Sep. 25—EAST GRAND FORKS — East Grand Forks Senior High head coach Ryan Kasowski has had at least one Schmiedeberg in the program for some time now.
Caleb was the first, taking snaps at both running back and safety, and eventually becoming a captain. He was a member of the 2022 Green Wave team that made it to the Section 8-3A championship game, and he graduated in 2023.
Now, it’s Cole who’s taken the reins. Like his older brother, Cole has become a central piece on both sides of the ball for East Grand Forks, and he’s a leading voice in the locker room.
“It’s hard to wrap your head around not having (a Schmiedeberg) next year,” Kasowski said. “They’re great leaders, and just overall great athletes for us.”
Cole was a freshman when Caleb was a senior, which means the two just missed out on competing on the field at the same time.
However, Cole still picked up plenty of lessons from the elder Schmiedeberg.
“I contribute a lot of what I learned and honestly how I play from watching him,” Cole said. “He was always a leader and a guy you want on your team. My goal is just to follow in his footsteps and do what he did.”
Cole started earning playing time as a sophomore. He primarily played linebacker and stepped into the running back rotation.
He became an all-Section 8-3A selection in his junior year, collecting 563 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 119 attempts.
Cole has picked up right where he left off in his senior season. He’s a focal point of East Grand Forks’ offensive game plan, taking snap after snap at running back in a classic bell-cow role.
“Offensively, he just brings such a power,” Kasowski said. “He’s just such a violent runner that it’s just really hard to bring him down on that first contact. If we need hard yards or we need a first down, we can really count on him to get it for us.”
On the other side of the ball, Cole is part of a linebacker group that has played lights-out through the first month of the season. Fellow back Braden Overgaard is a particular standout, notching a pick-six in last week’s 28-7 road win over Warroad.
“(Overgaard) has made plays the last three weeks here that are just incredible,” Kasowski said. “You put him and Cole right next to each other, and they feed off each other. … If you’re playing middle linebacker in our defense, you’ve got to kind of be the quarterback back there. They’re just doing a phenomenal job together.”
Cole, a captain, is also a strong voice in the locker room. After a gut-wrenching 14-7 home loss to Perham on Sept. 5 dropped the Green Wave to 0-2, he was quick to point out it was still “definitely a step in the right direction,” and was emphasized that they would “keep building.”
Now, East Grand Forks is back to .500, rattling off two straight wins on the road.
“For our team right now, (Cole), as far as a vocal guy, is a guy that people will look to,” Kasowski said. “If things start to go wrong, he’s the guy that people lean on and look to get us kind of righted up and right the ship, so to speak. He’s just a great leader for us.
“He’s kind of the guy that is the same no matter what, as far as I think he knows that he can get us back into games, and he can make sure that everybody’s lined up where they’re supposed to be. He’s like a coach out on the field, which is just exciting.”
This Friday, Cole and the Green Wave will have the chance to earn a winning record for the first time this season, welcoming Pelican Rapids to East Grand Forks for a 7 p.m. matchup.
“I’m super excited,” Cole said. “Wouldn’t want it to be anyone else than on our turf. I think it’s gonna be a great game this week.”
Grand Forks Central wrapped up non-conference play with a 4-0 record, capping it off with a resounding 40-12 road win over Watford City last week.
The Knights will travel to Fargo South this Friday in their first Eastern Dakota Conference game of the season.
“I don’t think there’s anyone we’re more familiar with than Fargo South,” head coach Jake Schauer said. “You can look in the history books, these are two teams that have played state championships against each other, it goes back years. It’s a program we have a lot of respect for, too. As it is a conference game, it’s the most important one that we’ve had so far.”
The Bruins are currently 1-3. Their lone win came in the first week of the season: a 34-21 victory over Dickinson on the road.
“They’re really athletic, and they’re really fast,” Schauer said. “They’ve got two really good receivers, so it’s all about how you stop those guys and how you maintain their chunk plays. They’re a very good football team. They were similar to us last year; they were pretty young, and they return a lot of guys with a lot of skill. Friday night, I think it’s gonna be a matter of who can run the ball a little bit better, and who can make more stops on defense.”
If it comes down to the rushing attack, Central should feel good about its odds. Glancing at any recap or box score will illustrate just how good the Knights’ deep running back room has been this season, led by senior Naz Fisher.
However, just as important has been the group of guys up front. The cohesive offensive line has stayed healthy through the first stretch of the season, and there appears to be plenty of depth, thanks in part to a strong sophomore class.
“They’re a group that just knows how to chop wood and carry water,” Schauer said. “They know that the offensive line isn’t the most glorious position in the world. They’re not gonna get a story written in the paper about them. But they also know how important they are, because they are the most important part of our team.
“If you can have depth on the o-line, and if your starting five o-line can do what they’re supposed to, really good things happen, and that’s kind of been the story of the first four games. The offensive line has done what they’re supposed to. They’re really gap sound, and that’s probably why we’re 4-0, is because of those dudes.”
Kickoff is slated for 5 p.m.
Kindred has athletes all around the field. But Luke Starcevic sticks out above the rest.
The 6-foot-5, 260-pound junior is a four-star prospect with offers from the likes of Auburn and Oklahoma. Luke’s brother, Jake, is a freshman at Army. His father, Alex, is a former UND football player.
The Vikings, who are off to a 4-0 start, have deployed Luke in the trenches and as a tight end.
This Friday at 6 p.m. at Cushman Field, Grand Forks Red River will have to contend with Kindred’s star athlete and its talented collection of athletes.
“(Luke has) definitely got the eyeballs on him because of his size and ability to move, and he’s a tenacious player,” Roughriders head coach Vyrn Muir said. “He’s a menace out there. They move him around a little bit, so they’re utilizing their athletes.”
Red River improved to 2-2 last Friday with a commanding 49-12 win over Williston. Junior quarterback Reese Walters threw for 250 yards and three touchdowns in the first half alone, guiding the Roughriders to their best offensive showing of the season.
Part of the offensive improvement has been a change in game plan, focusing on taking pressure off of Walters and leaving some of the decision-making to the coordinators.
“We’re at the point where they’ve done it for three games in a row now, each week has gotten better as far as what we’re doing, staying on the field longer,” Muir said. “Last week we excelled at scoring points, so I mean we’ve got that under our belts. Hopefully, we can just continue with the improvement there and not take a step back.”
The Roughriders will enter their first conference game of the season a little banged up in the trenches, still missing one player from the Minot North game and an additional two last week.
“We’re a little thin on the o-line and d-line right now just due to injuries,” Muir said. “Don’t think we’ll get some of them this week, but hopefully next week or for sure the week after, we’ll have those guys back, and just add to the depth. So we’re going to add some depth whether we want to or not, that’s going to happen here in the next week or two.”
Polk County West’s offense was held in check in last week’s 26-0 road loss to Walker-Hackensack-Akeley.
The Thunder have a chance to right the ship this Friday at 7 p.m. in a more manageable road game.
Polk County West is traveling to Red Lake, an opponent it beat 70-0 last season.
The Warriors are currently 0-4. After suffering a close 34-26 defeat to Cass Lake-Bena on Aug. 29, Red Lake has lost three games in a row by a combined score of 168-0. Last Friday, Pine River-Backus handed the Warriors a 70-0 loss.
Kindred at Grand Forks Red River, 6 p.m.
Grand Forks Central at Fargo South, 5 p.m.
Pelican Rapids at East Grand Forks, 7 p.m.
Polk County West at Red Lake, 7 p.m.
