Most high school football teams would be happy to have a productive running back or two. Freeland’s football team feels it can rely on as many as five guys to grind yardage on the ground. “It gives us all sorts of weapons,” head coach Kevin Townsend said. “We are able to keep pounding fresh running backs at the other team. It’s sort of a five-headed monster.”
So far, the weapons have been exploding, as the Falcons have averaged 50.75 points a game and are off to a 4-0 start.
Jake Jankoska leads the gang, all of whom are seniors, with 432 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. He also has over 100 yards receiving. Matt Formsma has 334 yards and five touchdowns. Ryan Schauman has 263 yards and two scores, Matt Denby has 260 yards and three touchdowns, and Blake DeSander has 189 yards and two touchdowns.
“Kids get caught up in who is all-conference or all-area, coaches get caught up in winning games; it’s hard to sell the team concept to kids when you see articles in the paper about one kid on a team,” Townsend said. “These five boys are all about the team. I’m sure they think that they should get the ball more or that they should play more, but I haven’t heard any of them complaining about us averaging 50 points a game.”
Perhaps the best thing of all for the Falcons is that they all bring separate strengths to the football field. “Jake brings the ability to stretch the field with his catching abilities,” Townsend said. “Denby brings speed. Blake brings physical style running. Matt brings power and great blocking skills. Ryan brings power, speed, and the ability to catch the ball.”