Watertown expecting another solid season after going 7-4 with a semifinal playoff berth in 2023

After having one of its best seasons in more than a decade, what is the 2024 Watertown High School football team going to do for an encore?

That's the big question that head coach John Hodorff and his staff will start to find out when the Class 11AA Arrows open their season by visiting Class 11AAA Sioux Falls Jefferson at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Howard Wood Field.

Watertown went 7-4 last fall and recorded a first-round playoff win over Aberdeen Central in what was the Arrows' best season since they went 7-4 and finished as the state Class 11AA runner-up in 2013.

Some key pieces are gone and some key pieces are back, along with a host of others who will step into bigger roles.

"We're hoping to build off last year and even win a few more games," Hodorff said.

Let's start with who's not back

The most recognizable loss for the Arrows is two-time all-state running back Juven Hudson, who rused for 3,071 yards and 31 touchdowns in his career. He is a now a freshman football player at Morningside University in Sioux City, Iowa.

Last year, Hudson was the focal point of the offense with 1,351 yards rushing and 17 touchdowns.

"Juven is a pretty special player and when you have a guy like that on your roster, you get him the ball," Hodorff said.

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Other graduation losses include linebackers Austin Johsnon and Simon Hendricks, defensive backs Owen Spartz and Peyton Buisker, wide receiver Kohen Kranz and All-Eastern South Dakota Conference lineman Caden Beauchamp.

Another loss is sophomore running back-defensive back Lincoln Schutt, who will miss the 2024 season after suffering a knee injury.

A pretty solid returning cast

Sure, Hudson was the primary focus of Watertown's offense last season, but the 2024 Arrows should have a variety of weapons at their disposal.

Senior Spencer Wientjes earned all-state honors as an H-back (220 rushing yards, six TDs and 14 catches for 340 yards) and All-ESD honors as a linebacker (43 tackles).

Senior quarterback Treyton Himmerich is back to run the show after passing for 1,449 yards and 13 TDs last fall. The receiving corps includes seniors Nathan Briggs (13 catches for 269 yards and three TDs in only four games), Mitch Olson (18-229 with four TDs) and junior Markus Pitkin (10-177 with two TDs).

Senior Malique Decker and Marcus Fossum are expected to see plenty of time in the backfield that could find a good share of holes produced by an offensive line that features 6-foot-5, 300-pound senior South Dakota State commit Micah Hach and 290-pound senior Karter Engels at the tackle spots, 240-pound senior Jayden Lambert and 280-pound junior Caleb Thronson at the guard positions and 230-pound senior Nash Berg at center.

"Losing somebody like Juven isn't going to be easy to replace but Malique and Markus are going to suprise some people and Biggs, Olson, Pitkin and Cole Hansen are all quality receivers," Hodoff said. "There's a lot of weapons and that's not even counting Spencer, who's one of the best running backs in the state. We'll also be pretty solid up front.:"

A number of those same players are listed as potential defensive starters for Friday's game so the Arrows, like many teams, will need to develop some depth in case the injury bug hits.

"This team has a good mix of experience and youth on the roster," Hodorff added. "The leadership and willingness to become better every day has been exciting to see."

2023 WHS Football Season Receap: Arrows compiled a 7-4 record and earned their first playoff win since 2013

The schedule, teams to beat & other things to know

After Friday's season opener, the Arrows will have two more big tests in the following two weeks when they host defending state Class 11AA runner-up Yankton on Sept. 6 and visit seven-time defending state Class 11AA champion Pierre on Sept.13.

Watertown will also have home games against Mitchell (Sept. 20, homecoming), Spearfish (Oct. 4), Tea Area (Oct. 11) and Aberdeen Central (Oct. 24) and road games against Douglas (Sept. 27) and Sturgis (Oct. 18). State playoff games are Oct. 31 and Nov. 8 with the state Class 11AA championship on Friday, Nov. 15.

Kelly O'Connor, Will Castle, Devon Fortin, Brandon Hooth, Matti Kranz, Chris Tracy and Carter Buelow are varsity assistants with JJ Clendein, Justin Harte and Parker Schmidt also coaching in the program along with strength and conditioning coach Aaron Jung.

Pierre, as expected, is the preseason No. 1 and the team to beat again until some other Class 11AA team stops the Governor's streak. Yankton is No. 2, followed by Tea Area, Watertown and Aberdeen Central.

"I think Pierre and Yankton had their fair share of graduation losses but they'll still have good kids. Tea Area should also be solid, Aberdeen Central might be one of the scariest teams by the end of the season and Sturgis could be good," Hordorf said.

Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on X (formerly known as Twitter) @PO_Sports or email: rmerriam@thepublicopinion.com

This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Watertown expecting another solid season after going 7-4 with a semifinal playoff berth in 2023