Tower-Soudan ended Littlefork-Big Falls’ season last year in a thriller in the Section 7A tournament.
Fittingly, the Vikings open the 2009-10 campaign against the Golden Eagles tonight at home in a contest L-BF head coach Jeff Maish is putting extra attention on.
“I feel we have a legitimate shot at finishing first in the conference,” Maish said Wednesday. “We get a good look at a good Tower team on Friday and this will set the tone for the season. And we have to start fast.”
The Vikings, who finished 13-11 last year, have had a problem starting fast under Maish. They are only 4-10 over the first seven games in the past two seasons.
Experience can help combat early season struggles, and four Vikings return from last year. Seniors Jesse Steele, Zach Stencel and Kyle Burmeister will all start, while fellow returner Garrett Larson will join the three seniors in the starting lineup after coming off the bench in 2008-09. Steele averaged 13 points a game and Larson averaged 8 points a game last year, and both earned all-conference honorable mention honors.
“It would be nice to make a good playoff run,” Stencel said.
The fifth starter will be junior Tyler Lehman, but the rest of the roster is filled with fresh faces.
Gone are graduated seniors Mason and Paul Imhof and Justin Franz, and in their place will be a small batch of underclassman who will have their conditioning tested.
Maish only has 14 players for varsity and JV, meaning many will have to play in both games.
Senior Tyler Fort, junior Austin Gates and sophomores Tyler Vork, Jeff Fry and Mitch Nelson are battling for the sixth-man role, while junior Cory Haugland expects to be in the mix, as well.
“The thing I talk to the kids about over and over so far is that the biggest thing we’re going to have to overcome is controlling our emotions on the court,” Maish said.
“We have a very emotional team this year. We have to make sure we control our emotions because it’s going to be big in controlling games.”
Controlling emotions will also keep the starters out of foul trouble and will help prevent mistakes, which will be key once the starters start mixing with the reserves.
Besides Lehman, a transfer from International Falls, these upperclassmen have been playing together since fourth grade, so the chemistry is there. How they mix with the new reserves will be one of the bigger keys to the season.
“When we’re calm, these kids play basketball like I’ve never seen,” Maish said.
And that will finally be put to the test tonight as the final winter sports team from the Borderland area opens its season.
“We’ve dug ourselves out of a hole the last two years, but it would be nice to start fast and continue the momentum,” Maish said.
