The Hinckley-Finlayson football team is coming off a very successful season last year where they went 6-3 and made it to the Section Championship game. Two of those three losses came against the winner of Section 7A, Braham.
This season Hinckley-Finlayson will look towards its younger players to step up after graduating a very large senior class. They started off the regular season with a 36-12 loss to Greenway-Nashwauk-Keewatin. The Jaguars trailed just 14-6 late in the second quarter but a few bad plays swung things heavy in favor of GNK and the Jaguars went into halftime trailing 30-6. Each team scored in the second half making it a 36-12 game. This was a good test for the Jaguars with GNK being a 3A school.
Hinckley-Finlayson will now get a full week off before heading to Mesabi East on September 12th.
The 2018 Jaguar Football Preview with Brad Hopkis:
Our roster numbers are down a little this year after graduating a large senior class last year. We are bringing seven seniors into the season, but have good sized junior and sophomore classes that are getting a great chance at playing time and experience. We will be young, but this is a great time for players to step up and prove themselves.
We have Lavone Kroschel as a key returning senior. He has played middle linebacker and tailback since 9th grade. We also have several juniors that started as sophomores that will come back to help anchor the offense and defense.
The Jaguar Football program has been on the uprise the past seasons. Making it to the section finals the past three seasons and winning districts two years ago. This year will be a good test for us as we are doing some rebuilding. Our goals are always to try to improve from the past seasons. We want to be competitive and represent our school and community the best we can.
Some games that stand out on our schedule are the ones against our local rivals. Games against Braham, Rush City, and East Central are always fun as the players all know one another making it very competitive.
Homecoming this year is against Chisholm..
Braham game will be parents night..
Rush City game will be a tackle cancer night game, as we will also be playing for a new “Big Cat Cup” traveling trophy between the programs.
The season looks to be promising as many young players are looking to contribute and earn playing time. Upper class men will lead by example and be key to our success this season. As always, a huge key will be to stay injury free and healthy.
Photo credit to Hinckley-Finlayson Football Facebook Page
