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August 24. 2010 1:14PM

It’s a new era of football at Brandon Valley.

Gone from last year’s 10-2 team is quarterback Austin Sumner, who set a variety of state and school records during his three prep seasons of piloting the Lynx.

Despite the absence of the record-setting Sumner, Coach Chad Garrow says this year’s squad will continue do what Lynx teams have done in the past.

“We won’t change too many things. We’ll focus on our offense and spread it out to create throwing opportunities,” Garrow said. “And we’ll try to take advantage of the players we have.”

Sam Rall is taking over Sumner’s job, and Garrow feels the senior QB is up to the challenge.

“It’s his job to lose,” Garrow said. “He’s become a very efficient passer due to the offense the way it is.”

Rall said he’s been preparing for the position since his freshman season. “At that time, I was the only guy willing to step up,” he said.

And even though he played in Sumner’s shadow, the senior says he’s gotten in plenty of reps over the past two seasons and this summer with his corps of receivers.

Wide receivers Casey Lee, a senior, and junior Brock Wickett will be two of Rall’s favorite targets this season. Garrow said senior Tayler Frisch should eventually join the duo. “Unfortunately, Tayler’s coming off an ACL injury, so hopefully he can contribute later.”

Junior back Trevor Crow will be called on to lead Brandon Valley’s running game. The team’s kicking duties will be shared by Ian McClanahan, a junior, and sophomore Chase Marso. “Both will get their shots in the game,” Garrow said.

Seniors Jeff Maassen and Dan Francis will play key roles as linemen on both sides of the ball.

“So much depends on how healthy our players are. We have some guys that are banged up from a lot of early practice stuff,” Garrow said.

While this year’s squad features 18 seniors, Garrow said the 2010 team is young and inexperienced. “We have some pretty good seniors and juniors, but you’re only as good as your seniors are,” he said. “Right now, we’re so fresh into it that it’s difficult to evaluate personnel. Until after that first game, you don’t know what you really have.”

At this stage of the season, the Lynx have one goal in mind: to win the Eastern South Dakota Conference.

“It’s the same as every year,” Garrow said. “Our number one goal is to try and win our conference. That’s what we want to focus on. If we’re on top of the conference, we should be competitive in the state.”

Garrow predicts the Watertown Arrows and Pierre Governors as two of the ESD favorites this season. “Both were very young teams last year, and both played us tough, so they should be the two horses to go after,” Garrow said.

Rall said the Lynx may be underestimated this season. “A lot of people are picking us not to be as good this year because of who we lost,” he said. “But we’re going to try and be more solid everywhere we need to be and play to people’s strengths.”

Garrow said the team was a dedicated bunch in the off-season. “They’re determined to continue the tradition of winning we’ve started here,” he said.
Brandon Valley begins their season with a pair of road games. Their first test is this Saturday at Sturgis, followed by a conference game at Yankton on Sept. 3. Lynx fans will have to wait until Sept. 11 for team’s first home game against Aberdeen Central, which culminates a full lineup of Pigskin Classic events that day.

“The difficult part of it is who we play first,” Garrow said. “We go out to Sturgis and follow-up with our conference rival Yankton.”

BVHS 2010 Football Schedule
Sept. 28 at Sturgis 7 p.m. (MT)
Sept. 3 at Yankton 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 11 Aberdeen Central 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 17 at Huron 7 p.m.
Sept. 24 at Brookings 7 p.m.
Oct. 1 S.F. Roosevelt 7 p.m.
Oct. 8 Pierre 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 14 at Mitchell 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 21 Watertown 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 26 Playoffs TBA
Nov. 1 Playoffs TBA
Nov. 6 Semifinals TBA
Nov. 13 Finals in USD DakotaDome 7 p.m.