In a KROX Football poll first, we have a three-way tie for first place. But pretty much everyone in the section agrees there are three top teams, and it will be a battle for the top spot heading into the playoffs!
Five-time defending champion, Fertile-Beltrami, along with Fosston and Clearbrook-Gonvick, are the three teams tied for first. Clearbrook-Gonvick received one more first-place vote. It will be a battle with the top three teams, while Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal looks to improve with good talent returning!
POLL RESULTS –
1. Clearbrook Gonvick – 8
1. Fertile-Beltrami – 8
1. Fosston – 8
4. Norman County East/U-H – 17
5. Blackduck – 19
6. Northome/Kelliher – 24
The team previews are below-
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BLACKDUCK DRAKES – Coach Daniel Hangaard
The Drakes were 5-5 last year (2-1 against section teams). They beat South Ridge, Silver bay, Bigfork, and Kelliher/Northome twice. They lost to Fertile-Beltrami 63-0 in the section semifinals.
If we get anything from Coach Hangaard, we will add it when we get it.
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CLEARBROOK-GONVICK BEARS – Coach Casey Kroulik (22nd year, 20th at CG)
The Bears were 5-4 last season with wins over Win-E-Mac, BGMR, NCE/UH, Ortonville, and Fosston (32-28). They lost to Fosston in the Section semi-finals 36-30.
Top Returners –
Carver Kroulik – QB – Had 976 passing yards and 6 TDs
Ryan Gerlofs – Sr – Had 140 rushing, 2 TD’s, along with 300 receiving 2 TDs
Avery Ostenaa – Jr – He had 464 rushing and 6 TDs last season
Grant Engen – Sr – He had 307 yards receiving and 2 TDs
Top Newcomers – The majority of the players this year will be returning players.
Key Losses –
Dakota Erickson – He had 758 rushing yards, 12 TDs, and also added 91 tackles.
Season Outlook according to Coach Kroulik – “The Bears have 7 seniors, all of whom saw significant playing time last year. The team returns a total of ten players who saw significant playing time last year. This returning talent and depth will hopefully result in a good season.”
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FERTILE-BELTRAMI FALCONS – Coach Chris Zimmel (1st year)
Fertile-Beltrami is the five-time defending Section champion with a state championship in the 2024 season! They were 8-4 last season and lost in the state semi-finals. In the first round at state, they beat Cromwell-Wright 40-14 and lost to Hills-Beaver Creek 30-14 in the semi-finals.
Top Returners –
Caden Stoltman – The 5’9 260 pound lineman is a stud and causes all kinds of problems for the opponents on both sides of the ball. He is one of the top linemen in the section and will be an extremely important cog in the Falcons’ success.
Adam Kobetsky – Had 15 tackles on the defensive side. On offense, he had 323 rushing yards on 55 attempts and 9 receptions for 50 yards. The 5’8 150 pound back is going to be a go-to guy this year.
Jack Erickson – He had 50 tackles, 2 forced fumbles and 1 fumble recovery. The 5’10 200 pound lineman is a force on both sides of the ball and is one of the top lineman in the section.
Top Newcomers –
Braxton Paul (6’0 200-pound senior) at QB/LB
Conner Haaven (5’7 140-pound junior) at WR/DB
Easton Fredricks (5’10 160-pound junior) at FB/LB
Conner Fuchs (5’7 180-pound sophomore) Lineman
Noah Swenby (6’3 210-pound senior) TE/DE
Bennett Grunhovd (5’10 160-pound senior) WR/DB
Key players lost- “Pretty much everyone,” said Coach Zimmel and he isn’t far off. It was a huge graduating class for the Falcons with 12 players!! Bryer Strem, Julian Ystness, Teegyn Johnson, Preston Hanson, Caleb Sather, Steven Sather, Langdon Sip, Creed Tollefson, Brady Bjerk, Drew Gullickson, Gavin Aakhus, and Briley Raaen.
The season outlook, according to Coach Zimmel. “I am excited about the young talent we have coming into the lineup this year. With few returning starters we will be looking to fill many positions with guys who haven’t played a ton of varsity football. I am confident in our coaching staff and look forward to having a very competitive season.”
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FOSSTON GREYHOUNDS – Coach Joe Woods (4th year)
Fosston was 7-4 last season and beat NCE/UH 32-8 in the first round of the playoffs, beat Clearbrook-Gonvick 36-30 in the semifinals before losing to Fertile-Beltrami 56-0 in the Section championship.
Top Returners –
Parker Nelson
Nelson Manecke
Brydin Daniel – Had 670 yards rushing last year
Darien Holzer – had 338 yards receiving yards last year.
Berkley Landsverk
Silas Balstad
Noah Martinson
Top newcomers –
There has been a group of young athletes who have spent a lot of time this offseason working hard. There is no one person in particular, we are exited to see all of our underclassmen take a step forward this year.
Key Losses – We had a solid group of seniors who graduated last year. All played a critical role to our success. Some stood out on the field, and others stood out helping us prepare at practice; all will be missed.
Season outlook according to Coach Woods – “Section 6 is going to be a competitive section this year. We are looking forward to playing quality teams each week and growing together as a team. Our goal is to play our best football, in all phases of the game, as the regular season wraps up.”
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NORMAN COUNTY EAST/ULEN-HITTERDAL TITANS – Coach Dustin Flaten (17th year)
The Titan went 1-8 last season with a 44-8 victory over Ortonville. They lost to Fosston in the first round of the playoffs 32-8.
Top Returners –
Hayden Haspel – Threw for 322 yards and 3 TD’s, ran for 43 yards, caught one pass for 43 yards, had 35.5 tackles and 1 fumble recovery.
Asher Flaten – Had 524 rushing yards and 5 TD’s, also had 165 receiving yards and one TD and 31.5 tackles with one fumble recovery.
Austyn Wibbels -Had 83 yards rushing and 2 TD’s, and 13 tackles.
Sam Woltjer – Had 9.5 tackles
Tyson Amundson – Had one tackle last year
Reese Krabbenhoft – Had 41 yards receiving and 47.5 tackles last season.
Trygg Bakke – Had 82 yards rushing, 9 yards receiving, 25 tackles and 2 sacks last year.
Top Newcomers – Lukas Brambrink, Vance Booth, Max Thordal, Mathew Salinas, JT Buoncristinai, Caleb Klemetson will all see more time this year.
Season Outlook according to Coach Flaten – “It is still going to be a tremendous year of learning for us. If we can continue to improve our line play, I believe we have skilled players to make some plays. We had a lot of 9th and 10th graders playing some quality minutes last year and we are hoping they take another step forward this year with the experience they’ve had. We are hoping to have around 28 guys out who can help us compete day in and day out of practice. Staying healthy will be a key for us at multiple positions.”
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NORTHOME KELLIHER MUSTANGS – Coach Dan Alto (7 years as head coach, 20 as an assistant)
Northome/Kelliher was 2-7 last season with a 28-6 loss to Blackduck in the first round of the Section playoffs.
Top returners –
Roy Guler-Sr OL/DL
Lyle Donnell-SR OL/DL
Kyssan Forseen-SR MLB/TE
Everett Geerdes-SO QB/OLB
Jocob McCurdy-SO RB/MLB
Top newcomers –
Thaaydis Adam-JR OL/DL (returning from injury)
Aiden Nistler-JR WO/OLB (returning from injury)
Key Player lost –
Connor Hanks OL/DL (lost to graduation)
Season Outlook according to Coach Alto – “The Mustang Football team has worked hard in the weightroom and over the summer on the field to improve from a rebuilding season in 2025, when we started 3 freshmen on both sides of the ball. Our preseason goal is to start the seasons first practice as a better team, mentally, physically, and schematically than we finished the season last year. We hope to be competive in every game this season, as we continue to build off of our young core of kids and anticipate the return of a couple key players that were lost all last year to injuries.”
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