Written by: Will Hoenike
For awhile in 2022, things looked like they were going to work out okay. The Prairie Pirates were 3-1 on the field with a slew of new faces and a new head coach.
But then it happened. Injuries and inexperience caused the Pirates’ season to veer into rarely-seen territory in recent years – a losing streak. Three straight defeats left Prairie on the edge of 1A Division 1 playoff contention for the first time in many years. Not even a season-ending win over Logos could save the Pirates. They missed the postseason for the first time since 2012.
Head coach T.T. Cain, now in his second season atop the Prairie program, has his team in position to reap the rewards of what occurred last season. The young team is now a year older, a year stronger, a year wiser. And, presumably, very hungry to return to the top of the Whitepine standings in 2023.
“Simply put we were a young team last year, which reared its head a time or two,” said Cain. “We feel this is not the case moving forward. We are looking towards great leadership from our upper classmen this season which will make a difference in terms of team dynamics, enthusiasm and their identity.”
The Pirates return three players with ample experience along the offensive line, senior center Noah Behler and junior guards Jake Quintal and Carter Shears. They’ll protect junior quarterback Eli Hinds, who split time with now-graduated senior Colton McElroy last fall, and open running lanes for talented senior running back Trenton Lorentz.
Lorentz was one of the players who was felled by injury in 2022. As a junior, Lorentz rushed for 550 yards and six touchdowns over the first three games, including back-to-back 200-yard efforts. He then missed the next month, ultimately ending the season with 695 rushing yards and eleven total touchdowns (seven rushing, four receiving) in just five games. He’ll have some help in the backfield this fall in the form of senior Raven Cronan and junior Matt Wemhoff, giving the Pirates more weapons on offense.
Defensively, Cain has a solid nucleus of returning players at his disposal but he sees areas for growth.
“Our top priority is improving our back end. This was our Achilles heel defensively last season as well as significantly improving our tackling fundamentals,” Cain said. “Being a year older and a bit more seasoned along with key additions on defense, we are looking forward to a significant improvement this season defensively.”
Three players across the defensive line return for the Pirates in 2023: Shears on the nose, with Behler and Benny Elven lining up at defensive end. Hinds is expected to line up at middle linebacker with Cronan and Quintal filling key linebacker roles as well. The secondary is an area that Cain expects improvement from, with Lorentz playing a rover role. Juniors Dylan Uhlenkott and Blake Bunce will also fill roles in the defensive backfield, as will Matt Wemhoff. That group, collectively, will be charged with cutting down on the 348 points allowed last season, an average of over 40 per game. Scoring is generally higher in 8-man football than it is the 11-man game, but surrendering nearly 44 points per contest is still too high.
An experienced group on both the offensive and defensive line, a talented lead running back, and an improved defensive unit – along with a history of winning – should lead to optimism for Prairie in 2023. The Pirates open the season with two Whitepine games against teams looking to make a name for themselves: at Troy and at Potlatch. It’s an opportunity for a fast start for the Pirates that could vault them right back into the mix for a Whitepine title and a return to the 1A Division 1 state playoffs in 2023.