Ronan ready to rumble
John Zsiray/Leader<br>Chiefs football players Mike Trosper and Woodrow Wayman put the block on another Ronan player during practice on Monday. Ronan starts play on the road Friday against Browning.
The Ronan High School football team is looking forward to a clean slate and a new season to get things moving again, and will open the season against Browning this Friday night, ready, willing and able to put last year's season out of their minds.
"We had four or five seniors last year that left us," said head coach Jamie Courville. "We played a good game, but we went 0-8. We struggled a bit last year. We had a younger team, and had a lot of mental mistakes."
But the team regrouped and started working toward a better year that has good potential with 11 seniors on the roster.
"We are returning almost everyone. There are 10 offensive guys back and nine defensive guys back on the field," Courville said.
Courville's outlook on the season is very positive, and he is looking forward to having many of the guys back ready to start.
This year the team has a lot to look forward to. Courville mentioned that the team will pull a lot of guidance and see leadership from senior Woodrow Wayman, who last year was second team all conference for the Chiefs. Tylar Espinosa had 69 carries and rushed for 487 yards with an average carry of 7.06 yards and lead the team with four touchdowns, and is back this year.
Mike Trosper will also help to carve out the team's leadership. The returning second team all conference player will return to the defensive line. He will be joined by senior Logan Lloyd who will also be an important part to the team's dynamics, and Alan Skogen will be back as quarterback.
"We have a good mesh of kids this season," said Courville. "It will be a good season and we are excited to get out and play."
This season Ronan will have eight games after Eureka moved up to Class A, and their first two games are non-conference. They will open the season this Friday against Browning High School, at Browning. Their first home game will be against Frenchtown on September, 1 at 7 p.m.
"They {Browning} have some skilled guys. We will have to watch out for them," said Courville. "The thing that will hurt us is mental mistakes and not being able to execute."
The Chiefs will open conference play on Friday, September 8, against Columbia Falls at 7 p.m. on the road.