The Bishop Ryan High School football team will have several more weapons at its disposal this week at Kindred than it did in its season-opening win at Velva.
Junior lineman Mason Kramer and sophomore lineman Dakota Johnson are game-time decisions, but Ryan coach Brad Borkhuis expects junior outside linebacker/quarterback Austin Eggl to play defense. Senior linemen Matt Neiss and Isaac Tafelmeyer - both got hurt during the Velva game - are expected to play on Friday.
"In general, getting the guys back... it gives us confidence," Borkhuis said.
Article Photos
Adam Lawson/MDN
Junior linebacker Austin Eggl participates in a drill at Bishop Ryan’s practice on Wednesday.
Sophomore Tanner Sanders will start his second game at quarterback while Eggl reacclimates himself to football after having his knee scoped in the summer. Sanders completed a game-winning 64-yard touchdown pass to Brody Bosch in the final minutes against Velva to give the Lions a 24-19 win.
Eggl said he's happy to be back on the football field after a rare absence and that his knee is between 98- and 100-percent healthy.
"It's one of the few games I've missed 'cause of injury," Eggl said. "It's tough to be watching and knowing you can't do anything to help your teammates out there."
Johnson has been battling a foot injury and Kramer missed the Velva game after having an appendectomy. Neiss suffered a thigh bruise during the game and Tafelmeyer exited with a sore shoulder.
Borkhuis said the injuries have helped the Lions build depth going forward.
"I gotta give credit to the guys that stepped up last week. They did an incredible job of stepping up," Borkhuis said. "You never really know what you can do until your feet are held to the fire."
The Ryan-Kindred game is scheduled to kick off at 6 p.m.
ORCS enjoying early-season success
Since Sherry Carlson started the Our Redeemer's Christian School volleyball program in 1996, there hasn't been a more decorated team than the one that took the court in 2004.
That team - the only Knights squad to ever make the state tournament - advanced all the way to the Class B state championship before falling to Thompson.
A 6-1 start has ORCS drawing comparisons to the best team in school history.
"They're a lot alike. A lot alike," Carlson said. "They aspired to get there, they put in the time. ... They're just doing a lot that that group did because they want the same result."
Helping in the quest to achieve a similar result are two assistant coaches that played for that 2004 team. Kara Nunziato and Brittany Jacobsen were junior and sophomore starters, respectively.
Ashley Koppinger is showing early on why she was an all-state selection a year ago. The senior outside hitter has 88 kills, good for more than 12 per game. She also has compiled 13 aces to lead the team.
Thirteen-year-old Morgan Olson leads the team in assists. The eighth-grader has collected 80 of them and credits her success to the coaching staff and her work ethic.
"I usually stay after practice for at least a half-hour," Olson said. "Then I go home and I play volleyball with my (three younger) sisters."
Junior Brooke Knutson, the team's other setter, has assisted on 68 kills, including 15 in a three-set win against Velva on Tuesday.
ORCS goes on the road to face Trinity Christian at 7 tonight.
Hazen drops opener
After not losing a game until the Class A state semifinals a year ago, the Hazen Hornets football team found the loss column in 2012 after dropping a 28-8 opening-week game to Beulah.
Hazen looks to get back on track against New Salem-Glen Ullin at 7 p.m. Friday.