Horsemen ready to rumble

In his third year at the helm as head coach of the Plains Horsemen football team, Eddie Fultz is slightly unsure about how his squad will perform this fall at this point.

“It’s hard to tell a whole lot about football ability when you are just running around in shirts and shorts,” he said of the first few days of practice. “We will be able to tell a whole lot more once we put on the pads and start contact drills.”

The Horsemen had their share of struggles with injuries and inconsistency last fall and finished the ’18 campaign with a 2-7 record. A slow initial turnout these past few weeks has impeded practice somewhat so far.

“We have 19 out officially but could have up to five more when everybody gets their physicals and paperwork done,” Fultz said. “That part of it has been a little frustrating but we have some athletes and feel like we should be able to compete.”

Leading the list of athletes is senior Esvin Reyes, the Horsemen’s only returning all-conference player for his strong work at middle linebacker last fall. Plains’ other two all-conference picks were Orion Pry-Hyde and Malachi Paulsen, who have both graduated.

“Esvin has been our most consistent guy in the weight room, he has really been working hard,” Fultz said. “We are also putting him in at running back and expect him to do well there.”

Senior Treydon Brouillette, who played high school football for the first time last fall, returns at quarterback, and fellow senior Nathan McNulty, who also played for the first time last year, is expected to be a playmaker after showing flashes of brilliance himself.

“Treydon is more dialed in, he’s mentally more mature now than he was at this point last season,” Fultz said, “and Nathan has some real potential building off what he did last year.”

Juniors Tucker Foster and Dorrey Heingartner, who lists at 6-4, 235 pounds, look like strong candidates to anchor the line. Another junior, Thompson Falls transfer Kade Pardee, will become eligible partway through the season, and should help out at wide receiver or slotback.

George Sherwood returns as Fultz’s assistant coach.

The Horsemen begin their 8-Man season at Charlo Aug. 30. Plains first home game will be with Seeley-Swan Sept. 6.