Indees look for full team effort to compete
With only 13 players suited up for practice last Thursday, Independence/Gilmanton coach Austen Whitwam filled in during a drill. Whitwam said the team has 16 players on the roster, but injuries have already taken a toll. (Times photograph by Andrew Dannehy)
With just 16 players on the roster, the Independence/Gilmanton football team is going to need everyone, and coach Austen Whitwam thinks they have the will to compete.
“Our team is small in numbers, but the male and female athletes we have have heart,” Whitwam said.
The coach said the team already lost three players due to injury or personal matters and can’t afford to lose many more. He expects the players he has to play hard and “hopefully by doing so we get a few wins.”
The team hit a high point in the middle of last season when it snapped a 19-game losing streak by beating Augusta. The Indees graduated six seniors from that team, including leading rusher and receiver Nathan Pyka.
“All the athletes in some way shape or form are going to have to fill the void from the seniors we lost from last year,” Whitwam said. “Everyone will be expected to learn multiple positions and some players will be given multiple jerseys depending where they are needed from game to game.”
Whitwam is entering his second season with some returning talent.
Chase Back begins his third season as the team’s starting quarterback. He threw for 887 yards and four touchdowns last year, while rushing for 163 yards and five more scores.
Blake Slaby emerged as one of the team’s top pass-catchers, finishing with 19 receptions for 258 yards and a team-high three touchdowns as a freshman.
Grant Klimek saw action in the backfield and as a pass catcher last season; he caught 12 passes and had seven rushing attempts.
Other returning players expected to step up include James Carrillo Taylor, Glen Turner Jr. and Preston Solberg.
Whitwam said he expects Alma/Pepin and Cochrane-Fountain City to be the top teams in the Dairyland Conference this year.
