The Bomber Football team made history this year as they took their first step onto the US Bank Stadium field. The boys worked hard this year to make it to State and advanced to the State semi-final game before they took an unfortunate loss. The boys knew this game would be hard-fought playing against Eden Valley Watkins, and it proved to be so. Even though the score did not end as the boys wanted it to, they still held their heads high and embraced the achievements met.
The senior captains of the 2023 season Dylan Banks, Aaron Melhouse, Nick Barrett, and Sam Shepersky have been leading and preparing their team by pushing them in practice and, “keeping them focused for the upcoming game,” says Aaron Melhouse. Head Coach Dan Meyers compliments the seniors’ leadership ability and states he is, “really amazed at how great this group of guys is.” Trust is an aspect the team held throughout their season and ultimately made them so successful on the field. The Bomber Football team ended with a record of 10-3.
Every day the boys would focus on getting 1% better, whether at practice after school or watching the film in the morning after a Friday night game day. Senior Corbin Schroeder claims, “It just takes persistence and dedication to get better at our stuff every day,” and simply put that towards the end of their season it was “just the little things” to work on. When the post-season came around they focused on knowing their jobs and getting their techniques to perfection.
“Heading to the US Bank Stadium was a highlight of my season,” explained fellow Senior, Derrik Bechtholdt. Going to “the Bank” has been huge a goal throughout this 2023 season and many before. The boys knew that they wanted to make school history and they did just that. This year, every guy gave their all to make it this far into the post-season, and it paid off.
Junior Jack Meyers, talks about his great experience playing at the US Bank Stadium: “I liked looking around and seeing how big it was and all the people there to support us.” It was the biggest stadium these guys have played in and that did not go unnoticed.
Dylan Banks returned to play at the US Bank Stadium on December 2 as he was recognized by many coaches as one of the top players in Southern Minnesota. He was selected for the 2023 Minnesota All-Star Game. The All-Star game will take place at 1 pm with encouraged community support.
Graduating a senior group of nine boys will be challenging for the team to adapt to. But with many underclassmen and experienced juniors and sophomores, the boys are excited to continue next season with the same mindset implemented this year.
