Hawks prep for 8-Man football

It's a brave new world for the Thompson Falls Blue Hawk football team.

The big question is: How will coach Jared Koskela and his boys adapt to the 8-Man game they will officially be playing for the first time this fall?

"I am going to stay on the optimistic side of things," Koskela said. "This season is looking a lot better going in than our last few as an 11-Man team, I know that.

"It (moving to 8-Man) has leveled the field for us, and we feel pretty good about our schedule," he added. "Sure, we will have a learning curve but you get the feeling from the kids that this is going to be a good thing for us."

The Hawks will open their 8-Man campaign against Choteau in Philipsburg Saturday, Aug. 31. Choteau will also be playing their first game as an 8-Man entity after moving down from 11-Man.

Thompson Falls finished the 2018 campaign winless, although they played in several close games. Koskela has been busy studying up on 8-Man football literally since the day he found out about the move.

"It's kind of like the great unknown," he said. "We don't know anything about the other teams but, on the other hand, they don't know anything about us either. We went to a team camp in Butte and have been playing in some local passing leagues around here, but the real test will come on the field."

Koskela has two new assistant coaches this season as Bill McGuire and Ray Brown are now in the Thompson Falls fold. McGuire has been put in charge of the defense, Brown is the special teams and position coach, and Koskela will oversee the offense.

"They are working really well with the kids," Koskela said, "and we have been making real good progress in practice so far."

A senior-laden roster could also bolster the Hawks this season. Proven performers Trey Fisher, Jack Jacobsen and Justin Miller have been elected team co-captains, and Nate Wilhite is a known productive commodity at running back.

Koskela said he also expects juniors Roman Sparks, Lucas Andersen and Derek Anderson to make immediate contributions.

And that's not even mentioning names from a very promising sophomore class.

Whatever happens, Koskela's sense of optimism could be a contagious thing.

"These kids are hungry to do well," he said. "We have kind of been behind the 8-ball here the last few years with our numbers and everything, it will be nice not being the underdog every week."