Graduation loss hit N.D. football especially hard this year
FELCH -- The last two years the class of the Mid-Eastern Conference has been North Dickinson. The Nordics haven't lost a league game since 2008 going 13-0 in conference play.
Last year ended with a loss in the Regional Final to Forest Park, again, this time 12-7. The team then graduated standout running back Max Smith plus QB/wide receiver Daniel Knapp.
That's not the half of it, 13 seniors are gone, most of them having played up front in the trenches.
"We graduated just about our entire front line from tacle to tackle," said Head Coach Joe Reddinger. "They weren't just lineman either, I mean they were big, big physical kids and as a result, this year we're looking at a lot of little kids. We might be a little quicker up front, but we certainly aren't going to be as big."
Senior tight end Bryon Harper agrees, "We lost a lot of talent," said Harper. "We almost lost our full line and basically our whole backfield, but we got some kids coming up. We don't have much of a senior class, we're pretty small, but I think we'll be alright."
The Nordics begin the season on August 26 with a non-conference affair at Florence, Wisconsin.
They begin to defend those back-to-back conference titles against Mid-Eastern newcomer Munising on September 9.
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