Hornets look to build through season

The 2011 season will be one of progression for the young Frazee Hornets, who lost the majority of their team to graduation last spring.

But the talent is there for head coach Jim Rader’s squad, which will have to earn their experience through the first couple of weeks of the season.

“We don’t have a lot of experience back, so our goal is to start gaining some experience and by the last half of the season, we’ll be ready to roll,” Rader said. “I think by the time playoffs come along, we should have a good shot.”

The Hornets do have four senior captains returning, all who started on last year’s team, who include Dan Janu, Rij Koehnen, Cody Piper and Rick Brandt.

Frazee has four additional seniors in John Sandberg, Dakota Zick, Tyler Hansen and Jake Galbrecht.

The entire offensive line was a part of the 2010 senior class, so there are plenty of holes to fill up front.

Junior Brett Gildersleeve will anchor the line at center, along with Brandt at one of the tackle positions.

There will be up to six or seven other Hornets competing for playing time for the rest of the positions, so depth is strong across the line.

“We have plenty of 200-plus pound linemen, who are tough,” Rader said. “They are younger kids, but they are working their butts off to get better.”

Junior Baxter Bachmann is back at quarterback, after starting as a sophomore. Janu will also take some snaps, as well.

“Baxter is more of a rushing quarterback, but he is getting better with his passing,” Rader included. “He’s a really slippery runner with decent speed.”

The Hornets will need to replace the majority of their rushing yards from last year, with Piper bringing back the most experience at running back.

“He can run between the tackles and his vision is very good when he hits the perimeter, as well,” Rader said of Piper.”

Koehnen will also see some rushes from his wing position, while three to four other players will be vying for carries, as well.

Janu will be a big target for Bachmann, especially in the red zone, where the tall tight end will have the height advantage over the majority of the defensive backfield.

Other receivers include juniors Zach Nelson, Tyler Ziegler and Cody Nordquist.

“We’ll be more balanced than the last two years with a little more passing,” Rader said.

Sandberg (defensive line), Brandt (linebacker) and Piper (defensive backfield) will be keys to the Frazee defense, along with Koehnen, who returns to his cornerback position.

“Our defense will be physical, although we’re not as big, we are faster,” Rader added. “Overall, the team speed is better.”

The Section 8-2A will be as competitive as it has been in quite sometime, with Barnesville coming in, along with Hawley and Pelican Rapids being traditional powers.

# Name Pos Grade

1 Bruce Lemon RB 11

2 Cody Piper RB 12

5 Colton Olson WR 9

9 Baxter Bachmann QB 11

12 Matt Tangen QB 9

15 Tyler Wacker RB 11

18 Cory Wokasch QB 10

20 Zach Nelson WR 11

22 Cody Nordquist RB 11

24 Jesse Miosek RB 11

25 Austin Torma FB 9

27 Jacob Galbrecht RB 12

28 Jared Sherman WR 11

30 Erik Moltzan RB 11

31 Matt Hanebuth RB 9

32 Rij Koehnen RB 12

36 Jesse Trusty RB 10

38 Josh Wurst WR 9

40 Dalton Utke WR 11

42 Hesston Bachmann RB 9

45 Casey Johnson WR 9

51 Evan Wendt OL 11

52 Dakota Zick OL 12

54 Ryan Wokasch OL 10

55 McKalen Hedlund OL 10

58 Blake Bachmann OL 11

59 Rick Brandt OL 12

60 Brett Gildersleeve OL 11

61 Calvin Streeper OL 9

62 Martin Thorp OL 11

63 Garrett Malstrom OL 9

64 Roger Thorp OL 9

65 Ryan Brandt OL 10

68 Kyle Sprouls OL 9

70 John Sandberg OL 12

71 Tyler Hansen OL 12

77 Craig Weber OL 9

79 Brandon DeGroat OL 10

81 Dan Janu WR 12

82 Tyler Ziegler WR 11

84 Matt Daggett WR 9

85 Nathan Starry RB 10

87 Grant Overland WR 10

89 Brady Bellefeuille WR 9

FRAZEE Schedule

9/2 7:00 PM Bagley

9/9 7:00 PM @ Mahnomen

9/16 7:00 PM Lake Park-Audubon

9/23 7:00 PM Red Lake County Rebels

9/30 7:00 PM @ Pine River-Backus

10/7 7:00 PM Warren-Alvarado-Oslo

10/14 7:00 PM @ Fosston

10/20 11:00 AM Fertile-Bltrmi @ F.Dome

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