Chatfield hopes to reload in pursuit of another Section 1, Class 2A title

Aug. 28—(Editor's note: This article is part of the 2023 Pigskin Preview, which will appear in the Saturday, Sept. 2, Post Bulletin print edition. A full list of articles that will appear on PostBulletin.com this week is at the bottom of this article.)

Chatfield has ruled Section 1, Class AA over the past three seasons, claiming the section title each year. But if the Gophers are going to continue their stellar run, they will have to do so with a different core of star players this season.

The Gophers won the Class AA state championship in 2021 and they were the state runner-up in 2022. Chatfield will have a big turnover this season, but coach Jeff Johnson still believes his squad will have a lot of talent.

"I'm excited to see what they have this season and they're excited, too," Johnson said. "It's their own season. We've played in two Prep Bowls back-to-back and I'm saying we can get to another one if these kids want to perform. I think we could."

Many of the section coaches believe that Chatfield will be the team to beat.

The section will feature just six teams this season as Goodhue (Section 1, Class 1A) and Triton (Section 2, Class 2A) have departed.

Caledonia is a perennial force in the section and the Warriors look to compete for a state berth as well.

Here is a team-by-team look at teams in Section 1, Class AA as well as some area teams in other Class AA sections.

The Gophers graduated lots of talent from last year's state runner-up squad that went 13-1, including Post Bulletin All-Area Player of the Year Sam Backer.

Just five starters return, but there are 19 seniors on the squad, many of whom saw extended action because the Gophers won so many lopsided games.

"Not a lot of experience from a starter aspect, but these guys, all the guys who didn't start, played an awful lot of football last year," Johnson said. "... We've got a lot of kids with a lot of playing time."

Starters back are seniors Parker Delaney, who has played a lot of quarterback as the backup the past two years; three-year starting LB/RB Kail Schott and OL/LB Nathan Allen; and DB/WR Caden Boyum and junior OL/DL Ethan Cole.

Players expected to step up this season include senior WR Cole Novonty and juniors Ben Carrier (CB/WR), QB Carson Rowland and RB/LB Chase Johnston.

"It's exciting not knowing what's exactly in front of you," Johnson said. "But these guys, they're not new. ... They've played a lot of football. Some people might say it's a rebuild, but we're kind of reloading right now.

"We wouldn't want to pencil ourselves into anything, but we expect to be there at the brutal end, right there again in the section championship again," Johnson added.

The Warriors will have to see if they can reload this season after graduating most of their top players from last year's 8-3 squad, which suffered a narrow 10-8 loss to Chatfield in the section title game.

Veteran coach Carl Freuchte lists Chatfield as the section favorite, but he believes the Warriors have the talent to compete.

"We feel like our football IQ is really strong and it's going to get better as the year goes on," Fruechte said.

Fruechte said the number of players out for the squad is down this season, but there are still 17 seniors on the team.

Seniors back include Lewis Doyle (WR/DB), Jordan Tornstrom (OL/DL), Mason Banse (LB/FB), Owen Denstad (LB/RB), Mason Schroeder (OL/DL), Isaac Blocker (FB/DL), Hunter Goetzinger (LB/WR), Josh Beardmore (WR/DB), Owen Klug (WR/DB), Connor Buttell (OL/DL), Jason Schock (WR/DB), Tyler Stengel (OL/DL), Austin Pronsclinske (OL/DL) Drew Yankee (WR/DB), Mason Foellmi (LB/FB), Landon Franenkron (OL/DL) and Gabe Curley (OL/DL).

"We need all our seniors to step up and make plays and stick together," Fruechte said.

Junior Ethan Stendel will be the starting quarterback. Other juniors back including Tanner Ginther (OL/DL), Greysen Prouix (OL/DL), Weston Rask (OL/DL), Ben Stemper (LB/RB), Tristan Meyer (LB/WR), Eric Welscher (OL/DL), Fisher Wait (WR/DB), Owen Staggemeyer (RB/LB), JT Hammell (OL/DL), Brody Thesing (OL/DL), Eli Staggemeyer (RB/LB), Braxton Lange (RB/LB), Marshal Rohrer (OL/DL) and Spencer Schaffer (OL/DL).

The Eagles look to have a veteran team this season as they have nine starters, all seniors, returning from last year's 5-4 squad.

A pair of All-District players return in QB Levi Williams (751 passing yards, 10 touchdowns, 5 interceptions, 328 rushing yards, 4 TDs) and RB/LB Landon Lehnertz (669 yards rushing, 11 TDs; 42 tackles, 8 for loss, 1 sack). Other starters back include WR/CB Damon Bye (5 catches, 62 yards; 16 tackles, 1 interception), WR Tyler Holzer (five catches, 96 yards), OL Jackson Welsh, OL Luke Cornell, LB Andrew Wendt (30 tackles, six for loss), S/P Brock Hughes (9.5 tackles, one interception) and S Bolton Thesing (23 tackles, one interception).

"We have a very energetic group with many seniors who return with one or more years of varsity experience," second-year coach Jon Hauswald said. "A huge variable to our success as a football team will be how our leaders bring along the newcomers who need to develop into varsity contributors this year."

Hauswald said he is excited to see what "our best" looks like during the season. He lists Caledonia and Chatfield as the section favorites "We'll know we are doing something right when we can compete with those two," he said.

The Eagles lost in the first round of section play to Goodhue during the 2022 season.

The Saints are coming off a 3-7 season, but they managed to avenge a regular-season loss and beat Triton in section play before falling to Caledonia in the semifinals.

St. Charles will have to battle some inexperience heading into the 2023 campaign.

"We will play a lot of fresh faces but will have some talent," Saints coach Matt Reinhardt said. "We will have to play very hard and get better every week to get where we want to be at the end of the year."

Top returning players include seniors Owen Maloney (QB/DB), Alex Burlingame (OL/DL) and Ruben Macias (OL/DL) and juniors Chris Hilton (WR/LB) and Lux Teed (OL/DL).

Top newcomers expected to step up include seniors Sawyer Wendt (RB/LB) and Matthew Storm (OL/DL) and juniors Colton Mathison (RB/LB), Brock Decker (RB/QB/LB) and Charles Davidson (WR/DB).

Reinhardt lists Caledonia and Chatfield as the section favorites and said the Saints could have a tough regular-season schedule this season.

"The district will be extremely tough with the addition of La Crescent and Cannon Falls," Reinhardt said.

Third-year coach Kyler Sieben is hoping to get the program turned around. The Ramblers are coming off a 1-7 season, and they forfeited their section opener in 2022. Cotter has not had a winning season since going 6-4 in 2007. Since then, they have won more than two games in a season just three times.

The good news for the 2023 team is that 10 of 11 starters are back, plus the program has a number of new players out for the squad and has a large freshmen class.

A pair of top receivers return in All-District selection Luke Gardner (61 receptions, 807 yards, 9 TDs) and Gabe Stewart (22 receptions, 244 yards, 2 TDs). QB Jack Spiten threw for 1,032 yards and 10 TDs in 2022 while Brett Biesanz has been a four-year starter on the offensive and defensive line. Kaiden Diaczun, Tyler Sturm and Dane Guzzo were the team's top three tacklers last season.

"The district will be tough as always, especially with the new additions, but we expect to compete every night," Sieben said.

"We have a lot of experienced players mixed with some very talented underclassmen," the coach added. "Our guys are excited to show what they can do."

The Cardinals are looking to rebound from last year's win-less season when they went 0-9 and lost to Caledonia in the first round of section play.

"We are looking to improve on last year's tough season," 18th-year coach Brent Olson said. "Looking to continue developing our young team and peak come playoff time."

The Cardinals do return nine players with starting experience. RB/DB Carter Cady rushed for 403 yards and two TDs a year ago, RB/LB William Kreidermacher ran for 244 yards and one TD while RB/LB Eli Jensen rushed for 92 yards and a TD. Adam Kampa will take over at QB after he went 15-for-58 for 72 yards with a TD and five interceptions in 2022.

Other starters back include RB/DE Owen Somme, OL/DL Levi Oevering, OL/LB Riley Merchlewitz, TE-DE Jordan Leonardo and OL/DL Tyler Steele.

Top newcomers included Peyton Snitker and Hunter Odegaard.

"We return lots of experience and starters, but not a lot of depth so we have to stay healthy," Olson said.

The Cardinals look to improve on both sides of the ball as they gave up 40-plus points in six of nine games a year ago while scoring two touchdowns in a game just twice.

The Cobras, coming off a 4-5 season, will shift from Section 1, 2A to Section 2, 2A this season. Instead of battling state powers Caledonia and Chatfield, Triton will contend with Section 2 powers Maple River and Blue Earth Area.

The Cobras do not have much experience, but senior Carson Koenigs (OL/DL, 6-2, 240) was All-District last fall and was the team defensive MVP. Jayce Leonardo (Sr., WR/DB, 6-1, 190) was All-District honorable mention while Hunter Stark (Sr., RB/LB, 6-0, 185) is a physical player who was a starting safety and backup running back before suffering an ankle injury in Week 3 last season.

Sophomore Pierce Petersohn (6-4, 180) will be the starting quarterback after having a strong junior varsity season a year ago. "Pierce is a great athlete who has a feel for the QB position," second-year coach Brandon Neseth said. "We as a staff are excited for what he'll accomplish this year and throughout his career."

Neseth said the Cobras are young overall, but they hope to "be a force to be reckoned with" by the end of the season. "A lot of our success will hinge on the ability of our offensive line to jell in order to compete in the district and section," Neseth said.

Triton lost in the first round of section play to St. Charles during the 2022 season.

The Bombers are coming off a stellar 10-2 season in which they won the Section 1 championship before falling to Watertown-Mayer in the Class AA state quarterfinals. Coach Dan Meyers has built a winning program with a 42-20 record in his first six seasons. A big change this season has the Bombers moving to Section 4.

"We've never played any of the teams in this section, and we feel that we can compete for a championship," Meyers said.

The Bombers have good experience with nine starters back, seven of whom are seniors. Senior starters back include RB/LB Sam Shepersky (eight TDs, 73 tackles), RB/LB Dylan Banks Sr. RB/LB (9 TDs, 9.6 yards per carry, 63 tackles), RB/DB Derrik Bechtoldt (five TDs, 13.4 ypc), TE/DE Talan Duden (two receiving TDs, 28 tackles), OL/DL Corbin Schroeder, OL/DL Nick Barrett (22 tackles, one sack) and TE/DE Aaron Melhouse (31 tackles, one sack). Juniors back include RB/LB Preston Schoenfelder (six TDs, 8.3 ypc) and DB/RB Jack Meyers (six interceptions).

The Bombers excel on the ground, but senior Jackson Ekstrom will take over as quarterback. Jaiden Larson-McKay, Devin Snow, Luke Huseth and Lance Mlsna will step in on the offensive line for a talented group that graduated.

"We return a talented backfield led by seniors Dylan Banks, Derrik Bechtoldt and Sam Shepersky," coach Meyers said. "Our biggest challenge will be replacing three of our five starting offensive linemen, but I feel great about the young guys who will be stepping into that role."

(All games at 7 p.m., unless noted)

Thursday, Aug. 31 — Lewiston-Altura at Goodhue, Winona Cotter at Faribault Bethlehem Academy, 7:30 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 1 — Caledonia at Zumbrota-Mazeppa, Chatfield at Pine Island, Lake City at St. Charles, Lourdes at Dover-Eyota.

Friday, Sept. 8 — La Crescent-Hokah at Chatfield, Goodhue at Winona Cotter, St. Charles at Caledonia, Kenyon-Wanamingo at Lewiston-Altura.

Saturday, Sept. 9 — Cannon Falls at Dover-Eyota, 1 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 15 — Lewiston-Altura at Hayfield, St. Charles at Chatfield, Dover-Eyota at La Crescent-Hokah, Winona Cotter at Kenyon-Wanamingo, Triton at Caledonia.

Thursday, Sept. 21 — Chatfield at Triton, Faribault Bethlehem Academy at Lewiston-Altura.

Friday, Sept. 22 — Caledonia at Cannon Falls, Dover-Eyota at St. Charles, Winona Cotter at Wabasha-Kellogg.

Friday, Sept. 29 — Caledonia at Dover-Eyota, Fillmore Central at Winona Cotter, St. Charles at Triton, Wabasha-Kellogg at Lewiston-Altura, Zumbrota-Mazeppa at Chatfield.

Thursday, Oct. 5 — La Crescent-Hokah at St. Charles.

Friday, Oct. 6 — Chatfield at Caledonia, Dover-Eyota at Lake City, Lewiston-Altura at Fillmore Central, Winona Cotter at Rushford-Peterson.

Thursday, Oct. 12 — Blooming Prairie at Winona Cotter.

Friday, Oct. 13 — Dover-Eyota at Chatfield, Cannon Falls at St. Charles, Plainview-Elgin-Millville at Caledonia, Rushford-Peterson at Lewiston-Altura.

Wednesday, Oct. 18 — Caledonia at La Crescent-Hokah, Chatfield at Cannon Falls, Triton at Dover-Eyota, Lewiston-Altura at Winona Cotter.

SUNDAY, AUG. 27

—Plainview-Elgin-Millville's "hit man" is southeastern Minnesota's top tackler

—Column: The Pigskin Preview turns 50

—Why the chase for the Section 1, 9-Player championship could be wide open this fall

MONDAY, AUG. 28

—How and why the Winona State University coaching staff is prioritizing southeastern Minnesota as a recruiting hotbed

—Defending champ Fillmore Central is among the favorites in a loaded Section 1, Class 1A

—Who will challenge Chatfield in Section 1, Class 2A this season?

—Stewartville star will be a problem for opposing linemen

TUESDAY, AUG. 29

—Donovan family has led La Crescent-Hokah's quick turnaround

—Chicago native Martell Williams returned to RCTC this fall for one reason

—One powerhouse has moved out, another has moved into Section 1, Class 3A

—Is Section 1, Class 4A a three-horse race again?

WEDNESDAY, AUG. 30

—Section 1, Class 5A could be up for grabs

—The Post Bulletin names its "Dangerous Dozen" for the 2023 season

—College coaches have eyes on John Marshall's Ladu brothers

THURSDAY, AUG. 31

—John Marshall graduate Deontae Veney is making a "big" impact at Minnesota State University, Mankato

—Mayo's Holcomb a rare five-year varsity player — and a rare athlete

—Rochester Mayo to tackle the state's biggest class, moving up to Section 3, Class 6A

FRIDAY, SEPT. 1

—Why are teams schedules so different this fall? We find out why local teams will face unfamiliar foes

—Kingsland's dynamic backfield duo has Knights dreaming big in '23

—As the Pigskin turns 50, we look back at every southeastern Minnesota team that has won a state title since its inception in 1974