S/M FOOTBALL PREVIEW: TRAPPERS AIM TO KEEP BUILDING

JEREMY WALTNER – PUBLISHER

Almost any coach will tell you that success is measured in various ways. By wins and losses, for sure, but also by an ability to overcome adversity, or by being a cohesive unit, or by doing a community proud.

Ryan Robb is one of those coaches, and he doesn’t hesitate when asked if the first two years of the Scotland/Menno football cooperative have been successful ones. Absolutely, he says, because it has built energy for a black and gold brand that has quickly caught on.

“The success is seen when you’ve got kids who are coming out who said they weren’t going to play football, and then in year two you’ve got a couple more kids who you didn’t think you’d have, and this year we’ve got a few more,” said Robb, who has been a coach in Scotland since 2013 and has been at the helm of the Trappers football program since it was established in 2021. “So it’s growing in that aspect. The community support is growing. My coaching staff is growing … we’ve learned that this is a good thing. It’s a great thing that was very much needed and it’s been very successful thus far.”

So what does all of that mean for the 2023 season in which the team has ditched the name “Jim River” as its school identity for the more traditional Scotland/Menno?

The Trappers will find out starting Thursday when they take the field against Sioux Valley in Menno starting at 7 p.m. — a game that was moved a day earlier than the traditional Friday night start to accommodate the Aug. 18 rodeo in Scotland that’s part of Scottie Stampede Rodeo Days.

“We lost a lot of experience last year and we’re fairly young, but the program is going in the right direction — big time,” says Robb, who along with a coaching staff that includes six assistants is working with a team that features 35 student-athletes in grades 9-12.

“These kids are pretty locked in,” the coach continued. “They get to work, the effort is there and we preach physicality.”

The Trappers lost to graduation 10 starters from last year’s team that finished 4-4 and missed the Class 11B playoffs by an eyelash. That includes leading rusher Ajay Herrboldt, who carried the ball 109 times for 639 yards and eight touchdowns and caught nine balls for another pair of scores, as well as starting quarterback Kadeyn Ulmer.

But Scotland/Menno returns 10 letterwinners and six starters from last year’s squad, including SESD all-conference running back Logan Sayler, a senior at Menno. The others include Tate Plooster and Kalob Maruska on the offensive line, Kade Odens and Jayce Walloch on the defensive line, and Trent Guthmiller at linebacker.

“We’re going to have a fairly good-sized offensive and defensive line and we’re going to be looking to run the ball quite a bit,” says Robb, who is excited to see what Izayah Ulmer can do at quarterback in his sophomore season.

“He’s young, but he’s got a great head on his shoulders and is a good leader already,” said the coach. “He’s got the offense under his belt, but we’re going to be a heavy run team and throw the ball when needed schematically and situationally.”

In addition to Logan Sayler, the Trappers will be calling the number of senior Jayce Walloch at fullback and Dawson Hlavac, also a senior in the backfield, and will be looking at players like Trent Guthmiller and Bryce Sattler to contribute to the cause.

“We need a lot of young guys to step up,” Robb said. “Early season experience is going to be very important. We have some depth, but we will need to stay healthy and get better every week.”

The Trappers are once again playing in Class 11B and in a tough SESD conference that includes Elk Point/Jefferson and Winner, last year’s state champion and runner-up who are ranked No. 2 and 1, respectively, in the South Dakota Football Coaches Association Preseason Poll; Sioux Valley, Hot Springs and Bridgewater-Emery/Ethan round out the top five, and McCook Central/Montrose, St. Thomas More and Tri Valley all received votes.

Of those teams, only Sioux Valley is on Scotland/Menno’s schedule this year, but Robb says not to be deceived: “Our entire schedule will be competitive,” he says. “I think we can win some games this fall, but I do not think one game will be easy.”

And who knows? This might just be a breakout year for a Trappers team that has posted an 8-10 record in its first two seasons and came up just short in its quest for the playoffs last fall.

To that, this year’s team goal is clear: Make the postseason and continue what has been a cohesive start to a strong cooperative.

“The people of the communities of Scotland and Menno are just great people,” he said. “It starts with the parents at home, the kids are great, the schools are great and my coaching staff has really grown.”

That staff includes Jason Bietz, Spencer Bloch, Ken Bruckner, Dylan Lehr, Tom Sattler and Jared Wockenfuss, all of whom will serve as coordinators and/or assistants.

“We had our parent meeting a week-and-a-half ago and I told them, if you added up the years of experience — and not just experience, but good experience — I couldn’t ask for anything better,” said Robb, whose message to his team throughout the year is a simple one:

“Get better,” he says. “If you have a bad play, forget about it. You have a short-term memory. It’s next rep. And if we get better from first half to second half and from game one to game two and so on and so forth, then we’re going to be pretty good by the time we get to the end of the year.”