Huskies open with ‘Hammer Game’ vs Northwest

The 2023 football season will start with a bang Friday as the new-look Huskies go head-to-head with Aurora’s rival to the west, Grand Island Northwest.
These two programs and communities know each other well, though there are a lot of questions for both teams heading into the season opener. Aurora and Northwest are coming off successful 2022 playoff runs with experienced seniors leading that charge, which means a lot of new names and unfamiliar faces will take to the Viking’s new turf Friday at 7 p.m.
“It’s a slightly different dynamic than it was a year ago,” noted Aurora coach Kyle Peterson. “Both teams were very experienced a year ago and I think that both teams really knew what to expect from each other. This year I think both of us are going into this with a few more unknowns about each other, what we’re going to try to do and what they’re going to try to do.”
In last year’s season opener, the Huskies took control early and never let up, sprinting to a 43-13 victory which Peterson said was an anomaly for what is traditionally a very physical, four-quarter contest. The Huskies went on to play for a state title in the C1 championship game, while the Vikings had a 5-6 season, finishing strong by advancing to the second round of the Class B playoffs.
“It’s a big game for us because you always want to get off to a good start and I’m sure it is for them as well,” Peterson said. “We made this a trophy game (with the winner keeping ‘The Hammer’ for the next year) and that makes it not only important to the football programs but to the student bodies and the communities as well.”
Peterson said anticipation also grows before the season opener, and he expects the energy level to be high come Friday night.
“This is a game that probably had our kids and their kids attention all summer long,” the head Husky continued. “When you open with a rivalry game that’s always a great attention-getter. Our kids are going to be really well prepared. Whichever team has fewer mistakes in Game 1 is usually the team that comes out on the plus side, and we hope that’s us.”

Projected starters
The Huskies concluded two weeks of fall camp with a scrimmage Friday night, after which the coaches posted a two-deep depth chart. Peterson noted that the competition for starting positions and playing time is especially sharp this year, with so many talented but inexperienced players hoping to work their way onto the field.
“I think we’re still a work in progress on the offensive line,” he shared. “We’re going to play with a couple different groups on Friday night and see if we can find the right mesh of kids. We’ve got to find the group that works the best together, but we’ll probably have seven or eight different kids there on Friday night.”
The same can be said of a receiving corps which looks to be several players deep heading into the opener.
“We have a lot of different receivers that all have certain things they do really well so I think you’re going to find us playing with different personnel packages with a lot of our receivers,” he explained. “So a lot of guys that are listed are probably going to be starting in different personnel groupings, kind of depending on what we have on the field, just to play with some of their strengths. Some guys are a little faster and they can get behind guys, and some guys may be a little bit more possession receivers as bigger, more physical blockers and such.”
The starting backfield is locked in a bit more, Peterson reported, with Booker Scheierman getting the nod under center. The junior completed 59 of 86 pass attempts for 840 yards and seven touchdowns as a sophomore and is expected to take a majority of the snaps heading into a new season.
“He’s a guy that can obviously distribute the ball and can contest you vertically and we think we have guys that are good pass catchers on the other end,” Peterson said. (See related story in this week’s fall sports preview edition)
Among the receivers expected to test the Viking defense Friday are Kaiden Wineteer, Treshaun Beed, Tyson Dvorak, Canon Allen, Julian Hernandez, Asher Prins, Jack Spiehs and Rylan Bartek. (See related depth chart). 
Maddex Egger, who racked up 800 yards rushing in a backup role a year ago, will start at running back, with others expected to carry the load including Keegan Chaney and Damian Stanley at fullback.
On the other side of the ball, the Husky defensive backfield is pretty well set, though the line will be a work in progress, much like the O-line.
“The cornerback position kind of solidified itself with Kaiden Wineteer and Treshaun Beed,” Peterson said. “They’ll take the majority of our reps Friday night. And Jack Spiehs is a kid who has played really, really well for us the last two weeks. We didn’t know how for sure we were going to utilize him, but he’s probably going to get a lot of time playing safety, especially when we go into our nickel personnel.”
Starters listed at the various linebacker positions (Mike, Buck, Sam, Will and Striker) include Collin Stolpe, Keegan Chaney, Tyson Dvorak, Kaden Crosby, Damian Stanley and Parker Smith.

Special teams
Graduation all but depleted the Huskies’ special teams core group of players, opening a door of opportunity for new blood. Among those on the doorstep to make an impact is senior Graham Christenson, who is lacing on football cleats for the first time this season.
“We’ve kind of made a habit here in the last couple years of getting senior soccer players to come out for football,” Peterson noted. “Graham has never played football, but he’s kicked the ball really well (in fall camp) and I was happy with his leg strength on his kickoffs. I don’t know what his ball placement is like when it comes game time. It’s a little bit different when the bullets are flying.”
Spiehs is listed as the starting punter, while on the other side of the coin the Huskies will line Canon Allen, Julian Hernandez and Maddex Egger up as return specialists.