Panthers' goal is to be competitive in every game

Entering his 18th season as Durand-Arkansaw head football coach is Rod Rosemeyer, whose goal “is to be competitive in every game,” he told the Leader-Telegram.

To that end, three notable returning players hope to continue to make their mark on the Panthers this season. They are: Senior Gavin Jahnke (seven receptions for 130 yards last season); senior Joey Baker (48 rushes for 114 yards in 2023) and junior Jaxson Weiss 922 receptions for 311 yards and four TDs during the 2023 campaign.)

A huge notable newcomer who Rosemeyer hopes will make an immediate impact on his team this year is junior quarterback Brett Breidung. He was 16/38 with 340 yards and four touchdowns playing in the team’s playoff game against Colby last season. Ranked No. 1, Colby barely outlasted the Panthers to advance to the next round of the playoffs with a 34-30 win. Overall, it is a young Panthers squad, but one who’s returners could buoy to victory this season. The squad was 3-4 in the Cloverbelt Conference last season and 3-7 overall.

The team, a member of the Cloverbelt Conference, last won a conference title in 2020. In his almost two decades as head coach of Durand-Arkansaw, Rosemeyer has compiled an overall record of 100-73 and a conference record of 71-41. His teams have won three conference championships during his tenure with the Panthers and the squad made a state semi-final playoff appearance in 2021. Under Rosemeyer’s guidance, the team has made the playoffs 14 out of the 17 years he has been at Durand-Arkansaw.