In the reorganized classifications Oak Grove will compete in the still-loaded "South-East" region while still having the opportunity to go against a couple of nearby "North" teams, beginning with Thompson on the 20th then opening at home against Northern Cass the 27th. Their schedule see-saws between home & road until October 15 in Casselton.
Reading between the lines, it seems as though coach Melvin Whitney is excited about what he will have on the Riverbank this Fall, but don't just take my word for it, read on!
Thank you for taking the time to correspond coach Whitney!
Thoughts about your team?
Our team (finally) will be built on the strength of solid junior & senior classes. Before we've relied heavily on younger players to fill out a varsity roster. Then, when we went up against more veteran teams, our lack of physicality showed. If we do use some underclassmen, it won't be out of necessity as before (injuries dependent). I'm looking forward to this season from that perspective.
Cody Card, Joseph Dejong, Trevon Rodriguez and Bjorn Eide, to name a few, will lead our seniors and team this year. They've played a ton of minutes since they started at the high school level, with the thought that this year would be coming. We also get the return of 2 linemen, one from Injury (Evan Pytlik) and the other who had to sit out due to the transfer rule (Andrew Moseng). We're hoping to be solid upfront this year, with a more upper class unit.
Are there any highlights from last Fall that stand out for you in reflection?
I think going into the final part of the year and closing out winning 3 of our last 4 was huge for our psyche. Showing that we stayed together and didn't lose our focus was big for us. Did your team take part in any camps or organized activities this Summer?
Are there any young players who showed they may be ready to contribute this Fall during the camp/activity? We didn't do any other camps outside of our own. We went with a crossfit workout over the summer and the attendance was great for the 6 weeks. It's hard to know which younger kids, or older for that matter, will be ready to contribute with limited football activities. My hope is that we won't need to rely on them much. That means that the upperclassmen are doing what they are supposed to do, and we can keep the younger kids playing on JV. Who are some of the players that you anticipate will step into the roles vacated by 2020 graduates? Great thing is that we don't have many holes (1) to fill. Cole Pfund started for us on a consistent basis and had a couple of great plays for us down the stretch. We have a few guys ready to move around and take over his role on the team. The same kids from last year will be counted on to take a step forward in their progression. Are there position groups that you already have identified as strengths of your roster? That's tough to say without really seeing them in live action. I think our backfield will be solid, but without the line doing their jobs, that can change how the backfield looks. I think that the line will step up with the additions as well as experience. Which players do you expect will be the leaders for you? How have they shown leadership in the past? Our Captains have stepped up. They were elected by the players to be the leaders, but they were challenged for their positions by the coaches throughout the off-season. Is there anything else you would like people to know about your team going into the season? It will be interesting to see how our region shapes up. We always seem to be the region with the most moving parts. We have teams coming and going on with just about every change of the format. Some larger schools are coming into our region and along with the teams that have already been established in region 1. Should make for an interesting Fall.
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