AMANDA WEHNES. COURIER CORRESPONDENT

With nearly double the players over last year, the 2022 South Loup Bobcat football team is feeling optimistic about their upcoming season.

Last season, in addition to having fewer players than years past, the team was also plagued with illness and injury. Head Coach Mat Jageler battled COVID-19, knee injuries took out two players - one for the entire season and the other for a good chunk of the season. The Bobcats finished 1-7, with the lone win the last game of the season against Twin Loup.

“It should be a whole different season than it has been,” Coach Jageler said.

This Bobcat team is young, but Coach Jageler said he has good leadership on his team. There are only three seniors out this year - Lance Jones, Jonathon Lamphear, and Clay Witthuhn. But Coach Jageler isn’t worried about the youthfulness of the players.

“Some of the sophomores (now juniors) are good leaders,” he said. “Rio (Remund) is a leader, Trey (Connell) can lead. I think we’ve got leadership.”

Coach Jageler is expecting good things from his linemen this year with the return of Clay Witthuhn, who was out last season with injury, and the growth of Joey Sallach.

“We should be pretty tough on the line this year,” Coach Jageler said. “It should be our strong suit.”

Having an abundance of players means the return of JV games this year, with games scheduled against Anselmo-Merna, Ansley-Litchfield, and Twin Loup.

Also this season, fans will see four new opponents on the schedule - Elm Creek, Maywood-Hayes Center, Hitchcock County, and Leyton. Last season, in D2 Leyton was knocked out in the second round of playoffs, and Hitchcock County in D1 were knocked out in the semifinals.

The coaching staff for the Bobcats remained the same this year with Jageler as head coach, joined by assistants Mike Weverka, Andy Schwarz, and Todd Phelps.

The Bobcats start the season on Aug. 25 at Elm Creek with a 7 p.m. kickoff.