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Martin Co. West football team gears up for season-opener

MAVERICK CAPTAINS — Martin County West football team co-captains, from left: Connor Simmonds, Jaxson Rohman, Blake Jagodzinske and Nick Rathman, will guide the Mavericks into their season-opener against the Canby Lancers at 2 p.m. Saturday in Canby. (Photo by Charlie Sorrells)

SHERBURN — Tom Elliott knows first-hand how to build a winning high school football program.

Unfortunately, the current coronavirus pandemic has strewn hurdles in the Martin County West Maverick mentor’s path to a second consecutive appearance in the Section 3A championship game.

“We finally had a breakthrough season last year, and have a good mix of older and younger players returning for us this fall,” said Elliott, a former record-setting all-state running back under his namesake father’s tutelage at Armstrong-Ringsted High School in Armstrong, Iowa. “We really wanted to get back to the section finals and redeem ourselves and qualify for state.”

While the Minnesota State High School League currently has no plans for a Prep Bowl in 2020, Elliott and the Mavericks expected to improve upon last season’s 7-4 overall record — including a heart-breaking, last-second 23-21 loss to Springfield in the sectional showdown.

“It’s been a rollercoaster type of season so far,” said Elliott, whose program took a giant leap forward last fall after finishing the 2018 campaign with a 1-8 record against district opponents mainly a class bigger than Martin County West. “First, we were moved to the spring, then back to the fall, but with two less games. Then our county had a spike in (COVID-19) active cases that shut us down and caused us to lose two of our six regular-season games.

“But we’re finally back, and we hope to make the most out of each and every game.”

Ironically, Martin County West was originally scheduled to play St. James Area this Friday night, but instead will hit the road to Canby for a 2 p.m. game Saturday.

“We didn’t know how long we’d be shut down, so St. James filled our spot in the schedule with Cotter this Friday night,” said Elliott. “When we got cleared, we were fortunate to fill the void with Canby.”

Canby enters its Week 3 clash against MCW with an 0-2 record, but Elliott and his football program know the Lancers’ two losses are a bit deceptive.

“Canby plays in a district that has traditional powerhouses, so they usually have a gauntlet to go through,” said Elliott. “Their record doesn’t indicate how good they are.

“They have good speed, their offense runs through their quarterback and they like to spread the field. We’re going to have to be on our toes defensively in sticking to our assignments.”

Jaxson Rohman and Connor Simmonds, a pair of all-South Central Blue District senior hybrid linebackers, will spearhead the Mavericks’ 4-4 base defense when they kick off the season Saturday afternoon.

“It’s a hybrid 4-4. Depending on who we play against, we can shift into a 4-3 without changing personnel,” said Elliott. “Jaxson and Connor are so versatile in their defensive roles, it makes us very flexible against most opposing offenses.”

While Simmonds recorded 55 tackles and pocketed two interceptions, and Rohman generated 33 stops last fall, the two co-captains also represent lethal offensive threats.

Rohman earned Sentinel All-Area tri-player of the year honors by churning out 1,144 yards and nine touchdowns from his running back position. Simmonds also merited All-Area accolades by making eight catches for 158 yards in a run-oriented scheme.

“We run I-formation, establish the run game and then work play-action off of it,” said Elliott. “We concentrate on moving the sticks and holding an edge in time of possession.”

While Rohman will be the Mavericks’ featured offensive back, Elliott plans to utilize Simmonds in the backfield more this season.

Senior co-captain Blake Jagodzinske, who also will start at inside linebacker, will run the MCW offense at quarterback, while senior co-captain Nick Rathman will look to provide pass protection and create running room from the offensive line.

Elliott also will turn to junior Tanner Sinn and a pair of sophomores — Max Olson and Zach Anderson — for key contributions in two-way starting roles this season.

Olson will use his physicality at offensive guard and in the defensive line, while the lanky Anderson will utilize his length to catch passes from his receiver spot and defend opposing throws at free safety.

“We’re looking for Max, Zach and Tanner to step up for us,” said Elliott. “Tanner’s blocking at tight end will be key to our success, while we look for good things from him at defensive end, too.”

Martin County West travels to Lake Crystal on Oct. 30 before returning home to Sherburn for a Nov. 6 game against New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva and a Wednesday, Nov. 11, contest against Redwood Valley.

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