Most of 2021 Huskies football roster returns for 2022

“I think we’ll be much improved because we only lost one guy to graduation and we’re bringing back a pretty big group of players who all have lots of experience,” said Blagg. “Everybody is a year older, a year wiser and a year stronger.”

The Huskies attended a football camp in June in Elgin and the 14 players who attended played hard and learned a lot, Blagg said.

“The camp was a good experience, everyone had fun and it was a good chance for everyone to just get out there and play together,” said Blagg. “We haven’t been to camp in a number of years, because it’s hard in our community to get a good turnout for that type of thing. We wanted to start it again and I thought that we had a pretty good core group that went, and they showed dedication and willingness to want to get stronger and improve, so I was very happy about that.”

The Huskies were 1-6 in 2021, which marked their first year in eight-man football since 2018. There’s a much more optimistic outlook for the Huskies this year, as they have higher expectations and they’re hoping for a better record than they had a year ago in the seven-team Special District 2 West Division.

The Huskies will rely on senior quarterback/defensive back Kole Martin to help lead the offense along with senior running/defensive back Eddy Rubio. Other seniors who will also provide leadership and contribute offensively include receivers Josiah Carlson, Cade Von Borstel and Collin Seale, and offensive lineman/defensive end Logan Barrett. Junior fullback Talon Dark and sophomore running back Antone Avila will help solidify the ground game.

“We know that we have a guy in Kole that can go out there and do a heck of a job,” said Blagg. “We’re going to be looking to do a few new things offensively and defensively that I’m excited about. One thing that was really great about the camp, is that we learned some new things and we’ll try those and see what works and see what we need to work on to improve.”

The Huskies open their eight-game season with a 4 p.m. nonleague contest Sept. 1 versus the Alsea High Wolverines in Dufur. That matchup is one of 10 games in the 20-team Eight-Man Classic Sept. 1-3 in Dufur. The Wolverines, of the Special District 1 North Division, were 6-2 last year in 6-man football, but they’re returning to 8-man this year. The Huskies’ home opener is Sept. 9 at 6 p.m. versus the Wallowa High Cougars of the Special District 2 East Division. Wallowa was 0-6 last season.

The Huskies have 13 sophomores, including Blagg’s son, Michael, a backup quarterback/defensive back. The team’s juniors include Casey Nelson, Luke Fritts, Henry Poirier and Sawyer Baker.