Hornets eye fourth Marawood title
The last three seasons, the Colby Hornets football team has put themselves at the top of the Marawood, claiming at least a share of the conference title. They will be looking to make it four in a row as they enter the 2023 season, and while there are a host of new faces at the forefront of this year’s squad, there is enough talent to make such a goal a distinct possibility.
The 2022 Hornets won each of their first eight games, though their bid for an undefeated regular season spoiled in a final matchup with Auburndale. The loss to the Eagles led Colby to a three-way tie with Edgar and Auburndale for the Marawood title and a fourth-seed in the WIAA playoffs. They then cruised to two victories over fifth-seeded Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau and first-seed St. Croix Falls before having the unfortunate luck of meeting the eventual state champions, Aquinas, in the third round. The Hornets saw their season come to a close following the 28-14 loss to the Blugolds, finishing with a 10-2 record overall.
As in the past, Colby looks to be a runfirst team headed into the season. Senior Ivan Haemer and junior Gavin Voss are set up to be the team’s main one-two punch on the ground.
Last year, Haemer saw significant time at fullback after injuries kept starter Mateo Lopez sidelined for a portion of the season. Haemer filled in well for the injured Lopez, finishing the season with 411 rushing yards on 72 carries, averaging 5.7 yards per attempt. He also had the second-most rushing touchdowns on the team, finishing with seven.
“He’s just a very talented running back,” head coach Jim Hagen said of his fullback. “He runs hard, he’s tough to tackle, and he’s shifty and he showed some of that last year.”
The senior will likely be joined by Voss in the backfield. During his sophomore year, Voss spelled primary running back Caden Healy as a backup, and while he did not have the same number of offensive snaps as Haemer, he often made the most of his opportunities. He ended the year with 234 yards on just 21 carries, averaging 11.1 yards per touch and finding the endzone four times.
“Gavin is coming back as our tailback and he’s put on some more weight since last season,” Hagen said. “So expect him to be difficult to bring down.”
Junior Brody Viegut will likely slot in as the team’s wingback and provide another option on the ground for Colby.
Also returning with varsity experience from last season are senior Braxton Meyer and junior Jacob Hoppe on the offensive line. Meyer will hold down one of the tackle positions while Hoppe will continue to play guard.
“[Meyer] isn’t your prototypical tackle, but he’s very smart, he’s got great footwork, andheknowshowtoblock,”Hagen said of his returning lineman. “Hoppe is a converted fullback to guard and that’s one of the best moves we’ve ever made. He plays strong and has a little bit of a mean streak on the field, so we are looking forward to them.”
The rest of the offensive line will have to be reconstructed, but Colby’s staff is hopeful that if it can come together, the Hornets will be very difficult to stop on the ground.
Junior quarterback Tayt Smith will be taking over the helm of Colby’s offense. As the backup signal caller last season, Smith had 20 carries for 100 yards and a touchdown, suggesting that he may be an additional asset to the Hornets’ ground game.
What is less known is what he can do at the varsity level as a passer. Last season, Smith did not attempt a pass during the course of his duties as a backup and adjustments to the speed and schemes of defenses can sometimes take time. Hagen hopes that early success in the running game will take some of the pressure off and open up opportunities through the air.
Seniors Caden Kleparski and Frankie Castro are lined up to be the primary targets on the edges for Smith. Both will be new to the starting lineup, taking over for 2023 graduates Nathaniel Robida and Kaden Wiese, but Hagen believes that both will step into their roles well and provide the Hornets with solid options through the air.
“[Kleparski] has some speed and works very hard, so we are looking forward to having him split out,” Hagen said. “We are really excited to have Frankie Castro back after injuries kept him out last season. He’s a kid who plays hard all the time, in team offense, in individual units, he goes 100 miles per hour all the time and he’s going to get open at times.”
The defense is to be led by their solid linebacking corps. Erik Martinez returns as a starter at linebacker, coming off a season with 38 total tackles, six of which were for a loss, and forcing four turnovers.
“He’s one of the most instinctive players I’ve ever coached at Colby,” Hagen said. “He can recognize a play developing so fast; sometimes you can teach that but sometimes it just needs to be natural and he just has a knack for knowing where the football is.”
Tanner Halopka will also be returning after injuries ended his junior season before it began and he will join Martinez in the middle of the Hornets’ defense.
The front and backend of that defense will have plenty of new faces and there will still be some shifting around as Colby’s staff looks to find the right fits.
Overall depth seems to be of bigger concern this season than in the past few years.
“We are going to have to rely on a lot of the starters to play on special teams,” Hagen said, noting the difference in their typical philosophy of often utilizing non-starters to fill out the ranks of the various kickoff and kick return groups. “So some of these guys aren’t going to get much of a break at times. The other thing that comes with this as well is that if a guy gets hurt on offense or defense, there could be a dropoff at certain positions in comparison to years in the past.”
If the Hornets can avoid a rash of major injuries, they look to possibly contend at the top of the conference once more. Their first challenge will come in the form of Neillsville/Granton, an old Cloverbelt conference foe. In last season’s opener against the Warriors, it took some time for the Hornets’ offense to get rolling, but the game eventually turned into a 43-8 blowout. This year, Colby will have to go on the road to face down their old conference rivals. The game is scheduled for this Friday, Aug. 18 with a start time of 7 p.m.
