B-H GRIDDERS TO HOST SEASON OPENER

    The Britton-Hecla football team has a bitter taste in its mouth from a first-round playoff loss a year ago and Friday is the first step towards erasing that memory.
    The Braves will kick off their 2026 campaign by hosting Waverly-South Shore at Hugh Schillng Field at 7 p.m.  The B-H season ended last fall with a 14-7 loss to Kimball-White Lake, a game that Skogstad admitted his club “shot ourselves in the foot.”  But he also points to that same game as a powerful motivator for this year’s squad.
    “That game is still eating at the kids, and as a coach I love that,” stressed Skogstad.  “You can’t really teach having an edge, and they have an edge.  It’s a bonus when you have something like that to kind of feed into what you’re doing.”
    Britton-Hecla will have a bit of a different look this season.  Gone is graduated senior Bryce Hawkinson, who piled up 3,512 career rushing yards, but in his place is a group of players that can do some damage with the ball in their hands.
    “Last year everybody knew that Bryce was going to get 30 touches a game, and this year I would love it if we have six guys all getting eight to 10 touches.  
    “We’re doing some different things offensively this year to get more receivers on the field and won’t be as run-heavy as we have been the last couple of years.”
    The Braves lost 10 seniors from last year’s 6-3 ballclub and have 12 letterwinners back, including six seniors.  But despite having a relatively small senior group, Skogstad has plenty of experience in the fold with five returning regulars back on the offensive side of the ball and four defensively.
    Offensive returnees include Jace Rein (6-1, 165, Sr.) back for his third season at quarterback, Graham Fosness (6-2, 250, Sr.) and Elijah Fox (6-1, 195, Sr.) at offensive guard spots, Mitchell Burger (6-1, 175, Sr.) at wide receiver, and Ben Suther (6-1, 185, Sr.) will move from tight end to runningback.  
    Rounding out the other starting positions offensively on Friday will be Nathan Folkman (6-2, 210, Jr.) at tight end, Max Suther (6-0, 195, So.) at center, and Lofton Heer (6-2, 165, Jr.) and Nate Schuller (6-0, 150, Sr.) at wide receiver.  Heer will also do the team’s kicking.
    Defensive starters back from a year ago are Ben Suther and Colton Chapin (5-11, 190, Jr.) at linebackers, Fosness in the line, and Folkman at defensive end.  Other players tagged as defensive starters for Friday are Liam Paxton (6-0, 235, So.) at the other end spot, Rein and Schuller at linebacker, and Heer and Burger as defensive backs.
    The Braves did lose a player for the season in their annual scrimmage last week.  Junior runningback Tanner Atkinson will miss the season with an ACL injury.
    Skogstad isn’t sure what to expect from Waverly-South Shore on Friday, a team the Braves defeated 56-6 a year ago.
    “It’s always hard to prepare for those first games,” said Skogstad.  “We’ve been focused on our stuff and what we can do both offensively and defensively, but Waubay-Summit does have some players coming back.  There are two things we want to see from our kids.  We want them to execute and play fast to give us the best opportunity to make plays.”
    Skogstad said his club is definitely anxious to begin the season and he has been pleased with preseason practices.
    “I think I’m most happy so far with our depth and drive.  We still have people that are fighting to get playing time, which is really fun to see, and we’ve got a lot of different players that deserve reps and snaps.  That will give us lots of rotations which is great for keeping guys fresh.”