It is time to hit the gridiron again as the Winona State football team gears up for the 2008 season.
The Warriors are coming off an impressive 2007 season in which they surprised the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference by going an undefeated 9-0 in conference play.
However, the end of the season left a sour taste in the mouths of the Warriors as they suffered a 44-2 loss to North Dakota in the first round of the NCAA Division II football playoffs.
Despite the loss, Winona State finished the season with an impressive 10-2 record.
This year, the Warriors hope to surprise the conference again as they are predicted to finish second in the NSIC pre-season rankings.
In a new, beefed up NSIC, which includes four new teams to the conference, the Warriors are placed just three votes behind NSIC newcomer Minnesota-Duluth for the pre-season NSIC favorites.
Even though Winona State is a power in the NSIC, they will have to overcome a few hurdles to start out the year.
The Warriors need to replace last year’s starting quarterback Drew Aber, who was a four-year starter for the team.
Not only that, they will also need to replace Aber’s favorite target, wide receiver Scott Peters as he also left with graduation.
To fill in Aber’s shoes, the Warriors are in the midst of a starting quarterback battle.
So far, Greg Preston, a transfer student from the University of Tennessee-Martin is looking to start the first regular season game for the Warriors against Michigan Tech on August 30.
However, he is in a dead heat battle with last year’s backup quarterback, Amir Ross, who brings a lot of athleticism to the quarterback position.
Winona State will also be looking for a running back to fill the shoes left by last year’s key senior, Alex Wiese.
Carey Rottman, Darren Davis, and Randy Spring return to the Warriors roster as they will try and fill the void that Wiese leaves behind.
On the defensive side, the Warriors will need to produce some solid starters to replace the many that left for graduation.
The secondary will be almost starting from scratch due to the graduation of starters Shawn Cunningham, Kenzie Yewman, and Craig Martindale.
The front seven didn’t lose as much but linebacker Marcus LaBadie and defensive linemen Kevin Michelis and Dave Braun will surely be missed.
Despite the losses, the Warriors will have many underclassmen waiting in the wings to fill in the shoes of these departing seniors, in helping the team reclaim the NSIC title.
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