Minot High players working on ball carrying during running back drills at Duane Carlson Stadium. Sean Williams/MDN

Even though the Minot High Magicians are coming off a 2-8 season in 2021 that saw the team drop a Class AA quarterfinals playoff game to West Fargo Sheyenne, confidence and excitement are high heading into this season for the Magi.

With the 2022 season right around the corner, head coach Chauncey Hendershot has his eyes on taking a leap forward, while working on establishing the Magi’s brand of football.

“Our goal that starts on day one of camp is to take another step forward and re-establish ourselves in the WDA. We’ve shown glimpses of that, but we want to be consistent on offense and be stout defensively,” Hendershot tells The Minot Daily News.

With the playoff loss from last season looming, Hendershot plans on utilizing a longer fall camp this year to review the position groups, where he believes athleticism will be a common theme among the team.

“We are really happy with where we are athletically in key spots. Overall, we are looking better athletically than last season and team speed is one aspect where we want to be a notch faster. The other element we have is a longer fall camp, so an opportunity to vet the different position groups and players a little bit more,” he said.

The athleticism heading into this year is a result of the Magi football players working extremely hard in the offseason. Hendershot mentioned that the team has some players lacking varsity experience who will have opportunities to earn spots and he’s excited about how the team looks physically with fall camp underway.

While the team overall is looking to be improved from last year and there are many players to be excited about, two players on the roster that Hendershot is expecting leadership to come from are seniors Kaydn Turnbow and Jayden Speraw.

“Kaydn Turnbow is returning for his senior year. He’s our leader on defense and our team feeds off his motor and energy. Senior quarterback, Jayden Speraw, had a great offseason and I’m looking forward to having him in command for the full year.”

Turnbow is coming off a second team All-State season in 2021. Speraw was the starting quarterback for the Magi last season, where he completed 81/167 pass attempts for 965 yards, six touchdowns, seven interceptions, and added three more touchdowns on the ground.

When it all comes together and regular season play begins, Hendershot believes that the Magi football team will be one that works extremely hard, plays really fast and plays until the whistle, while holding each other accountable and focusing on execution with each and every rep.

Minot High will open their season on Aug. 26 when they host Bismarck St. Mary’s at Duane Carlson Stadium. This game is one that they believe will help the team get an idea of where they are early on.

“Given our work and offseason, our guys are going to be overjoyed for week one against a good St. Mary’s team. With them moving up to our class and being in the title game last year, it will be a great measuring stick for us early on,” Hendershot said.

SCHEDULE

Friday, Aug. 26

St. Mary’s 8 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 2

@ Legacy 6:30 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 9

@ Mandan 7 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 16

Bismarck 7 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 23

@ Fargo Davies 7 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 30

West Fargo Sheyenne 7 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 7

Bismarck 7 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 14

@ Williston 7 p.m.

Thursday, Oct. 20

@ West Fargo 7 p.m.

ROSTER

No. Name Gr. Position

0 Charlie Moran 10 QB

1 Joseph Fernandez 12 WR, CB

4 Hunter Horner 12

5 Ryder Zimmerman 12 QB, MLB

5 Paolo Cabatingan RB, FS

6 Kyan Toliver 12 CB, WR

8 Hudson Lach 10 WR, TE, OLB

8 Justin Fernandez DE

9 Cash Danielson 11 QB

9 Zane Harper 12 WR

10 Jayden Speraw 12 QB

11 Logan Conklin 11 WR, CB, FS

12 Lucas Beeter 11 QB, OLB

12 August Wageman 12 OLB

12 Alex King 12 OLB, WR

13 Kaden Flavin 10 WR

13 Michael George 11 WR, MLB

13 Jacob Schiele

14 Tyson Ruzicka 11 WR, SS

15 Ty Kinchen 12 WR, CB

16 Evan Fournier 10 WR

16 Mason Sys WR, SS

17 William Clark 10 WR

17 Kaden Kraft 10 WR, SS

18 Haeven Freeman 12 WR, OLB, OLB

19 Azen Lockhart 10 WR, CB

20 Kellan Burke 10 QB, WR, SS

20 Zach Brown 12 RB, CB, FS

21 Colby Albertson 11 WR, FS

21 Chase Burke RB, OLB

23 kenyon Portela RB, CB

23 Talan Jundt 11 RB, OLB

24 Payton Jolliffe 10 MLB, RB

25 Reily Bennefield 10 MLB, FB

25 Dylan Danielson

26 azure morales 12 RB, FS, FS

28 Taven Backman 10 RB, CB, FS

28 Ja’Kye Davis 12 CB, CB, CB

28 Camden Backman 12 RB, CB, CB

28 Brett Irwin

34 Griffin Broderick 10 RB, FB, MLB

35 Conner Bercier 11 WR, FS, CB

37 William Bennett 12 SS, FS, RB

39 Anthony Carulli 12 RB, MLB

40 Mason DeMontigny

40 Mason Berg WR, MLB

42 Caleb Thorn 10 FB, MLB

44 Max Cunningham 12 FB, OLB

45 Noah Bledsoe 10 FB, OLB.

50 DeJarius Jones 11 G, DT

50 Ethan Armstrong 11 T, DE, OLB

55 Trance Schon 10 DE, C, T

56 Tatum MacDonald 12 G, DE, DE

56 Benjamin Stephenson

58 Toby Strand 12 MLB

59 Teagen Nicholes 11 C.

60 Martin Burlingame 10 C, NG

60 Dedrick Scott 11 DT

61 Jobe Rystedt 11 C, DT, DE

61 Elijah Barcomb 11 T, DT

62 Justin Wood 11 C, DE

64 Lincoln Brooks 10 T, DE

65 Dylan Mitchell 12 T, DT, NG

68 Dylan Vigested

68 Dylan Huber 10 DE, T

68 Landon Bedell 10 T, OLB

68 Kal-El Reed 10 T, NG

69 Aydan Beckedahl 12 NG, G

70 Adam Mrozik 10 G, T, DE

71 Preston Olson

72 Preston Jones

73 Andrew Winczewski 12 C, G, DT

74 William David 12 DE, C, G

75 Noah Doell 12 T, DE, DE

76 Kenneth Hewitt 12 NG, T, T

77 Adam Mrozik 10 DE, T

78 Riley Lefever DE, T

78 Kaydn Turnbow 12 OLB, G, G

79 Nathan Valgren DT, NG, T

80 Masyn Hughes 11 CB, WR, SS

80 Ty Collins 12 TE, OLB

82 Braden Nelson 11 WR

82 Noah Walter

83 Wendell Johnson Jr 11 WR, FS

84 Aiden Cecil 12 FS, FS, FS

85 Owen Zarr 12 TE, MLB

86 Derry Lentz

86 Trevor Huss 12 WR, CB, SS

87 Christian Watts 12 WR

88 Heston Faul 11 TE, MLB

88 Bridger Pettys 12

Adan Hayhurst

David Meza

Nathan Mcmahan

Tristan Brown

Jacob Ryan DT, NG, C • Jr.

Kaden Philion RB, SS, FS • So.

Cade Tate

Hayden Swital WR, CB • So.

Elijah Ward

Wilson Wald RB, MLB • So.

Derrick Arivett DE, T

Zach Pulliam WR, OLB • Sr. • 6′ 1″ • 185 lbs

Ian Abrahamson

Anthony Brown WR, CB, FS • 5′ 8″

Jalen Mangram

Carson Brekke WR, CB • So.

Devin Nehring

Carson Brekke WR, CB • So.

Mason Swital

Brady Larson

Campbell Miller WR, CB • So.

Ty Burton FB • So. • 5′ 10″ • 140 lbs

Mason Eichhorn FB, MLB • So.

Aaron Prestwuch CB, WR • So.

Noah Doell

Seth Mills

CLayton Heard

Payton Stanley G • Sr.

Adisorn Worakhan

Brody Sickles