By John Raffel
Lou Rau expects to have another excellent football team in Beal City.
The Aggies were 13-0 last season before falling to Harbor Beach in the state final. From that team, 20 players are returning. Three offensive players and three defensive players graduated, and that means eight return both ways.
Sam Schafer, the quarterback, heads the list of key graduates for the Aggies. But even with a new quarterback, many people will be surprised if Beal City doesn’t return to the finals.
”We always have high expectations. It’s one game at a time,” Rau said. “I’ve been working with them as hard as any team I have in my career, trying to push them over any barriers they might have and trying to keep them focused on the task at hand.”
During the summer, “we have had great participation,” Rau said. “The basketball team had a great year, and the baseball team went to the state finals as well. A majority of our kids play those sports as well. It’s kind of a year-round thing.”
It’s Rau’s 14th season as head football coach, and it’s no secret that his program and others at Beal City consistently have stunning success. “The kids we have here work harder,” he said. “We tell them that if you want to succeed, you will have to outwork your opponent. They have done just that. They take it personally and work to be the best they can be.”
The Aggies have 27 players on varsity and 31 on junior varsity, which isn’t bad for a Division 8 program. Those numbers are up from a year ago.
Having winning programs doesn’t hurt.
“A majority of the boys at the school have played football or every sport almost,” Rau said. “We’re not a big enough school to get much more than what’s there.”
Rau likes his 2013 team’s potential. “The strength is the experience and the skill kids we have returning. The offensive line will be much improved this year,” he said. “Those are the keys. The experience factor is huge for us.”
Ty Rollin leads the runnng attack.
Going into the season, Rau has been looking at three candidates at quarterback and was set to make a decision after the preseason scrimmage.
“They’re all great athletes and great kids,” Rau said. “It just so happens that they’re also first cousins.”
Alex Schafer, Kurt Gross, and Tucker Gross are the candidates. There’s always a chance he might use more than one quarterback in a game, Rau said. But regardless of who gets the job, plenty will be expected of him. The Aggies aren’t expecting another Sam Schafer, but it wouldn’t hurt to have someone close.
“For any team, the quarterback is critical,” Rau said. “We have to be able to focus, not just on our running game, but have an accurate passing game.”
Rau expects his team’s first two opponents, Sacred Heart Academy and Clare, a pair of non-league powers, to be extremely competitive. Lake City and McBain will be tough in the Highland Conference.
“It may look like an easy schedule,” Rau said, though he begs to differ. “Lake City last year was a play or two away from also being in the state finals.”