The Pine City football team surprised a lot of people last year making it to the Section Championship game against their rivals from Mora. After winning the first game of the season, Pine City went on a five game losing streak and was having trouble putting things together. They were able to regroup for the last two games of the season and then took that momentum into the playoffs. After beating first round opponent, Brooklyn Center, the Dragons easily knocked off number one seed Spectrum before losing to Mora in the championship game.
Pine City graduated a lot this last year losing a big core of their offensive and defensive starters. Head Coach Polzine will be looking towards his young players to step up.
The 2018 Pine City Football Season Preview with Jared Polzine:
What are you most excited for this year?
It’s finally football season. I am excited to get back to working with the players and coaching football. We are coming off a fantastic finish in 2017 as the Section 5AAA Runner-Ups and looking to build on that
How is the roster shaping up? Do you have a lot of new players? Are you returning a lot of players? Younger? Older? Etc.
We are going to be a very young team. We have only four seniors on our roster. We are going to have to count on a lot of juniors and sophomores this season. Many of those juniors played last year as 10th graders and gained wonderful experience. We have a good mix of players returning especially at the skill positions, the offensive and defensive lines will have a majority of new players
Who are a couple athletes that will stand out?
On offense a few of our playmakers are going to be Nick Hansmann returning QB from last season. Quinten Miklya and Tryston West both return as running backs and have big play potential because of their athletic ability. Up front, Alex Wimmer and Robert Decker bring senior leadership to the line.
Defensively outside linebacker Konnor Jusczak returns after a tremendous 2017 season. West and Hansmann both started last season as well and return at linebacker and safety respectfully. The Dragons will be looking to fill a number of positions vacated by seniors.
What are your goals?
We want to contend for a “District Championship” every year. We play in a very competitive district which has seen three different winners in three seasons. We also want to get back to the Section Championship game and play for the title.
Favorite upcoming games, matches, or meets?
In football, every game is big because you have a limited opportunities with only eight games. With that being said, we look forward to playing Rush City first game of the season. We have played some close games with each town winning some. The athletes on each team know each other well and even play hockey together.
