0
0
The NS Football team is breaking records. This is only the second time in 18 years where they have started out with a record of 6-0. But what is so impressive about this is, is how they are winning these games.
They are currently averaging over 45 points a game which is unprecedented in NS’s history at this point. And not only are they doing this but they are doing it with an impressive passing game. They attribute their success to intense preparation.
“It helps with offense knowing that the kids know exactly what they have. It builds confidence in me calling the plays and them knowing the plays when they are out there on the field,” said head coach Rhett Bird.
A great passing attack doesn’t happen just by preparation. In order to have a great passing attack, they also need to be able to trust their quarterback to hit the right guy.
“If you don’t trust your quarterback there is really no point in playing,” said senior Magnus Clawson. “He’s like the center of the team and everyone rides off of him, so you’ve got to trust him.”
Bowles is currently tied for 2nd in the state in all classifications for passing touchdowns with 27, just one behind the leader. He is averaging 4.5 passing touchdowns a game.
Another reason the quarterback is so central is that he touches the ball every single play, and he makes decisions about who gets the ball.
“If you don’t trust him, then it breaks the whole team down because that’s who you rely on because he touches the ball every single play,” said senior Brady Jacobson. “If you don’t trust in someone that does that then your team is not going to be very good.”
The NS football team is also able to put so many points on the board because of the work the players did in the offseason.
“Our guys have put in hours and hours getting in extra work outside of coming to the high school and working out with the team,” said Bird. “They’ve hired personal trainers and gone up north to try and get better at their skill set.”
One of these players is senior captain, Brady Jacobson.
“It seems like he has more burst, more speed and he’s one that was going up north and getting a lot of training outside of what we were doing here,” said Bird.
Another player that was doing this was senior captain, Cole Mickel.
“Cole Mickel went from tackle to playing tight end, but we didn’t know how he was going to do there,” said Bird. “He was another one going up north and getting extra training and putting in extra work.”
Coach Bird has loved seeing the team put in the extra work, especially because it means that it gives them more versatility on what they can do offensively.
“We haven’t asked them to do that but it’s exciting to see the kids buy in and know that they need to put in the work to be successful,” said Bird.
This work has paid off as one of our tight ends and one wide receiver are both tied for 3rd in all classifications for most touchdown receptions.
A lot of the motivation to put in the extra work has come from wanting to go all the way.
“[I] just want to win a state championship. [I] just want to get over the hump that the boy’s sports have had in this school,” said quarterback Landon Bowles. “I want to go win one.”
But Bowles isn’t the only one with this drive.
“It’s always been really important for me to try and win a state championship in this school,” said Clawson. “I’ve always thought about it when I was a kid. It wasn’t ‘if I won,’ it was always ‘when I won’.”
In order to be able to do this the team needs to take the season week by week, game by game, just preparing for each as they come. A lot of the time this looks like watching film on the opposing team.
“I set it to where I only see pass plays and I’ll go through every pass play and see what different receivers do, how they run if the balls coming to them or if they change up their stance, like if they change how they do their gloves if the ball is coming to them,” said Jacobson. “I try to pick up on little things that they do and then I watch the lineman to see if they give away anything. Some lineman will stand up in their stance and it will give away the play totally.”
