STAPLES, Minn.– As the Staples-Motley Cardinals prepare for the 2024 season opener Friday night in Frazee. The squad started that work last week in the Red-White game.
“A good night to get into football season,” said third-year head coach Drew Potter.
The first full-contact practice featured a split-squad scrimmage in full uniform to amp up the team for Friday night lights. Parents attended the Red-White game and a meeting with potter after.
“I actually look forward to summer ending because it’s football season. You can almost feel it. Tonight getting to do this it’s starting to build and when we get to a regular season game, it’s going to be electric. we’ve got great fans,” said Potter.
Excitement for Cardinal football is sky high in 2024 following an 8-2 season that ended at the Fargodome. With many starters still in place, coach Potter knows they have the core for another strong season.
“We’ve got 24 total juniors and seniors. 24. That’s quite a bit. And all 24 are really good football players,” said potter. “So in my mind, we’ve got a lot of really good football players where I don’t think you can say, ‘oh that is their star. that’s the one reason why they’re good.’ We’ve got so many good teammates, guys that contribute and play a role. and they’re selfless.”
One of those seniors is lineman Steven Petrich. He wants to go out on a high note in his final year as a Cardinal.
“It’s amazing,” said Petrich. “Last year of my favorite sport. best game on earth and it’s just surreal being in your senior season.”
Expectations may be high but he knows his teammates have what it takes to win.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” said Petrich. “All of us know that we have a lot to prove. We got 13 seniors on the team. We just have to leave it all out there this year.”
Another senior lineman is Dustin Converse. As the starting center, there is a lot of pressure in setting up the offensive line. Converse says it’s his favorite part of his favorite sport.
“It’s mainly how the defense lines up and where possible blitzes could be coming from and who i need to down block or hook block,” said converse. “It’s a cool part about it. There’s a lot of, you could say a lot of pressure on the center cause there is a lot of stuff to do. But I think it’s really great.”
Coach Potter and his players are ready for the bleachers to fill up on Friday nights and cheer the Cardinals on for another fall.
“We had great fan support last year,” said Potter. “I think it will be even better this year after the success from last year.”