After finishing as the Class 1A runner-up last season, the Dike-New Hartford football team will feature an almost entirely new starting lineup. They graduated 10 starters on both sides of the ball, with Dawson Dietrick on the offensive and defensive lines being the only returning starter. Head Coach Don Betts says it’s a very rare scenario, but he sees it as a great opportunity.
“I don’t think we’ve ever graduated 10 on both sides of ball like we did this year,” Betts says. “But that’s the fun of coaching high school football. Every year you’ve got a new team. This year from that regard is no different, we just have less experience. We’ve got some really good players. They just were caught up behind those seniors in front of them. Now’s their opportunity to step up, and I think that’s exciting. It’s exciting for those kids because they’ve got an opportunity now to show what they can do. And we’ve had a lot of enthusiasm and lot of energy out of those kids throughout the offseason and right on into our camp last week and into the start of practice.”
At running back, returning subs Devlin Davis and Gavin Gerbracht are back after receiving spot carries last year. Jaiden Soppe is the leading returning receiver after recording six catches for 79 yards last year. Defensively, several players cycled through the lineup to provide depth last season, with Levi Folkerts recording 17 tackles at linebacker to lead the way among returning players. Betts says next week’s fully padded practices will go a long way in determining who starts in Week 1.
“We’re inconsistent. We look really good for a couple plays and then it all kind of goes down the drain, and we’ve got to get more consistent with that part of the game. We’ve had to slow a few things down in terms of installation simply to make sure that what we’re doing, we’re doing well. But we’ll get to where we need to be with that. Looking forward to getting pads on next week. At the end of the day, it comes down to being a physical football team. That’s what football is. It’s a physical game. We’ve got to see what it looks like when we get pads on. I think we’ll be just fine, but I’m excited to get those pads on and see where we’re going to be in terms of that.”
They’ll open the season by hosting Jesup on Friday, August 29.
