If the Esko football team is to improve on its 5-4 record from a year ago, they will need to rely early on some tried and true skill position players as the big guys in the trenches become acclimated to varsity level play.
"We've got a lot of our smaller guys back," said Esko coach Bill Hudspith. "We'll need the young guys on the line to get some experience and then we'll be fine."
Last year Jake Olson stepped in at quarterback when Kyle Hall went down with an injury. This year the 6-foot, 2-inch Olson is the calming influence in an offense that should be tough to stop.
"We should be better and we could be very explosive," commented Hudspith. "I think we'll hold on to the ball and on defense we should be better, but you never know until the guys become battle tested."
This summer, Esko won the passing league at UMD and then went to Augsburg and placed second in that passing league. Olson is a key contributor, but is not the only guy Esko will rely on.
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"We've got a lot of the guys back who had a lot of playing time in the backfield and at receiver," explained Hudspith. "Tom Towner is our only senior on the line so we'll be pretty young there."
The line does include a couple players in the range of 230 to 235 pounds, according to Hudspith, who feels that despite playing mainly juniors and seniors in those positions, the Eskomos will be fine with some in-game maturity.
At running back, look for Ryan Eskuri and Austin Nikunen to be key contributors, and at wide out seniors Tyler LeRoux and Scott Lindquist are explosive playmakers.
However, the overall play will be dependent on the line and Olson.
"According to the coaches at UMD who've seen Olson play, he's got a gun for an arm," remarked Hudspith. "He's fast and he is a smart quarterback. Eventually he will be the guy calling the plays in the huddle because he wants to do well and he asks a lot of questions."
On defense, the Eskomos will lean on linebacker Alex Haaponen among others to lead the crew.
This year, the Eskomos will become part of the Polar League/Rum River Alliance. The Alliance is made up of six Class AA or AAA teams that used to play in the Polar League and the old Rum River Conference. Both leagues will still have a separate champion, but they will also play an interlocking schedule. Rum River teams that will play the interlocking schedule include Pine City, Crosby-Ironton, Hinckley-Finlayson, Braham, Aitkin and Rush City. Schools from the Polar League will include Esko, Two Harbors, Marshall, Deer River, Greenway and Moose Lake-Willow River.
"It's a change and I don't know if it is a good thing or a bad thing," commented Hudspith. "It does help the smaller Class A schools in the Polar League so they don't have to face the bigger schools."
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Ironically once the interlocking schedule had been agreed upon, some of the schools, Esko and Pine City, were moved up to Class AAA for their sectional tournament play, but both will still play in the Alliance.
Esko will open up against Hinckley-Finlayson on Thursday, Aug. 30, and the following week they will be home against Braham.
