Sam Votava could be at quarterback. He could be at wide receiver. Probably, Votava will see playing time at both positions for the East Grand Forks Senior High football team.
“He’s just too good of an athlete for him not to be somewhere on the field,’’ Senior High coach Ryan Kasowski said.
And that’s the theme of the Green Wave football team -- an offense and a defense built around a collection of good, multi-sport athletes.
The emphasis is shifting from big and strong to fast for Senior High. The Green Wave are coming off of a 6-4 season in which they reached the Section 8AAA championship game, losing 42-28 to Perham.
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That Wave offense was anchored by a big, veteran offensive line. That whole blocking unit graduated last spring.
“We’ve been pretty tailback heavy in our offense,’’ Kasowski said. “We’ve run more between the tackles. And we’ll still run up the middle. But we feel we can get to the outside more with the athletes we have.’’
In addition to football, Votava is a basketball standout. So are running back Julian Benson and wide receiver Nathan Willett. Running back Micaiah Peterson wrestles. Tailback Carter Vasek runs track. Brody Schultz, Tyler Aamodt, Kaden Robinson and quarterback Nick Vargas also are considered playmakers.
“We’re a different type of team,’’ Benson said. “Obviously, we had that awesome offensive line last year. We were able to push and run the ball. Now we have skill players who, if we can get them the ball in the open field, they can make plays themselves.’’
Said Kasowski: “That’s the strength of our team, some really good athletes. If we can get them the ball out in space, they can make moves and do some special things. They can make tacklers miss.’’
Benson is the most experienced running back. He had 94 carries for 535 yards last season. He, Peterson and Vasek figure to share the backfield duties.
“Julian is the most experienced guy back there,’’ Kasowski said. “He’s a hard-nosed runner. So is Micaiah. Carter is more of a shifty type of runner.’’
The backs can’t do it alone, however. The line is inexperienced. But the unit, anchored by senior Andy Roufs, has shown potential.
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“I feel good about our offensive line,’’ Kasowski said. “We have some big kids up there. They just didn’t get a lot of chances to play last year behind those seniors.’’
While the offensive linemen have limited playing time in varsity games, they did spend last season going against the senior linemen in practice on a daily basis.
“There definitely will be pressure on us,’’ Roufs said. “But I think our guys can take it. We're a pretty good group.’’
EGF Senior High at a glance
Coach: Ryan Kasowski.
2018: 6-4, lost 42-28 to Perham in Section 8AAA playoffs championship.
Graduated starters: Carter Beck, Ethan Trebil, Jackson Galstad, Luke Vonesh, Chase Olderback, Zack Johnson, Aaron Riddle, Ross Corbid, Jhett Pesch, Jacob Boushee.
Returning regulars: Sr. Nathan Willett, sr. Kaden Robinson, sr. Julian Benson, jr. Sam Votava, jr. Brody Schultz.
Potential new impact players: Sr. Tyler Aamodt, sr. Nick Vargas, soph. Carter Vasek, jr. Brandon Anderson, sr. Evan Pederson, sr. Micaiah Peterson, jr. Eric Trebil, sr. James Denmark, sr. Andy Roufs, sr. Cole Avery.
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Returning rushing leader: Benson 94-535.
Returning passing leader: Votava 2-3, 63 yards.
Returning receiving leaders: Willett 12-168, sr. Tyler Aamodt 10-112.
About the offense, coach Kasowski says: "We’re excited about our group of skill position players. If we can get the ball to them, we feel they can do special things. Our biggest question mark is the offensive line. We graduated all of those guys from last year’s team, several who had been starters since they were sophomores. These guys (on the line) have been waiting for their time. They’ll have to produce for us to be successful.’’
About the defense, coach Kasowski says: ''We have a lot of guys who have played a lot on defense. We have to be physical and aggressive getting to the ball. We’re more of a speed defense than a big, powerful defense. They kids have shown they will play aggressively.’’
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