Bigfork High School athletics gets underway for fall competition

Despite being forced to move practices inside due to air quality, Bigfork High School sports are underway.

Football and cross country will kick of their seasons on Friday as the cross country team travels to Libby, and football hosts Florence in their home opener at 7 p.m.

Volleyball will start on Saturday in St. Ignatius, and soccer will have their first game on Saturday, Sept. 5., in Bigfork.

Football

Though the Vikings graduated quite a few key players last year, there is still quite a bit of talent on the field, and several seniors who have seen their fair share of playoff games.

“I know we’ve got some senior leadership on this team that’s pretty good,” head coach Todd Emslie said.

Senior captain Jonathan Landon take over for Josh Sandry in the role of starting quarterback and safety. Landon will lead the team with fellow captains Adam Jordt, Russel Goeden, Grant Ozegovich and Austin Pacheco. Jordt and Ozegovich were all-state players last year.

While many returning seniors are strong, Emslie is looking to other players to step up. Gabriel Broughton and Kyler Oster will play key roles as running backs and linebackers, filling in spots left by graduating seniors Isaac Martel and Vinny Quirk. On the line Emslie said there are in the middle of a battle to see how will take over the positions once held by Logan Mejak and Tyler Iverson.

In addition to changes on the field the Vikings are also looking at some changes to their district. The district lost Plains in a move to Class C but gained Libby as they dropped down to B this year.

“We really don’t know how good they’re going to be,” Emslie said. “I think our district is going to be very competitive.”

The Vikings’ first matchup is out-of-district against Florence.

“I think they’re going to be pretty tough,” Emslie said.

Cross country

For the first time in a while both the boys and girls cross country teams have started the season with full teams.

Last year the girls didn’t have enough competitors to compete as a team until the end of the season, where they placed third in state.

There are five girls out for the team, as well as three more girls who will play soccer and run cross country.

“This probably the most we’ve had,” head coach Sue Loeffler said.

While the girls’ team lost Makena Morley to graduation, Bryn Morley returned from last year, as well as Xiaoxiao Strong. In addition, Loeffler said, there a few freshmen joining the team who have a lot of potential.

Logan Morley is one of nine runners out for the boys’ team. Morley is the defending state champion for class B boys.

Volleyball

While many of the faces on the court will look familiar, Valkyries volleyball has some changes this year.

Schuyler Baird is taking over as head coach for Bigfork Volleyball. Baird is a Bigfork graduate and coached the junior varsity team last year.

This year Baird is mixing the junior varsity and varsity teams in practice to help boost the overall level of skill.

So far practices have been spent working on fundamental skills, and working toward the team goal of improving passing and serving.

“We’re trying to be the best passing team in the league,” Baird said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

The team has five returning starters and a lot of height, with five girls over 5-feet-10.

“We’ve got some great height, we might be kind of intimidating because we’re extremely tall,” Baird said.

Team captains Lana Berg, Miranda Campbell and Abbie Fraley said they are excited for the season. The goal for them is to make it to state.

Volleyball is on the road for the start of the season; their first home game will be Sept. 15 against Libby.

“Come watch us, we’re going to be good,” Fraley said.

Baird said she was more nostalgic last year, returning to coach at the school were she played volleyball.

“I didn’t realize how much pride I had about being a Valkyrie,” she said.

Baird will be joined on the coaching staff by Treena Mitts and Ariel Stallknecht.

Soccer

After making it to the playoffs last year, Vikings soccer is off to a rough start. Head coach Bill Buxton stepped down from coaching at the end of last season, and the school is still looking to fill his position. In the meantime, the Vikes started their practice with the girls, and the Valkyries’ new head coach Jens Sundem. Sundem was the assistant coach for the girls’ team last year. The boys also started practices, short players, though they are now up to about 14 players.

“The guys’ team lost a lot of players last year,” Sundem said. “It will be a different team for sure.” Sundem has been working on basic skills with the boys’ team, hoping a boys’ coach is found before the first game. If not, Sundem said, he would take on the task of coaching both soccer teams.

“It’s going to be a rebuilding year, I think, for the guys’ team,” he said. “But they’ve got some talent, they’re going to have it out on the field this year for sure.” While the boys may be off to a rocky start, the Valkyries are looking strong. The girls only lost two seniors to graduation, so many of the 17 players are returning. “I told them I expect them to put some metal on the wall this year,” Sundem said.

With the first game still over a week away, Sundem is still deciding where to put players on the field. “I try to build the formation around our players instead of vice versa,” he said.

One of the Vals’ strengths this year, Sundem said, is a lot of the girls are good.

“We don’t have any star players, but we have a lot of solid players,” Sundem said.

Sundem said his goal for the Vals is to win their conference. “More than anything this year, I’m excited,” Sundem said. “We have the potential on the girls side for the best year Bigfork has ever seen.”