Uldrich has to replace some big guns

HARTINGTON — The Hartington-Newcastle Wildcat football program is hoping to be a permanent post-season fixture.

Why not, after last year’s 6-4 season that saw head coach Corey Uldrich’s team head into the final week in District 1-6 title contention and ultimately advance to the second round of the playoffs before Bloomfield ended the Wildcats’ run.

Now the question is can Uldrich steer the Wildcats past the round of 16, where they’ve ended the past two seasons?

If COVID-19 cooperates and a full season can be had, it’s a possibility.

The Wildcats will begin to find out where they stand when they open the campaign Aug. 28 at Randolph.

Senior Kobe Heitman who played running back and linebacker in 2019 said this year’s team will feature multiple looks

“I’ve been all over the field this year, playing multiple positions,” he said. He is just happy to get back to the grind on the gridiron.

“It feels good to be back on the practice field with friends tha I haven’t seen in four-five months,” he said. “Like coach said, if the season gets cut short there isn’t much we can do about it, so we are just trying to make the best of it. We are going to get all of our players to where they need to be and up to speed.”

The Wildcats will need to replace three-year starting QB Shaye Morten, who also excelled at safety. Also gone are OL/D Dylan Dendinger, OL/DL Matthew Meisenheimer, WR/CB Sam Harms and WR/CB Zach Burcham.

So even though they only return three offensive and four defensive starters, don’t fret for these Wildcats.

“I feel we have a lot of momentum with a lot of guys back from last year with a lot of the same responsibilities,” Heitman said. “We also have a lot of underclassmen that we have to get up to pace on what they need to do. I feel good we can get into the playoffs if we have a full season.”

Joining Heitman, who compiled 982 total yards running and receiving and made 92 tackles, are Carson Subeck, who made 102 tackles as a sophomore linebacker, and Jake Peitz, who caught 550 yards in passes and made 53 tackles – 15 for a loss All of these Wildcats were all-District selections.

CB Shay Dickes (39 tackles) will also be counted on.

“This is a close-knit group of kids who are willing to work hard to improve,” Uldrich said. “We will have our largest roster since I’ve been here with 27 kids. That will create natural competition within our practices for the opportunity to play an earn positions on the field.

“Our biggest weakness will be our overall lack of experience on Friday nights. We have talented young players, but we hav to find those kids who are going to give us the best chance to win when the lights are shining bright.”

Hartington-Newcastle will run a spread-run formation and defensively will come at opponents with multiple fronts.

Heitman emphasized that there are going to be some expected changes in approach and play.

“We’ve had rough starts at the beginning of games, but then we’d get it kicked out and then we’d go to work and finish strong: Coach wants us to change that,” Heitman said. “We ha a lot of guys in the weight room this summer and made a lot of changes to our bodies and how we eat and how we look. We’ve come back stronger.”

It will be interesting to see how the Wildcats navigate through District 1-6 against Elkhorn Valley, Laurel-Concord-Coleridge, Lutheran High Northeast, Plainview and Wakefield.

“It’s hard for me to rank the top teams because I believe all five of the opposing teams in our district are capable of winnin the district,” Uldrich said. “We have a difficult slate ahead of us but we look forward to the challenge.”

Of course, there is the greatest opponent out there: COVID-19.

“We’re trying to control what we can control, and our kids are really excited about playing football,” Uldrich said. “We’ve had multiple conversations about focusing on improving and enjoying the game of football for as long as we’re able to this year, knowing that the ultimate decision on how long we get to play is not ours.

“Our summer consisted entirely of weightlifting and a coupl nights of camp. We did our best to keep kids socially distant.”

Then, of course, if the season can be successfully completed the Wildcats will aim as high as they can.

“We’re incredibly young, so we’re looking for improvement each week,” Uldrich said. “That doesn’t mean that we don’t expect to compete and win football games.”

LAUREL — Laurel area voters will get an opportunity to vote in November on a proposed $23 million bond for school improvements.

Board members reviewed information for a bond election for the cost of the school facilities renovation project for a total amount to be bonded of $23 million to be bonded over 25 years.

The project would require an 11.1-cent bond levy. Projected true interest cost will be 1.903 percent.

The project may allow the school board to reduce the .074344 now being used for the special building fund.

This decision was made after a five-meeting process, which included discussions to formulate options.

The process shows the scope of what will be needed to replace what school classrooms now are used at the high school level. A new front entrance is also suggested.

A November vote in favor of the project would mean design would begin immediately on the project.

Community informational meetings are planned before the vote including at least three public forums.

School board president Jay Hall said the COVID situation delayed everything.

“This project is a renovation of the high school. This is a pretty major decision,’’ Hall said.

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