Owatonna Football Shines at Scrimmage

Owatonna football got their first look at different-colored jerseys on the other side of the ball Saturday. They faced Mounds View, Eastview and host team Prior Lake in a quick two-hour scrimmage at a state-of-the-art stadium. The Huskies had plenty of highlights and found areas to get better. The Huskies open their state-title defense Friday, August 30 against Rochester Century at the Owatonna High School football stadium.

Owatonna's first unit moved the ball effectively against Mounds View with Zach Stansky scoring a touchdown on the ground and Matt Williams making a great leaping catch in the end zone for a score from Brayden Truelson. Jaden Dallenbach grabbed an interception.

The level of opposition picked up a bit when the Huskies faced Eastview, who moved the ball better against Owatonna's first-unit defense but still had trouble getting into the end zone. The Huskies scored on a TD pass from Sol Havelka to Payton Beyer and on a strong run by Tanner Hall. The Lakers offered the Huskies their biggest test.

The scrimmage also featured some special teams practice, leaving Owatonna in an odd spot with none of their place kickers on hand. Returner Sam Henson and newcomers Aaron Bangs and Lane Versteeg are all on the soccer team which hosted a match Saturday afternoon.

The Huskies went through the motions for extra points with Ethan Rohman snapping to Williams. On kick-offs, Isaac Gefre, a record-setting punter from last season, sent a couple of kicks fairly deep. Beyer booted a line-drive kick-off off an opponent that the Huskies recovered that excited the many OHS fans in attendance.

Line-ups are of course subject to change, but starters on Saturday along the defensive front included Josh O'Daffer, Gavin Rein and Rohman. Linebackers included Matt Seykora, Gefre, Carson DeKam and Hunter Menden. Defensive backs were Beyer, Stransky, Ethan Walter and Isaac Oppegard.

Truelson and Havleka shared time as first-string quarterbacks. Stransky began as tailback with Seykora and Walter taking reps as well. Receivers included Williams, Oppegard, Beyer and Walter. The offensive line consisted of Zach Wiese, Luke Effertz, Nate Smith, Carter DeBus, Rohman and DeKam.

The scrimmage format allowed teams to get all their healthy players on the field for some game-like speed and scenarios.

All fans are invited to a kick-off event at Buffalo Wild Wings Thursday, August 29. Members of the Huskies football team and coaching staff will be on hand. A portion of your purchase will go to the team. KRFO radio will broadcast from 5 to 7 pm with a chance for you to win Vikings or Gopher tickets. The Owatonna Quarterback Club is co-sponsoring the event.