Vikings go back to work
August 21, 2011
Bigfork head coach Todd Emslie says he prefers not to focus on his team's 2010 Class B state football championship, a title won in memorable fashion on the same field his team recently began fall practices.
But as the Bigfork Vikings set out to defend their first state title in the school's history, the evidence of recent success is in the numbers.
There are 50 players on the roster as Bigfork completes its first week of fall practices. That number includes an above-average 18 seniors. Both tallies represent a stark increase from past years.
"Winning changes a lot of things and people want to be a part of it, which is great," Emslie said Wednesday after his team's second two-hour practice of the day. "I couldn't have been happier about that. We have this group of kids in Bigfork that wants to be a part of it."
The Vikings are working hard to replicate last year's success as they enter their second week of practice at Bigfork High School stadium. It's the same location where, in November of 2010, the team inked an unforgettable chapter into its history.
Less than a year old, the story is already the stuff of legend to a football-hungry town with clear memories of its team hoisting the state championship trophy.
In the waning moments of the frigid contest, senior quarterback Christian Ker hit running back Travis Knoll in the numbers with a touchdown pass that all but sealed Bigfork's 24-21 victory over Fairfield.
But for Emslie, that was then. This is now.
"Our goal to open this camp was to take it day-by-day and remember what we did last year to get where we wound up and not take anything for granted," he said. "But last year is gone now. It's history. It's a great memory, but we're living here in the present now."
Indeed, both sides of the title-winning touchdown equation have graduated, creating two noticeable holes in the Vikings offense. Those gaps will be filled with capable replacements, Emslie said.
Senior Cody Dopps is the heir apparent to Knoll.
"You have Travis Knoll last year who scores 33 touchdowns and whether or not Cody does that again - or whether anyone else at Bigfork ever again does - remains to be seen," Emslie said. "Cody is a different kind of back than Travis was.
"But Cody is going to open some eyes," Emslie adds with a smile before offering what clearly sounds like an understatement. "He's pretty good."
As for the all-important quarterback role, that position has been filled by senior Colter Mahlum, a player Emslie says has a strong arm and a lot of promise.
The Vikings lost another quarterback prospect - 6-foot-5-inch Colter Trent - during a June Class B football camp in Ronan. He went down with a knee injury that could take until basketball season to heal.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Vikings return most of their starters. Among them are two All-State selections, defensive tackle Austin Cantrell and defensive end Conner Coleman.
Then there's Dillon Fraley, a 6-5 senior who Emslie describes using few words.
"He's just a beast," Emslie says.
Throw in several other returning starters - among them senior cornerback Ian Lorang, who has started at the position since his freshman year - and Bigfork's defense looks to be its strength.
"Our defense should be pretty salty this year," Emslie says. "Not to put the pressure on the defense at all."
Emslie and his coaching staff have a habit of not putting too much pressure on anyone, at least not vocally. During the second half of Wednesday's practice, the only raised voices were carrying encouragement.
It's not by accident. It's almost a policy.
"I guess when I first started coaching 20-some years ago, that was kind of the way coaches coached - scream, holler, swear, curse," Emslie said. "I found out over the years it can work other ways. And really, no one wants to be yelled at anyways... I think when a kid is comfortable on the field, you're going to get the most out of him, rather than a kid that's scared."
And if loud admonishments are absent, so too are references to a state championship that is nearly a year old.
Emslie said his staff and team will remain focused on the task at hand, which for now is the Sept. 2 opener with Ronan.
"I don't talk about championships now," he said. "We talk about one week at a time and doing what we have to do each week to win."