Trending
It's been happening every morning Monday through Friday for the last two weeks. Football players from New Ulm High (NUHS) and Cathedral start to trickle down to their respective practice fields and the senior high and Westside park. The coolness of the morning provides for the most comfortable of the days workouts.
About one hour later-up on the hill - Martin Luther Academy (MLA) grid candidates leave the school gym and head for the practice field.
It's no phenomenon - just the annual ritual called preseason football practice. It happens twice a day at NUHS and Cathedral and three times a day at MLA.
"We have to do it that way because we're rushed every year. We don't start practice until five days before our first scrimmage,"says Luther Ram coach Allan Just.
One thing all three New Ulm high schools have in common this fall are new offensive alignments. Although head coaches of all three teams didn't want to make their new plans public, here are sneak previews of each of the three squads:
Eagles return seven lettermen
Offensive formation practice dominated the scene at NUHS football drills this week. The Eagles opened practice Monday of last week with padless conditioning.
Head coach Skip Davis hopes to improve on last year's 3-6 record, although he has only seven letter winners returning. "We are a little bit smaller in the line and backfield but a bit quicker than last year, with a lot of kids in the 170-190pound range," Davis said.
Davis, in his fourth season as head coach, was most successful in 1974 when the Eagles were 54.In '73NUHS went 0-9.
"We will be using a new multiple-type offense from which we can run nine different formations, and will be working on that heavily this week," Davis added.
Only lettermen back from 1975 are tri-captains Dave Hanson, Jim Langholz and Dan Walden plus Steve Kraus, Jeff Sievert, Tim Steinbach and Scott Stuckey. All seven are seniors. Last season Hanson ran fullback, Kraus and Langholz were guards, Sievert a tackle, Walden and Steinbach played halfbacks and Stuckey was a center.
Davis was greeted by 62 candidates a week ago Monday and mentioned that three or four potential starters didn't return.
Largest Eagle this season is Larry Gluth at 225 pounds with co-senior Bob Bode at 220 pounds.
Besides the usual agility, conditioning and strength drills, Davis has his Eagles lifting weights every other day – a drill which he will continue for the entire season.
"We're shooting for our best season since I've coached here,"Davis said. "Fairmont and St. Peter (Class A runner-up last year) look like the top two teams in the South Central Conference. It looks like a toss up for the rest of the league and we certainly hope to be in the upper division," Davis projected.
The Eagles scrimmage Redwood Falls and Glencoe at Redwood, 9a.m. Saturday morning.
Assisting Davis this season will be Leo Traurig, line coach; Virg Debban, offensive and defensive back coach; with Bob Voves and Dave Hartman as sophomore coaches.
NHUS opens the season Friday, Sept.3 with a non-conference contest at Litchfield. The Eagles start their home schedule Saturday, Sept. 11 at 7:30 p.m. against Mankato East.
Cathedral returns entire backfield
While his Greyhound griders were involved in a vocally and physically spirited session of calisthenics Tuesday morning, head coach John Mowan said he has high hopes of improving on last years 2-5record with the entire backfield returning from a year ago.
Backfield members are senior halfback Denny Pechtel and juniors Greg Weier at quarterback and halfback Dave Christian. 215 pound senior Doug Groebner, a tackle last year, will be moved up to fullback in hopes of giving the Hounds a power running back. Pechtel weighs about 180 pounds and Christian 190 pounds.
Mowan, in his 13th season as head CHS coach, guided his 1974 team to the state class "B" semi's, losing to Caledonia to finish 10-1.
"We're going twice a day for the first two weeks of practice," Mowan said Tuesday morning. "We're working heavily on our new offense most of this week and I'm a believer of thorough conditioning, which really helps when it gets down to the fourth quarter of a ball game,"Mowan added.
"We're bigger than we have been in past years with seven boys over 200 pounds, so we'll be as big as anybody. Our line and backfield should also be fairly quick," Mowan said.
This year the Greyhounds are back to a nine game regular season schedule after playing seven con-tests last year. Owatonna Marian and Mountain Lake dropped out of Cathedral's schedule last year. Marian folded and Mountain Lake joined the Tomahawk loop. Mowan noted this fall's schedule has been toughened with the additions of Hill-Murray and Austin Pacelli plus always vicious Algona Iowa. Last year Algona trounced Cathedral 61-0 and Mowan hopes some of his players will remember that game when the two teams meet this year on Saturday, September 25 at Johnson Field.
Mankato Loyola looks like the team to beat in the DeSmet conference according to Mowan. Only teams left in the league are Loyola, Cathedral, Sleepy Eye St.·Mary's (last year's champion) and Faribault BA.
Cathedral scrimmages Saturday with Winthrop and Comfrey at Winthrop at 10 a.m., the Hounds will be without the services of quarterback Weier who suffered a severely sprained ankle in practice. Weier should be ready to go in CHS's opener at Appleton Friday, Sept. 3.
Mowan is assisted by Ron Brand and Joe Brunner this fall.
New Ulm Daily Journal
August 25, 1976