JUST TWO WEEKS: Bemidji HS football practice begins with 11 days until season opener (w/ video link)

BEMIDJI - The grass is mowed, the lines are drawn and the players were on the field on Monday, as high school football practice got underway across the state of Minnesota.
With the season starting early due to the availability of the University of Minnesota’s TCF Bank Stadium for the state finals, the first week of practice has become more important than ever.
“It absolutely (makes day one more important),” said BHS head coach and activities director Troy Hendricks. “We want to make sure the guys playing aren’t going to beat themselves. We want to make sure we are addressing the areas of concern, like turnovers and penalties.
“The team that’s the most fundamentally sound and holds onto the rock is going to win that game week one.”
Week one will be tough challenge, as Bemidji will travel to St. Francis and play the Fighting Saints in a rematch of the last season’s Section 7-5A championship game.
The Lumberjacks prevailed 43-38 in the first meeting, but Hendricks and the team knows St. Francis brings a lot of players back who will be looking for revenge.
“Whenever you have over half your team (from last year) you should be able to withstand the situation that we have, which is one week of two-a-days then game week,” Hendricks said.
“Now St. Francis is returning a lot of kids as well, so we’ll see how we matchup against them come (Aug. 22).”
Another situation Bemidji is facing is deciding who will lead the offense in week one.
With James Hendricks graduating and off to North Dakota State, there is a big hole behind center needing to be filled.
Stepping up will either be juniors Jonah Muller and Chris Larson, or senior Jalin Rose.
“We are evaluating everything through the course of the summer rather than this practice,” Hendricks said. “All three have shown signs that they’re capable, some have been more consistent than others and that’s what we’re looking for now.”
There is no front runner for the starting spot, but Hendricks does have a timetable on when he’d like to have starter named.
“We’ll have to make a decision, at least to two by midweek,” Hendricks said. “By the end of the week we’ll probably have a really good idea who our one is for that first game.”
Whoever is behind center will have the support of veteran running back Logan Hatfield and a strong offensive line.
Returning to the line is captain Hank Bellefy and Brody Wilander, while the other three spots on the line is up for grabs.
Hendricks said he likes what he has seen out of junior guard Caleb Klinke, but his tackle positions are still ‘a work in progress’.
Whoever Hendricks decides to fill the offensive line with, they’ll have a chance to block for Hatfield, who is looking to have a big season following 1,266 rushing yards in 2014.
“The team goal is to win section and get back to the state tournament,” Hatfield said. “For myself, I just want to have a good senior year.”
What a good senior year entails, Hatfield isn’t sure, but he knows it involves a lot more wins.
Look for more coverage of BHS's first day of football practice here -- a feature on the BHS defense -- and watch a video here .