The Paynesville Bulldogs football team started their preseason practices on Monday, Aug. 14. Sixty-one boys in grades nine through 12 showed up for the Bulldogs' first two weeks of practice.
Captains for this year's team are seniors Joe Nosbush and Logan Louis and junior Jon Schefers. Ryan Glenz, right, collides with Joe Nosbush, left, during a drill for linebackers during preseason practice.
The Bulldogs only return two starters from last year's team: Nosbush at linebacker and T.J. Schultz at safety and split end. Both of these are three-year starters for the Bulldogs, and the coaches are looking for this experience to pay off on the field this season.
The team has only seven seniors this year, so some of the younger players are going to have to come through and play some great football if the Paynesville team has any chance of having a successful season.
The Bulldogs traveled to Sauk Centre for a five-team scrimmage on Saturday, Aug. 26. The Bulldogs scrimmaged against Sauk Centre, Fergus Falls, Melrose, and Upsala-Swanville.
The coaching staff played a lot of players against all of the teams, as this was a good way for the coaches to evaluate some of the younger players in a varsity situation.
The team came out of the scrimmage with no injuries and also found out where they needed to work on their game to improve. These were two things the team was hoping to accomplish.
The Bulldogs open their season at Sauk Centre on Friday, Sept. 1, at 7:30 p.m. The Paynesville coaches thought that the Mainstreeters outplayed the Bulldogs in their scrimmage, so the Dogs will have a lot of work to do before their opening game.
The football team hopes to see a lot of fans in support of the team at their opening game.