
8/25 @ Giltner
9/1 Lawrence-Nelson
9/8 Pawnee City
9/15 @ Meridian
9/22 Friend
9/29 @ Weeping Water
10/6 Parkview Christian
10/20 @ Mead
standards the Exeter-Milligan
football program has set in
recent years. With a young, but
experienced core of players back,
the T-Wolves have a chance to
make some noise in 2017. E-M
will be put to the test early this fall
with two of the top teams in Class
D2 on the schedule in the first two
weeks. The T-Wolves open play
Aug. 25 at Giltner before taking on
Lawrence-Nelson the following
week in the home opener.
Key Players:
Colton Bossaller (5’11” 170 lbs) Jr.
E/LB
Joey Bartu (5’10” 181 lbs) Sr. RB/
LB
Spencer Pribyl (6’3” 167 lbs) Jr.
QB/DL
TEAM FACTS
Team Name: Knights
Class: D2
2016 Record: 5-4
Playoff Appearances: 15
Head Coach: Bryan Fangmeyer
Career Record: 58-32
Assistant Coach: Nick Hodge
“Kaleb’s been a four-year
starter now at quarterback
and he’s a very big boy for a
quarterback in an eight-man
school, and you know he’s
really the glue to our team,”
Fangmeyer said.
Not only is he one of the
standout players for the
Knights, he’s also a leader for
a young group.
TEAM FACTS
Team Name: Timberwolves
Class: D2
2016 Record: 5-4
Playoff Appearances: 14
Head Coach: Dean Filipi
Assistant Coaches: Jackson
Krejci, Kory Kalandt
EXETER LUMBER, LLC.
YOUR HOMETOWN HOME CENTER
402.266.3421
EXETER, NE
GOOD LUCK TIMBERWOLVES!
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