Battle Ground football preview: Off-season sport gives some Tigers a leg up
The Columbian
Published: August 27, 2018, 6:21pm
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Alisha Jucevic/The Columbian Seth Workman is among Battle Ground’s returning starter who aim to get a young Tigers team on the road to improvement.
Battle Ground doesn’t open its season until Friday night. But seniors Drew Skolrud and Colin Friese don’t need to play a game to know they’re already better football players.
Faster speed, improved footwork and an increase in endurance thanks, in part, to an off-season sport.
Rugby.
“I noticed my tackling is much better,” said Skolrud, a returning two-way lineman. “I’m a better athlete because of rugby.”
The club sport, offered by Battle Ground Public Schools in the spring, provides a unique on-field experience that Friese hopes can translate to football.
And it goes for more than just the win-loss department.
“The brotherhood in rugby is crazy,” said Friese, a linebacker. “It’s a different culture.”
A fractured left foot kept Friese sidelined for seven of the team’s nine games last fall when Battle Ground went 1-8 during head coach Mike Kesler’s first season. Now wearing a specialized insert to help prevent future injuries, Friese said he’s ready to make his senior season memorable.
Even if that means a tough non-league schedule and just three home games.
Six of the Tigers’ opponents reached the 2017 postseason, including reigning 3A state finalist Rainier Beach, which the Tigers play at the annual Memorial Football Classic on Sept. 8 at Seattle’s Memorial Stadium.
So far, though, all signs point toward positive growth on a young Tigers roster. Case in point came at the Western Oregon team camp, where they had arguably their best day of camp on the final day. Few teams could say that.
“We’re becoming a unit,” Skolrud said. “A lot of players stepped up we didn’t expect to.”
Kesler said while the program might be a couple years out from what he envisions long-term, he likes where they are as a whole entering his second season.
“I want the kids believing what we’re trying to do here,” he said, “and in order for you to be successful, you have to put the time in.”
3 THINGS TO KNOW
• Rugby a big reason why some say they’re better football players.
• Six of Tigers’ opponents reached the postseason in 2017.
• B.G. has a tough nonleague schedule and just three home games all season.
2017 record: 1-8 overall, 0-4 4A GSHL
Best state finish: First round in 1979, 2015
Schedule
Home games at District Stadium
Leagues games in bold
Aug. 31 at Bethel 7 p.m.
Sept. 8 at Rainier Beach 3 p.m.*
Sept. 14 at Mountain View 7 p.m.
Sept. 21 at Prairie 7 p.m.
Sept. 28 Skyview 7 p.m.
Oct. 5 Heritage 7 p.m.
Oct. 11 at Camas 7 p.m.
Oct. 19 at Union 4:30 p.m.
Oct. 26 South Kitsap 7 p.m.
* Seattle Memorial Classic at Memorial Stadium
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