SHNH faces a tall opening task in Worth County

DAILY FORUM FILE PHOTO
South Holt/Nodaway-Holt junior running back Brody Day makes South Nodaway/Jefferson defender Regan Meyer miss during the opening game of the 2015 season.

South Holt/Nodaway-Holt opens its football season tonight on the road against Worth County.

SHNH head coach Josh Petersen has a friendly history with Worth County head coach Chris Healy. That, combined with the fact the Tigers are ranked No. 2 in the state going in, made them a juicy Week 1 matchup for Petersen.

“They put it on us pretty good last year and beat us by about 45,” Petersen said. “One of the best ways I can think of to see where our team is at is to go against the No. 2 team in the state.”

The Spartans, who are preseason ranked No. 7, went to a jamboree in St. Joseph and came away with first place. They didn’t allow a single point in the process.

“The defense looked really good,” Petersen said. “We executed well on both sides of the ball, really. As long as we can stay healthy, we’ll be in good shape.”

One of the Spartans’ main weapons comes in the form of senior tight end and nose guard Carey Volner, The 6-foot-3, 285-pounder played a key role for them last season and the team will lean on his leadership once again.

Senior running back Brody Day, junior linebacker Zach Walker (who was an all-state selection last season), and linebacker Alan Ottman are back to try and make Worth County’s night a little harder.

Healy said his team is going to have to be prepared because SHNH has weapons on both sides of the ball.

“They’re a very athletic and experienced football team,” he said. “They are a balanced team that can run and pass, so that makes them difficult to defend. Defensively, they fly to the ball and put a lot of pressure on your offense.”

SHNH only lost one starter from last season and just two from the defensive side.

The Tigers also bring back talent with three returning starters on offense and four on defense. Healy said having that experience is only going to help for the first game of the season.

With a balanced team like the Spartans, the Tigers want to try and take away as many facets as possible.

“We’re going to try and establish the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball,” Healy said. “Our goal is to make them one-dimensional by stopping the run and get to our running game so we can get it going early. We have quite a few guys that will hopefully keep our offense balanced. We have a fairly inexperienced team, so we’re definitely trying to find our identity. This will be a difficult Week 1 matchup, so we’re excited to see which guys are going to step up and compete.”

All-State junior defensive lineman Drake Kinsella leads the Tigers on defense while sophomore defensive end/linebacker Ryan McClellan and senior defensive end Dalton Auffert also provide support.

“Auffert is our only returning starter who’s a senior, so we’ll need his leadership on the field.”

Sophomore running back Isaac Alarcon is back on offense after leading the Tigers in rushing last season. Worth County also gets junior tight end Mason Hawk back, who will likely play a bigger role in the receiving game after being primarily a blocker last season.