SEU stays focused, not overlooking MCC
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SLEEPY EYE -- When Sleepy Eye United hosts the 0-2 Murray County Central Rebels this Friday at St. Mary's High School, that 0-2 record might as well be ignored.
That's the thinking SEU head coach Joe Hoffmann and his players are taking into the game, which will also be a Homecoming game for St. Mary's, and it makes sense.
Last year, MCC started the season 0-2 before going on to win their next nine games, their last two wins being a win over Springfield in the Section 2A finals and a Class A state tournament win over Fillmore Central. MCC's run came to an end at the hands of Breckenridge in the second round of the state tournament as the Rebels fell 28-21.
Now, MCC finds itself 0-2 again to start the 2026 campaign, with a 42-21 loss to Dawson-Boyd to open the season and a Week 2 home loss to Springfield. The Tigers blew MCC out last week 40-6 and it only took one half to put things away as inclement weather ended the game at halftime.
Still, MCC is not a team SEU can afford to be cushy with.
"There first two games were against really good opponents, so starting 0-2 is very misleading," Hoffmann said. "They are a quality team. They did lose a good group of seniors last year, but they have some returning and ultimately they [have the] same style of play. They're aggressive, they get off the ball and they play hard."
SEU's players know not to get overconfident either and will be expecting a strong MCC team looking to get the wheels in motion Friday for another winning streak like they had last year.
"Are kids are well aware of who we're playing," Hoffmann said. "Last year they beat us pretty handily [35-0 in Slayton]. We're well aware of what they can do and how this offense is played and how effective it can be and what kind of team they have. The 0-2 doesn't get us overconfident at all. We're gonna prepare and we're gonna prepare to try to put the best team out there to get us in a position to succeed."
As for what Hoffmann expects to see from the Rebels, it's much of the same style his players saw last year.
"MCC, they run a double-wing offense," Hoffmann said. "It forces defenses to be disciplined. They are heavy run, they like to run inside and then they'll try to hitch outside. Then they'll go back and forth and they have some counter plays as well. Like I said before, everything is full speed. They come at you fast and if you go the wrong way, they're gonna hurt us.
"Defensively, we want to stay disciplined and we want to swarm to the ball. But the run team, if we can set the edge, funnel everything in and funnel to our pursuit and tackle, that's what we need to do to give us a good chance to win."
SEU, who got a rare Week 0 game at home due to a late-season game cancellation, are 2-1 on the year. That Week 0 loss came to New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva on Aug. 28, which saw SEU come back but fall just short 42-37. SEU then traveled to take on and rout BOLD 51-13 before beating Russell-Tyler-Ruthton 36-6 last Friday in Tyler.
SEU quarterback Landry Folkens didn't get the Week 0 start, but he's stepped into the starting QB position and done well when he's been asked to take over and throw the ball.
"Landry's done a great job playing quarterback for us," Hoffmann said. "He's been remarkably consistent and calm and that's his biggest strength is that if something isn't right -- and we've seen it multiple times, there might have been a snap that's off -- he's able to recover, find his receiver and deliver a throw accurately. … We haven't thrown a lot, but when we do, we're very efficient."
Folkens has completed 11 of 13 passes for 281 yards, six TDs and just one interception. Carson Uecker had six TD receptions and 248 yards as SEU's top target, while Keeyan Netzke had led the ground game with 334 yards rushing (5.5 YPC) and a touchdown.
Nick Tauer leads the SEU defense with 11 solo tackles, 20 assists, five tackles for a loss, one force fumble, one fumble recover and an interception that he returned 40 yards for a score.
With rain in the forecast for Friday, there are no plans to hose down footballs in practice by Hoffmann or his coaching staff before then. Dry fields are always more welcome, but Hoffmann expects Friday to be a run-heavy game regardless after dealing with a rain delay during last week's RTR game.