VOLGA The Sioux Valley football team has a new leader and is coming off of a state runner-up finish.
Jordan Fast took over for Dan Hughes after Hughes left for a job in Minnesota. Its the first time in 12 years that the Cossacks have a new head coach and theyve split the first two games of the season. They fell 28-14 to St. Thomas More on Aug. 22 and then beat Clark-Willow Lake 22-8 on Aug. 29.
Fast said he thought the Cossacks let the game against STM get away from them, but he likes how his team bounced back the week after.
Overall, I feel really good with how things are going and were looking to improve every single game. Obviously we have a high standard, so not winning a game is not a typical thing around here and we used it as a measuring stick of where we’re at and were going to improve. It was 14-14 going into the fourth quarter and then with momentum and some fatigue and the game of football it kind of slipped away. It was a game that we felt like we could have and should have won.
We played Clark/Willow Lake and some of the things that we tried to improve on from the STM to the Clark/Willow Lake game really showed itself in terms of communication and some of the scheme things were trying to accomplish. The second game I was really pleased with the performance.
Sioux Valley went 20-2 over the past two seasons and went to the semifinals four times under Hughes. Fast said it was easy to take over because he kept a lot of last years staff. He added that things will remain mostly the same, but added his own twist to the way Hughes ran the program.
One of the reasons that I was on board for this job is that we have really great assistants and theyre people that Ive worked with for a really long time. We changed things in the fact that well never outdo Dan Hughes way because thats him. Weve kept a lot of the same things that weve done in the past, but weve made it uniquely ours. Theres a lot of similarities from years past but there are a few things that are new because we can never outdo it his way and were going to do it our way and this years way, Fast said.
The Cossacks lost last years starting running back and quarterback in Donovan Rose and Brock Christopherson to graduation. Wyatt Hardt has taken over as the quarterback and Mitchell Guthmiller is alongside him in the backfield. The two havent missed a beat in production as theyve combined to run for 423 yards in the first two games of the season.
Fast said the offensive line has made the transition work well, along with the skill of Hardt and Guthmiller.
I think [the transition] has gone very well. Obviously, losing two guys with big yardage production in [Rose and Christopherson] was significant losses, but we really like the guys that we inserted. Theyre ready to go and its their time. Every team loses people to graduation, but we have our starting line back and thats definitely the strength of our team, Fast said.
The Sioux Valley offensive line is all upperclassmen. Its a mix of guys who started last year and are seeing varsity football action for the first time but Fast said they have played well as a collective unit so far this season.
Our offensive line is really solid and were very fortunate that we have such a veteran crew, Fast said. From left to right we have Wyatt Nelson whos a junior that got some exposure last year on the defensive and offensive line. Then we have [senior] Andrew Gunderson who played a lot last year as a guard.
We have Marcus Olson, whos a senior thats inserting himself as a center and played a lot of JV football and has had a good start to the season. At right guard we have [senior] Preston Top, who is arguably the best lineman in 11B. Hes a high motor guy who is just hard to [get past]. At right tackle we have senior Drake Schmuck and at tight end we have Tobin Squires, who can block and catch passes.
Many of those guys also start on the defensive line and have made an impact on that side of the bar as well. CWL ran for just 51 yards last weekend and Fast said his team puts a big emphasis on stuffing the run.
In 11B everybody runs the ball, so our priority is to stop the run. Those guys definitely have [that skill] and thats definitely a strength of ours. We have athletic linemen and with that, guys who are really skilled on the back end. Even though the line gets a lot of credit, our skill guys are looking like theyre going to have a good season as well, Fast said.
With a new coaching staff and some new starters, Fast said his team is taking things week by week. They want to be playing their best football when the postseason begins at the end of October.
We just have to focus on the ordinary details. Whether its line play, whether its communication, whether its our ability to know multiple formations. Its focusing on the things we can control so by the end of the season were rock solid. Its a week by week [process]. No matter who we play, were using it as a tool to get better, because we want to be playing our best football in November. We dont want to be peaking in September, Fast said.
Sioux Valley will head to Balitc on Friday night to take on the Bulldogs at 7 p.m. The Cossacks will then take on Clark/Willow Lake again in their home opener at 7 p.m. on Sept. 12.
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