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Friday, September 11, 2009

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Former Bemidji coach returns

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

By MIKE BIALKA

Sports Editor

Troy Hendricks has returned to the Bemidji sideline this fall and the Lumberjacks hope they can become as successful as they were during Hendricks' previous stint as head coach.

Hendricks coached the Lumberjacks from 1995-2001, compiling a 31-37 record that included two of Bemidji's three winning seasons since 1990, including a state tournament appearance in 2000.

In 2002-03 he stepped down to become the Lumberjacks' athletic director. He left after the 2002-03 school year to enter private business but returned last fall, becoming dean of students and activities director at Bemidji Middle School. He replaced Dwight Jensen, who resigned last spring, as coach.

"I was missing kids," Hendricks said. "When the (middle school) position opened up I applied and got the job. Then the football thing came up, and it seemed to make sense. It made sense to my family, they never wanted me to quit in the first place."

Warriors at Bemidji

When: 7 p.m. Friday

Where: Chet Anderson Stadium, Bemidji

The series: Brainerd leads 33-26. The Warriors won 21-14 in the 2008 regular season.

Brainerd coach Ron Stolski, whose Warriors play Friday at Bemidji, welcomes Hendricks back into the fold.

"I have a lot of respect for Troy Hendricks," he said. "He's a good football coach. We know his teams will be well-coached. It will be good to see him on the other side of the field. He's a gentleman and he's good for the profession."

While Brainerd was opening with a close 10-9 win over St. Cloud Tech, the Lumberjacks rallied against Willmar before falling 26-19 on the road. Bemidji, which trailed 26-7, turned the ball over five times, three leading to scores.

The Lumberjacks had 412 total yards to Willmar's 211. Quarterback Mitchell Hendricks, Troy's son, threw for 247 yards and had four interceptions. Ryan Rude caught five passes for 149 yards and a TD. Fullback Evan Olson rushed for 90 yards.

"We made some mistakes that cost us the game," Troy Hendricks said, "but we continued to work hard. We made the score closer, the kids fought back to show a lot of character. We're building on that, seeing if we can eliminate mistakes that cost you games."

Hendricks said Bemidji doesn't return a player on offense who played the same position last season. He said key returning players include Olson, a guard as a junior, starts at fullback and inside linebacker. Senior Lukas Dudley is a two-way starting lineman. Senior Czar Woods starts at running back and in the secondary.

"He's one of our captains," Hendricks said of Olson. "He's a solid player who's committed to football. Lukas, we think, is a nice all-around player. Czar is a returning cornerback who was a real solid kid back there."

Hendricks hopes to revive a program that went 9-18 the last three seasons and has suffered from a lack of numbers. Brainerd, meanwhile, has 104 players in the top three grades.

"(Bemidji) had a lot of quality skill players, some excellent athletes last year but we haven't had the numbers to compete consistently over the course of eight games and playoffs," Hendricks said. "We're trying to get the numbers back, get a work ethic in the offseason and go from there."

Stolski said preparing for Game Two can be difficult.

"It's the first week back in school, we're traveling for the first time, and we're coming off an emotional game with a rival," he said. "We need to be certain we take care of all those external things.

"We've had a good week of practice and the kids seem focused, but you're always concerned about the approach. I think our kids have done all they can to be sure they're focused for Friday night."

MIKE BIALKA may be reached at mike.bialka@brainerddispatch.com or at 855-5861.

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