Returning players, new faces offer reasons for hope after back-to-back 3-7 seasons
The return to Class 11AA for Watertown High School's football team in 2021 has resulted in back-to-back 3-7 seasons and a pair first-round playoff losses.
Those numbers, however, shouldn't diminish what could turn out to be a better-than-expected season in 2023. The season opens Friday when the Arrows host fellow Eastern South Dakota Conference foe Brookings at 7 p.m. at Watertown Stadium.
Brookings is rated fourth and Watertown received votes in the state's Class 11AA poll.
"At this point, I hope we're competitive in every game," said head coach John Hodorff, who is opening his ninth season at the helm. "I think we'll give ourselves a chance to win every game and after a good regular season, we'll look to make a deep run into the playoffs."
Reasons for optimism
There are definitely some reasons for optimism. The Arrows return 34 letter winners, including seven starters on offense and defense.
The group includes senior All-State and All-Eastern South Dakota Conference running back Juven Hudson, who proved he's one of the best running backs in the state by rushing for 1,204 yards and 11 touchdowns last fall. Junior quarterback Treyton Himmerich, who threw for 362 yards last fall, is also back to direct the offense.
The defense returns the top four tacklers from last season, senior linebacker Simon Hendricks (53 solos, 38 assists), senior linebacker Austin Johnson (47-35), senior defensive end-linebacker Caden Beauchamp (42-31) and junior linebacker Spencer Wientjes (35-36).
"We have a good group of returnees," said Hodorff.
Watertown also has a good group of linemen with some good size, which could produce good results on both sides of the ball. The group includes senior 260-pound center Landon Perry, junior 240-pound guard/defensive end Jayden Lambert and 6-6, 265-pound junior right tackle Karter Engles. Caleb Thronson, a 280-pound sophomore, and Nash Berg, a 230-pound junior, are also listed as projected offensive starters on the line for Friday's opener.
Another interesting player is 6-5, 275-pound junior Micah Hach, a standout heavyweight wrestler who didn't play football last fall.
Who is standing in the way?
All-world quarterback Lincoln Kienholz has graduated in Pierre and taken his talents to "The Ohio State University." The Governors have won the past six Class 11AA state championships and are rated No. 1 again in the state poll. They will still be formidable, but Kienholz played a big role.
Tea Area was the state runner-up last fall and is rated No. 2, followed by ESD schools Yankton, Brookings and Aberdeen Central. Aberdeen Central graduated a ton of talented seniors.
Getting some early confidence could be a huge for an Arrow team that will be a little short-handed for the opener. Wientjes is still recovering from a broken collarbone suffered in July and Johnson won't play the first two games.
Beating Brookings, something the Arrows' haven't done since 2017, would be a good start.
"It's going to be really interesting to see with this group of guys," said Hodorff. "We have some good speed with Juven and Owen (Spartz), some good receivers in Kohen Kranz, Nathan Briggs and Mitch Olson and some linemen with some numbers (size) we haven't said very often."
The schedule and some other thoughts
Friday's opener will be the first of four home games on Watertown's nine-game schedule in the regular season. The Arrows will also host Yankton on Sept. 8, Class 11AAA Sioux Falls Washington on Sept. 15 for homecoming and Mitchell on Oct. 6.
Road games include Huron (Sept. 1), Pierre (Sept. 22), Aberdeen Central (Sept. 29), Spearfish (Oct. 13) and Tea Area (Oct. 19).
Hodorff feels there's a strong group of juniors and sophomores, who may not be household names yet, who are capable of doing some good things for the Arrows.
Matt Paulson stepped away from coaching and Will Castle is taking over calling the plays. Arrow fans and others will get their first look at what the new faces and any other possible changes on Friday.
"We have about 90 kids out right now and we should have some good depth," said Hodorff. "It might be hard to replace certain kids, but not impossible."
Maybe this is the year the Arrows produce their first winning season since 2018 (6-4) and their first playoff win since they advanced to the state Class 11AA championship in 2013 (0-8 with one season missing the playoffs).
Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on Twitter @PO_Sports or email: rmerriam@thepublicopinion.com.
This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: A preseason look at the 2023 Watertown High School football team
