Bluejackets set to shift directions in 2024

HIBBING—It’s time for the Hibbing High School football team to put the past behind them and move ahead.

The Bluejackets will be moving in a different direction as the 2024 season kicks off on Friday, Aug. 28, with a home game against Rock Ridge at Cheever Field in Dr. Ben Owens Stadium.

Hibbing coach Matt Anderson doesn’t want his players’ minds cluttered with what has happened in the past.

“We need to put out of our minds and heads as to what has happened in the past,” Anderson said. “We have to be able to move forward and think about the future and what we can do and not what we can’t do.

“That’s easier said than done, but at the same time, well done is better than well said. It’s trying to be positive, letting them know that the work they’re doing is worthwhile and they can do special things if they want to. That want can’t just be saying they want to do it. It has to be showing with action that they’re going to do it.”

That direction will be put on the shoulders of seniors, Caleb Buus, Ian Larrabee, Preston Lori, Taneli Massingill, Quentin McClellan, DeAndre Minton, Jacob Petrich, Preston Thronson and Luke Tichy

“They should have a ton of experience, but we do have one or two first-year guys, who will be called upon to do some things this year,” Anderson said. “We have to utilize everyone we’ve got, especially the older guys, whether they’re experienced or not.

“They have to get out on the field and produce. There’s some learning-curve-type-of things going from year one to year two within the program, but for the most part, they understand what I expect from them. They do show promise, but at the same time, they also have to be able to put that into fruition, too.”

The junior class consists of Lucky Benz, Samuel Blevins, Aiden Fink, Benny Galli, Drew Kolden, Landon Krampotich, Jacob Maki, Joseph Marchetti, Wylder Powers, Reece Ringhofer, Christian Schmidt, Carson Tardy, Ethan Wolstad, Evan Hanson, Kaden Augustine and Jayden Mattson-Perry.

Some of them have had experience at the varsity level.

“Especially over the last couple of years, they’ve shown good promise,” Anderson said. “They have to keep maturing, just like our ninth- and 10th-graders as well. They have a lot of good tools we hope to utilize this season.”

The sophomore class has Tucker Crowe, Jaxson Greiner, Lukas Holewa, Clayton Horst, Maximus Hughes, Benjamin Husmann, Elijah Palmer, Preston Patterson, Wyatt Story, Dylan Vesel, Calvin Wetzel, Landon Tokarzyck and Kaeleb Burkes, but Anderson doesn’t want to put them in a situation they’re not ready for yet.

“We’ve got some sophomores that will contribute this season,” Anderson said. “There’s some kids that took the weight room seriously. They can have a bright, promising future. At the same time, I don’t want to throw them to the wolves.

“We have to get them ready in the first two weeks, and hopefully, they can consistently show that they can handle the workload of being a one-way, let alone a two-way, if not a special teams’ player.”

Offensively, the Bluejackets will have a competition as to who plays quarterback, but one thing is for sure, Hibbing will be a running team.

“We’re a back-heavy team,” Anderson said. “We’ll utilize our deception, and have our tough runners pound the rock. We’re making do with who we have up front and what experience we return.

“We graduated a lot of seniors on the line last year. We’re trying to build those kids up, and do the best we can with situations, experiences and get them as many live looks as we can.”

Some of those running backs will be Sam Blevins, Joey Marchetti, Benny Galli, Ian Larrabee and Elijah Palmer.

“That depth helps a lot,” Anderson said. “It will help us on defense because we have some rotations there. They will play linebacker, too, so it will be nice to give a couple of the kids some breaks while the other kids are out there playing.

“Hopefully, we’ll have some good rotations, so they stay fresh the best they can throughout the games.”

Hibbing might be run heavy, but Anderson won’t hesitate to mix in the pass.

“I’d love to mix it up the best we can,” Anderson said. “It’s going to be important to know our offense, know all of the positions. We have to be interchangeable. We have to show what we’ve got, be who we are and try to strive for a higher standard in comparison to the last couple of years.”

To do that, the offensive line must win the battle in the trenches.

“There’s a vast majority of those linemen that took it upon themselves to get ready for this season in the weight room,” Anderson said. “I’m looking forward to seeing what they can do.

“At the same time, with those seniors leaving, we have to get them into those situational-type stuff. We have to throw whatever a defense can at them and see how much they can take and improve upon that each day. We have to coach them up the best we can.”

Defensively, the Bluejackets are ahead of the curve.

“We return a lot of experience on the defensive side,” Anderson said. “We try to run a simple system where the kids can fly around and not think so much. I’m hoping to be able to plug in some pieces that are going to make us as effective, if not an improvement from last year.

“All of our coaches feel more ahead than we were last season. That’s promising. That’s a big boost in confidence for us. We have to know what we’re doing, and execute as best we can. If we can get the execution down, we’re going to do well. If we get caught standing flat-footed, it’s going to be similar to a young, inexperienced team. If we’re forward, downhill and know our assignments, we’re going to -do fine.”

As for special teams, Hibbing will put a big emphasis on that.

“We have a kicker that’s coming to help us from the soccer team,” Anderson said. “That will be helpful for certain things. We return a couple of punters. Our long snapper, we have a kid stepping in there that’s going to do fine.

“With our youth in our sophomores, I hope to put them out on special teams and get them some experience, let them see some live action.”

The biggest thing for Anderson is making sure his players do their jobs well.

“We’re looking for guys that can execute, get off of the ball and have fun,” Anderson said. “They’re going to love it.”