Abby football brings back plethora of talent, experience

By Nathaniel Underwood

The Abbotsford Falcons football team will head into the 2024 season looking to build off of last year’s successes and with a large group of starters returning, there is reason to believe that they can improve on their 6-4 record.

After opening with five straight wins, the 2023 Falcons faced some tough competition in the second half, going up against a string of tough Marawood conference foes in consecutive weeks before falling in a first round playoff matchup against Cadott. Abbotsford saw late leads slip away in two of those contests, one on the road against Auburndale and the other at home versus Cadott, though with many of their players returning with those experiences under their belt, the Falcons will be looking to turn those close games into wins in 2024.

While there were not many players who graduated and will not be with the team this season, there is still some significant production that Abbotsford will have to make up for. JV Castillo, who earned first team all-conference honors at quarterback and defensive back, has been a staple of the Falcons rushing and passing attack for the past three seasons, running for over 1,000 yards in 2023 and scoring 14 touchdowns on the ground while throwing three more. Evan Reis earned first team all-conference honors at outside linebacker after recording 44 tackles and forcing two fumbles and Ashton Hammel and Diego Tzintzun also earned all-conference honors for their play on the line and the Falcons will have to try to find players to slot into their positions this season.

However, they also have a number of allconference players returning. Junior running back Christian Fuentes is coming off his first 1,000 yard rushing season and is set up to continue to be an explosive part of Abbotsford’s offense. His 7.9 yards per carry and 13 touchdowns earned him second team all-conference honors in a conference filled with solid backs. He also led the Falcons in tackles last season, ending the year with 79.

Senior Dan Davila is back after being named first team all-conference twice after anchoring both the offensive and defensive lines for the Falcons, registering the second most tackles in 2023 with 66. Seniors AJ Brodhagen and Andrew Hirsch are also returning, with Brodhagen earning a second team all-conference honors at tight end after leading the team with 251 receiving yards and Hirsch picking up an honorable mention for his play at the offensive line.

While Fuentes looks poised to continue his solid production as Abbotsford’s primary halfback, the Falcons will look to junior Irvin Aguilera and senior Grayson Totzke to split time at quarterback. Head coach Jake Knapmiller is hoping to use their complementary skill sets to utilize the quarterback in both the rushing and passing attacks.

“JV was one of the best offensive players in our conference,” head coach Jake Knapmiller said. “He will be tough to replace and the guys we have able to fill his shoes have talent and strengths in different areas than JV.

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2024 ABBOSTFORD FALCONS FOOTBALL TEAM - This year’s 2024 Abbotsford Falcons team is, in the back row, left to right, AJ Brodhagen, Marcus Vanluven, Grayson Totzke, Andres Lopez, Payton Schreiber, Andrew Hirsch, Landon Auberg, Julian Aguilera, Marlon Torres, and Luis Tzintzun. In the middle from left to right are Emilio Escalera, Dan Davila, Angel Tzintzun, Christian Fuentes, Chase Boller, Jose Tzintzun, Jesus Reyes, Luis Lujan, Gilbert Sundermeyer, and Marlon Torres. In the front row, left to right are Kevin Fuentes, Irvin Davila, Irvin Aguilera, Carter Cihlar, Manny Lopez, Izaac Sundermeyer, Caleb Kulesa, Jaxon Ploeckleman, Nate Dukelow, and Parker Schreiber. Not pictured are Ryan Beyer, Fernando Perez and Max Severson. The Falcons are coached by Jake Knapmiller.

STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD Abby football

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Irvin Aguilera was our fullback and has put on weight and gotten faster. The other will be Grayson Totzke, who throws a real nice ball but isn't as big or mobile as Irvin. We still plan to incorporate a QB run game into our offense because it just adds stress to a defense when you have that option.”

Aguilera had 107 yards on 31 carries last season, five of which went for touchdowns. Totzke went 3-for-4 for 42 yards through the air and had three carries for 11 yards.

Senior Emilio Escalera and junior Chase Boller will also return to the Falcons’ backfield, with Escalera picking up 388 yards on the ground as the Falcons third leading rusher and Boller adding another 196. Sophomore Jesus Reyes also looks to figure into Abbotsford’s offensive plans after some playing time last year as a freshman.

In addition to Davila, Hirsch and Brodhagen on the line, senior Andres Lopez and juniors Angel Tzintzun and Marcus Vanluven will also be bringing varsity experience to the table.

That continuity and solidarity that comes from it is one of the advantages this group possesses, according to Knapmiller.

“Right now we have a lot of strengths but I think the one overlooked by people sometimes is how well the cohesion is and team culture from the top-down,” he said. “If I were a parent of our players I would be so ex-

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cited to see my son be able to play with such a good group of men. They really are good guys and care about one another. When things get tough on Friday nights, that is going to carry this group.”

The experience on offense will also be carried over to the defensive side of the ball, where many of the same players will be in the starting lineup. Four of the defense’s top five tacklers from last season will be returning in Fuentes, Davila, Aguilera and Brodhagen and the Abbotsford coaching staff believes that a change in mentality will also help elevate the squad’s performance.

“The players’ approach to defense has changed,” Knapmiller said. “There wasn't really the ownership and pride on defense like there is offensively. That led to lack of focus and discipline. Our older guys realized from last year that it wasn't a scheme or play calls, it was execution and technique that drove our success. We have had a much better summer and first week on that side of the ball.”

With changes to football conferences across the state to take effect this season, the Falcons will see a mix of new and familiar foes in the new CWC-Small. Prior Marawood foes Edgar, Auburndale, and Pittsville will join Abbotsford in the conference while Assumption, Iola-Scandinavia, Pacelli and Rosholt will fill out the rest of the roster. While there are some question marks in regards to what some of the other non-Marawood squads will bring to the table, Knapmiller likes where his team sits in the newly formed conference heading into the season.

“We might have the most returning upperclassmen in our conference,” he noted. “We don't know much about Pacelli or Rosholt but Assumption used to be in the Cloverwood when we were and the rest we played last year. When you have size, speed and experience in football, it gives you a huge advantage to start. We should be competing for the top spots in our conference but as always Edgar will be tough and Iola has some major talent and won their conference last year.”

“I'm excited to see these guys play,” Knapmiller added. “They have an excitement for the game and a little bit of swagger to them. Most of our guys worked really hard to be able to carry themselves that confidently.”

The Falcons’ first test of the season will be this Friday, August 23, when they go on the road to take on the newly formed Loyal/ Greenwood co-op team. Last year, Abbotsford defeated Loyal 36-16 in their opener. The season is set to kickoff at 7 p.m.