As you may have heard, the football season has started up after the MSHSL reversed the fall football postponement. The Red Knights will be playing six games against teams mostly from their conference every Friday up until Sections on November 17.

Obviously, this year is looking much different from the past years. In the past, they haven’t dealt with COVID-19. Due to this, the football season was cut short. “It’s definitely gonna be different, but I’m just really happy that we get to go out there and play football,” senior captain Nick Marinaro said.

Leading up to their first game, they will have had four weeks of practice, which isn’t much time spent with the team. However, the players are still trying to make the most of their practice time and bond as a team. “The season is going very [well] right now. I think the team is meshing together very well,” senior captain William Petty said.

There are other challenges that come with a short season. For example, no scrimmages or jamborees will be held before the season starts. Additionally, there are a lot of new players coming to the team who will have to train harder than usual and put more effort into creating chemistry with the rest of the team. “It’s kind of hard to get the unity of one team when you have to be separated at all times and keep your distance and things like that, but I also think with the COVID going and us only getting six games it makes everyone want to work harder and try harder this year,” senior captain George Wolfe said.

Last year, the majority of the players were juniors and seniors. With all of those seniors graduating and some of those juniors transferring to a different school, a lot of this year’s juniors are needed to step in. “Junior Ryan Sever really stands out to me right now. He really came into this season with a whole new attitude. He is very physical at the point of attack and very willing to learn,” Petty said.

The BSM football team also recently gained a new sophomore who is supposedly going to be a big help to the team. “Antonio [Fondren is a stand out player] who has come in and works really hard and tries really hard and truly wants to make a difference on the team,” Wolfe said.

Moving forward with the season, the Red Knights will be playing against Orono, DeLaSelle, Chanhassen, Bloomington Jefferson, Holy Angels, and Robbinsdale Cooper––all being teams they have faced in the past. “I think we’ve got a decently tough schedule, but I don’t see a team on our schedule that looks like we can’t beat, and I think it’s all up from here ‘cause it gets a lot more fun once we actually start playing games,” Marinaro said.

The BSM football team is hoping to make it all the way to the final section game and finish the season off strong. “I think we are proven as a team and with the coaching staff that we can hang in the playoffs and produce in the playoffs,” Wolfe said.

The first BSM football game will take place at the Red Knights home turf. Pop-out and watch the Red Knights face off against the Orono Spartans at 7:00pm tonight.