Growth on and off field integral for Honkers in ‘22
Trending
In 2021, the Kenmare Honkers finished with a 3-6 record, making it to the first round of the nine-man playoffs before a loss to Berthold ended their season. This year, they will be moving to 11-man football, where they will be placed in Region 3 of Class B.
Head coach Isaiah Steinwand and the Kenmare/Bowbells/Burke Central Honkers, their goal heading into this season is simple and it involved developing the players not just on the field, but off the field too.
"When it comes to football for us, we always want to grow these guys as young men and have them grow in the community. When we can do that, I think winning comes along with it. If you can do things right in the community, you can do things right on the field," Steinwand tells The Minot Daily News.
In addition to development on and off the gridiron, Steinwand believes that the move up to 11-man football is one that should benefit the team with their objective of developing more of the passing game.
"We've made a change at offensive coordinate and I'm hoping we can become more of a passing team. Moving from nine-man to 11-man should open that up for us. We have weapons on the outside we can utilize. Our quarterback, Andrew Christensen, is a four-year starter with amazing talents, we need to allow him to showcase those skills," he said.
While there is work to be done with the Honkers' passing game, Steinwand believes that running the ball is something they can do well and if they can do it consistently, it will open the field for their offense to be more potent on the attack.
"I want to establish a ground game. Everything else comes off that, being able to pass on first or second down. If nothing else is working, we can go back to it."
For the Honkers, they will have a mix of younger players looking to get experience, as well as older players who have been around the program that can help mold and mentor the younger guys.
Among a variety of players mentioned, some of the key returners for the Honkers starts with Christensen, who Steinwand believes will be a leader not just on the field, but in the locker room too. Jack Zimmer, a two-way player at corner and receiver and Jaxson Holter on both sides of the line are two other players expected to be key for the Honkers and help out in a variety of roles.
Kenmare/Bowbells/Burke Central began its season on Aug. 19, when they headed to Bowman County High School for the opening game. The first home game will be the following week when they play host to Southern McLean.
SCHEDULE
Friday, Aug. 19
@ Bowman County 7 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 26
Southern McLean 7 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 2
@ Bishop Ryan 7 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 9
@ Des-Lacs Burlington 7 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 16
Stanley 6 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 23
@ Velva 7 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 30
Ray/Powers Lake 7 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 7
@ Nedrose 7 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 14
South Prairie 7 p.m.
ROSTER
No. Name Gr. Position
1 Peyton Nelson 9 QB-S
4 Cohen Seime 10 RB-CB
5 Lee Feldner 9 WR-CB
6 Carson Thingvold 12 TE-LB
10 Jack Zimmer 11 WR-CB
11 Andrew Christensen 12 QB-LB
12 Aiden Melin 11 WR-CB
13 Maverick Ford 12 WR-S
14 Paul Melin 9 WR-CB
16 Connor Melin 9 WR-CB
19 Jonathan Kostecky 11 WR-LB
20 Diontrea Anderson 12 RB-S
22 Derrick Handeland 12 WR-CB
29 Trevor Kreklau 9 RB-LB
32 Gage Holter 9 RB-LB
33 Sheldon Skar 12 TE-LB
44 Jamison Grindeland 9 TE-DE
45 Delaney Feldman 9 FB-LB
48 Logan Herfindahl 12 TE-DE
51 Devin Gesvalli 9 OL-DL
54 Axle Holter 9 OL-DL
56 John Wry Miller 12 OL-DL
58 Maddox Chrest 9 OL-LB
63 Jaxson Holter 12 OL-DL
67 Kase Nygaard 9 OL-DL
72 Gavin Gill 10 OL-DL
75 Peyton Helwig 10 DE-OL
80 Ryan Schoemer 10 WR-CB
81 Caleb Knutson 10 WR-LB
86 Jacob Livingston 11 TE-LB
88 Terry Lucy 10 TE-DE