A St. Cloud Tech Tigers team with a few high-profile recruits kicks off the Brainerd Warriors' North Central Red Subdistrict schedule Friday at Adamson Field.
Class 5A's ninth-ranked Tigers, who opened with a 42-16 win over St. Cloud Apollo, have two Division I football commitments on their roster-Minnesota recruit Brevyn Spann-Ford (WR/LB) and North Dakota State University recruit James Kaczor (DB/WR).
In addition, Tigers defensive back/wide receiver Brady Underwood will play for his father, Scott, at St. Cloud State University. Running back/defensive back Austin Brenner is committed to NDSU for wrestling.
"They're an explosive team with some very talented individuals," said Warriors' Ron Stolski, who won his 300th game as Brainerd's head coach last week in an opening 30-23 victory over Buffalo. "You have to respect the passing game and the running backs they have. Those quick little running backs are good as well. It will be a real challenge for our defense again."
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Spann-Ford and Kaczor play both ways. Spann-Ford recorded four solo tackles, one assist and 1.5 tackles for loss last week.
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Warriors vs. Tech
- When: 7 p.m. Friday
- Last meeting: Brainerd won 42-21 in 2014 regular season
- The series: Tech leads 54-36
- Twitter: @bertsballpark
- Radio: KLIZ-AM (1380)
- Web stream: www.brainerdradio.net .
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"Brevyn's never played defense before so it's something different for him," Tech coach Gregg Martig said. "James pretty much was our only 2-way player last year. I thought defensively, for his first game at outside linebacker, that Brevyn played pretty well.
"(Offensively) Apollo double-teamed him all night, basically trying to take him out of the game. We threw to him about a half-dozen times and he caught one touchdown pass. Other kids rose to the occasion. James is running the ball more-we'll use him in the slot and at receiver-and he had three rushing touchdowns. Guys like Trent Meyer made some big catches and Scott Kippley busted loose in the run game."
Kippley rushed for 73 yards on 12 carries. Meyer caught two passes for 90 yards.
In his first start, Tech sophomore quarterback Nate Trewick passed for three scores and 189 yards. The Tigers rushed for 216 yards and three touchdowns.
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"We came into the game pretty inexperienced on both sides up front in the line because of graduation," Martig said. "We lost a 3-year starter at quarterback so we were concerned about that. We lost our entire linebacker core.
"We knew our defensive backfield would be solid and we were pretty sure our skill kids on offense, minus the quarterback, would be fine. For a Game One, I can't complain too much other than penalties early in the game."
In Brainerd's come-from-behind victory over Buffalo, the Warriors won it on Charlie Geraets' 1-yard TD blast with 1:48 remaining. He finished with 170 yards and two scores on 27 carries. Wide receiver Max Boran added four receptions for 95 yards. Quarterback Sam Miller completed 7 of 11 passes for 101 yards.
Brainerd finished with 342 total yards to the Bison's 332. The Warriors forced three turnovers with defensive back Brady Anderson picking off two passes and lineman Nate Bessingpas recovering a fumbled punt. Brainerd, meanwhile, turned the ball over just once.
The Warriors' defense yielded 237 yards in the first half, but only three points and 95 yards in the second half.
"I thought one of the highlights of last week's victory was our defensive play," Stolski said. "Buffalo had a well-rounded team with a really good passing attack. We were able to hang in there and make some plays. Often in a game like that, it gets down to turnovers and we only had one."
BRAINERD WARRIORS
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OFFENSE
Quarterback: 7-Sam Miller, 17-Joe Stolski, 18-Owen Davis, 83-Josh McLain
Running back: 28-Charlie Geraets, 24-Will Lundstrom, 34-Max Zimmerman, 27-McCale Peterson, 25-Joe Klang
Wide receiver: 11-Max Boran, 12-Mike Bostrom, 10-Bryce McConville, 84-Renzen Caughey, 88-Cullen Bousman
Slot receiver: 8-Pat Gervenak, 27-McCale Peterson, 35-Levi McDonald
Tackle: 74-Hunter Erickson, 66-Jason Jennette, 63-Lili Charlier, 60-Hunter Anderson, 64-Cam Olson, 71-Isaac Chappius, 75-Brady Seidl
Guard: 65-David Olson, 55-Ryan Peterson, 57-Garret Gardiepy, 56-Nate Bessingpass, 73-Carter Sobania
Center: 53-Brett Hague, 55-Ryan Peterson, 54-Luke Wilhelm
DEFENSE
Line: 95-Isaak Hines, 74-Hunter Erickson, 45-Morgan Gibson, 57-Garret Gardiepy, 66-Jason Jennette, 58-Fletcher DeRosier, 99-Nathan Yezek, 94-Jarrett Crandall
Outside linebacker: 46-Nate King, 5-Taylor Ludwig, 2-Braden Kramer, 35-Levi McDonald, 25-Joe Klang, 30-Tommy Fickett
Inside linebacker: 42-Luke Johnson, 34-Max Zimmerman, 26-Alex Haapajoki, 51-Jacob Dreitz, 40-Forrest Gibson, 44-Dylan Mello
Cornerback: 21-Tanner Stenglein, 36-Jeff Spieker, 82-Gabe Smith, 24-Will Lundstrom, 15-Jack Olson, 32-Anthony Baylor, 47-Calvin Foss, 50-Jon Nelson, 23-Tyler Vanderkooi, 31-John Barr
Safety: 8-Pat Gervenak, 22-Jake Hodge, 20-Brady Anderson, 11-Max Boran, 14-Abe Schlegel, 18-Owen Davis, 33-Luke Harting, 37-Ben Staehling, 35-Levi McDonald
SPECIAL TEAMS
Punter: 7-Sam Miller, 18-Owen Davis
Kicker: 81-Zach Henke
Long snapper: 11-Max Boran
Holder: 17-Joe Stolski, 7-Sam Miller
Returns: 28-Charlie Geraets, 27-McCale Peterson, 36-Jeff Spieker, 11-Max Boran, 24-Will Lundstrom, 37-Ben Staehling
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St. Cloud Tech Tigers
OFFENSE:
WR: 3-Brevyn Spann-Ford
WR: 5-Trent Meyer
WR: 11-James Kaczor
QB: 13-Nate Trewick
RB: 20-Scott Kipley
RB: 21-Kedrik Osuorah
OL: 52-Ben Krippner
OL: 53-Drew Kiffmeyer
OL: 56-Trent Misuraco
OL: 59-Noah Hegland
OL: 77-John Quach
DEFENSE:
DL: 55-Josh Mendel
DL: 66-Isaiah Greeb
DL: 46-Avery Gronseth
LB: 45-Caleb Petersen
LB: 3-Brevyn Spann-Ford
LB: 5-Trent Meyer
LB: 12-Jayden Sundstrom
DB: 18-Brady Underwood
DB: 7-Luka Rajkic
DB: 10-Graham Nistler
DB: 11-James Kaczor
SPECIAL TEAMS:
Punter: 13-Nate Trewick
Kicker: K: 19-Edgar Waldusky
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WARRIORS SCHEDULE
REGULAR SEASON
Sept 1, Buffalo - WON 30-23
Sept 8, St. Cloud Tech 7 p.m.
Sept 16, at Alexandria 2 p.m.
Sept 22, at Sauk Rapids 7 p.m.
Sept 30, Bemidji 2 p.m. (homecoming)
Oct 6, at Becker 7 p.m.
Oct 13, at Moorhead 7 p.m.
Oct 18, Sartell 7 p.m.
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NORTH CENTRAL RED SUBDISTRICT
Alexandria 1-0, Bemidji 1-0, Brainerd 1-0, Sauk Rapids 1-0, St. Cloud Tech 1-0, Moorhead 0-1, Sartell 0-1
Sept. 1 Results
Alexandria 34, Andover 28
Bemidji 24, Rogers 21
Sauk Rapids 16, St. Francis 6
Tech 42, St. Cloud Apollo 16
Elk River 44, Moorhead 21
Cambridge-Isanti 28, Sartell 2
Friday, Sept. 8 Games
Tech at Brainerd
Sauk Rapids at Moorhead
Alexandria at Sartell
Bemidji at Big Lake
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SECTION 8-5A
Alexandria 1-0, Bemidji 1-0, Brainerd 1-0, Moorhead 0-1, Sartell 0-1
Sept. 1 Results
Brainerd 30, Buffalo 23
Alexandria 34, Andover 28
Cambridge-Isanti 28, Sartell 22
Elk River 44, Moorhead 31
Bemidji 24, Rogers 21
Friday, Sept. 8 Games
St. Cloud Tech at Brainerd
Bemidji at Big Lake
Sauk Rapids at Moorhead
Alexandria at Sartell
