Falcons football looking to play fast

The 2022 roster of the Abbotsford Falcons football team will have some familiar faces leading the way, though some younger players will have to step up to contribute to fill some holes at key positions left by last year’s graduating class.

Last year’s squad went 4-3 in conference play and 8-5 overall, though some changes to the Marawood and COVID-19 concerns made for a somewhat tumultuous season. After winning their first four games, the team entered the middle half of their schedule, where many games were forfeited due to the teams from Owen-Withee, Athens, and Thorp dropping from the 11-man league to field 8-man teams instead. While these games counted as wins, these led to the team either resorting to attempts to find a non-conference opponent to play or not play at all, neither of which was ideal. The team struggled to find its footing in the latter half of the season, dropping games to conference opponents Edgar and Auburndale and having to forfeit against Colby. The Falcons turned it around in the first round of playoffs, beating Crivitz 26-15 before falling to Colby in the second round.

A key part of the offense that ran for 374 yards in the playoff win against Crivitz was sophomore quarterback JV Castillo, who contributed 144 yards on the ground on a team leading 23 carries. Last year, he was the second-half of a one-two punch running attack featuring himself and then senior running back Ty Falteisek, rushing for 917 yards and five touchdowns. Castillo, now a junior, figures to be the main driving force for an offense that will likely still focus largely on running the football.

However, he won’t be the only one getting carries for the Falcons. In fact, there are several skill players that head coach Jake Knapmiller foresees as being potential contributors to the Abbotsford rushing attack.

“After our scrimmage, we feel as if we may have five to six guys who will get carries,” Knapmiller said. “Our most veteran guys are [junior] Evan Schunk, Castillo and a guy that had a really great off-season, who really committed to track/speed and agility and the weight room, [senior] Jake Hirsch. “

Schunk was named second team allconference at the fullback/tight end position last year and had 165 yards on 35 carries, four of which went for touchdowns. Hirsch went 77 yards on 15 carries and had two touchdowns as a junior last year.

In addition to the trio of players with some prior varsity experience, Knapmiller also said that he could see sophomores Emilio Escalera and Fernando Perez, as well as freshman Christian Fuentes as contributors to the run game. Evan Reis, a junior who is currently set up at tight end, was also mentioned as a potential option.

Having a multitude of choices isn’t a bad thing, especially if the Falcons are looking to keep Castillo fresh.

“JV is our best athlete in terms of speed,” Knapmiller said, “but he is also very valuable on both sides of the ball, so we need to keep his health in mind as we decide how much of a load he’ll get.”

In order to get the most out of their position players though, the new offensive line will need to create lanes for the backs to utilize. Knapmiller thinks that the 2022 version is shaping up well, with a good balance of senior leadership and some younger players looking to step up this season.

“Our line has some talented kids on it counting tight ends as well,” Knapmiller stated. “Our three seniors, tight end Brandon Diedrich, tackle Adam Diedrich, and center Bella Aguilera will be our veteran base who we expect to lean on.”

Brandon Diedrich was named to the second all-conference team as a tight end in 2021 and Adam Diedrich received an honorable mention for his play on the offensive line as a junior.

In addition to the three seniors, Knapmiller has seen promise from some of the younger members of his line.

“[Junior] Noah Schraufnagel and [sophomore] Payton Schreiber have come along nicely at guard, which is the key to our offense,” said Knapmiller, “as well as Reis and Ashton Hammel, who are both juniors.”

If the Falcons can establish the run on offense, they will find themselves competitive in games this season. However, if the ground game is stifled, they could find themselves in some relatively uncharted territory if they’d have to turn to the air. Last year, Castillo only attempted 30 passes all season, finishing with 148 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception.

In an early season victory against Melrose-Mindoro last year, Castillo went 6-11 for 110 yards and one touchdown, showcasing the possibilities that the Falcons passing attack might have if given the right circumstances. However, as the season progressed, the Falcons only completed three more passes across the eight other games that they played.

While the Abbotsford offense is certainly built with a “run first” mentality, Knapmiller would like to utilize the pass game more, if some consistency can be found. It also is dependent on the players putting in the time and work to better themselves in that realm of the game, something that Knapmiller sees as an area of improvement.

Looking to the other side of the ball, the Falcons coaching staff is happy with some of the early developments that the defense has shown in the first few weeks of practice and in the scrimmage held in Marathon last Friday.

Reaction time is key to a solid defense, and part of that is getting the repetitions necessary to start to recognize plays as they develop. Knapmiller and his staff are already seeing some of the results gained by having those reps.

“Our team speed has improved greatly,” Knapmiller said about his defense. “Last year we were slow and clunky, and part of that was inexperience and just not playing the game fast because of processing things.”

One thing that Knapmiller sees as a potential pitfall for his defense, and the team in general, is the lack of numbers.

“Our depth is going to be a challenge,” Knampmiller stated. “The goal is to create depth as we go, but with only 30 players, there are going to be a lot of players that play both JV and varsity every week.”

However, if the Falcons can remain healthy and find some additional help among their ranks, Knapmiller likes where his team sits going into the season. The team will tackle its first opponent on Friday, August 19, taking a trip to Loyal for a non-conference matchup. Abbotsford is hoping for a similar result