High School Football Preview – Sartell-St. Stephen Sabres [AUDIO]

The Sartell-St. Stephen football team is coming off a successful season which saw them advance to the section 8-5-A championship game.  The Sabres were 5-6 in 2022 but did win 3 of their last 4 games including playoff wins over Bemidji and Sauk Rapids-Rice before falling to Moorhead in the section final.

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Scott Hentges is the head coach for the Sabres.  He joined me on WJON and indicates they lost many seniors from last year's roster but do have key returnees on this year's team.  Hentges highlights some key returnees on offense which include center Will Brinkerhoff and tackle Luke Steinberg on the offensive line and H-back/receiver Andrew Tavale in the backfield.  Key returnees on defense include cornerback Rylen Groth and defensive end Julius Morris.  Hentges indicates they do have some additional players with varsity experience that are expected to take on larger roles this season.

Hentges says he is really excited with how hard the guys have worked in preparation for the season.  He feels they have several players that are headed for breakout seasons.  He expects big things from running back and linebacker Will Mathiasen this season saying he is ready to carry the load on both sides of the ball.  Hentges acknowledges playing kids on both sides of the ball can be taxing but they have ways to give guys a break.

The Sabres play a challenging schedule in 2023 that includes a game to open the season against a state tournament team last year in Rogers.  Sartell will play traditional opponents Sauk Rapids-Rice, Brainerd, Alexandria, Bemidji, Moorhead and Tech and will close the season against a non traditional opponent Park Center.

Projected Starters
Offense:
WR: #18 Kaiden Garlock (SR)
WR: #5 Levi Frieler (JR)
LT: #78 Pat Immelman (SR)
LG: #68 Ryan Quach (SR)
C: #65 Will Brinkerhoff (SR)
RG: Charlie Sundell (JR)
RT: #54 Luke Steinberg (SR)
TE: #87 Ola Adentunji (JR)
H: #14 Andrew Tavale (JR)
RB: #3 Will Mathiasen (SR)
QB: #6 Will Thompson (SR)

Defense:
OLB: #3 Will Mathiasen (SR)
DT: Peyton Allen (SO)
NT: #75 Magnus Sampson (JR)
DT: #64 Julius Morris (JR)
OLB: #2 Trevor Schmidt (SR)
ILB: #23 Dominic Larson (SR)
ILB: #14 Andrew Tavale (JR)
CB: #42 Rylen Groth (SR)
CB: #11 Carson Reichel (SR)
S: #13 Jameson Kremer (JR)
S: #12 Austin Lahr (JR)

Specials
Kick Off: #2 Trevor Schmidt (SR) or #9 Nathan Tangen (SO)
Long snapper : #81 Matt Noetzel (SR)
Punter: #6 Will Thompson (SR)
Punt Returners: #18 Kaiden Garlock (SR) & # 5 Levi Frieler (JR)
Kick-Off Returners: #13 Jameson Kremer (JR), #42 Rylen Groth (SR), #18 Kaiden Garlock (SR)

2023 Schedule:
@ Rogers, 7pm August 31
vs. Sauk Rapids-Rice, 7pm September 8
@ Brainerd, 7pm September 15
vs. Alexandria, 7pm September 22
@ Bemidji, 7pm September 29
vs. Moorhead, 7pm October 6
@ St. Cloud Tech, 7pm October 13
vs. Park Center, 7pm October 18

If you'd like to listen to my conversation with head coach Scott Hentges it is available below.