Brandon Valley football's experience, size makes them a true SD high school football title contender
On a chilly Friday morning Brandon Valley Football players wearing red and black practice jerseys gathered on the field for another day of preseason camp.
The players ran, did jumping jacks and lunges all across the field during warmups as country music played on the stadium speakers.
“Not me,” Brandon Valley senior offensive lineman Navarro Schunke scoffed when asked who chose the playlist. “(It’s probably so assistant) coach (Jason) Bisbee can ask us questions about songs we don't know.”
“They like throwback songs, old country … old rock,” Landon Dulaney said of the coaching staff.
That's the norm at Brandon Valley and although it helps establish a more laid-back tone for practice, the Lynx have sky-high expectations for 2023. The group is expected to be vastly improved from last season when they went 4-6.
A huge part of that is getting back talented players that suffered injuries last season. Schunke, who holds two Power 5 scholarship offers, and senior wide receiver Landon Dulaney both missed the entirety of the 2022 season with back issues.
The Lynx will also be one of the most experienced teams in their class, returning eight starters on each side of the ball. On offense, they return senior fullback Micah Nelson, who is a two-year starter, Schunke, senior offensive lineman Easton Poppe, sophomore wide receiver Dveyoun Bonwell-Witte, junior offensive lineman Lucas Feldkamp, senior offensive lineman Jack Tews, senior running back Del’Voun Spears-Witte and senior quarterback Jack Thue, who started five varsity games over the past two seasons.
On defense, they return senior defensive lineman Thomas Risty, sophomore defensive lineman Hudson Parliament, who holds a scholarship offer from South Dakota State, junior defensive back Drake Jellema, senior defensive back Kaleb Briest, junior defensive back Ryland Carroll, junior linebacker Gunnar Swift, senior linebacker Greyson Bortnem and senior linebacker Caden Dowd.
The returning experience alone could provide a leg up against some of the more inexperienced teams in 11AAA, especially in the early stages of the season.
“Experience is enormous when kids know what to do and how to get there,” Brandon Valley football coach Matthew Christensen said. “They do it faster. They do it better. … Those guys are the biggest guys around too so that helps.”
Another strength the Lynx will have is their sheer size. Of those 16 returning starters, 10 of them are over six feet tall. Six of their linemen are over six feet tall.
“I think our line can be the best in the state. How big and explosive, and athletic they are,” Dulaney said Friday during practice.
Christensen said the team is right where they want to be at this point in the season, but they’re itching to test themselves against other teams. Over the next week, Brandon Valley will focus on peaking at the right time before their game against O’Gorman to open up the season.
The Lynx, with their experience, size and talent will be one of the favorites to make it to the state championship game.
“I just think we have something special with this group,” Dulaney said. “A lot of us have been waiting to play. After last year we're waiting to play to get our chance to show people, prove ourselves that we can be a top contender.”
Brandon Valley will take on O'Gorman in the Dakota Bowl on Saturday, Aug. 26.
Jonathan Fernandez covers high school and college sports for the Argus Leader. Contact him at jfernandez@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JFERN31
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Brandon Valley's experience, size makes them state championship contender
