Vikings will utilize speed in hopes of defending conference title

COLFAX — After tying Elmwood-Plum City with a record of 10-5 to share the Dunn-St. Croix Conference title a year ago, the Colfax boys’ basketball team will have to use a different style of play this year if they want to hold on to the title. The team finished 13-11 overall and ended the season against the same E-PC team on a last second three point shot in the second round of the regional tournament.

The Vikings lose a pair of players who did a lot of work in the paint including Sawyer DeMoe and Ben Kragness, along with starting point guard Jeremiah Wait. DeMoe scored over 1,000 points to lead the Vikings in that department and was the leading rebounder as well as the conference Co-Player of the Year. Kragness averaged 4.2 points a game and 4.2 rebounds a game and Wait lead the team in assists and was second in steals. Without a true post player this year, head coach Garrett Maas knows his team may struggle under the boards, leaving him to make use of his players’ speed and quickness, allowing them to play at a faster pace.

Over 30 athletes reported to practice for Maas who begins his third year leading the team, the most he has had out since he started coaching. The group ranges from players who have been in the program all four years of high school  to some who haven’t played since elementary school. Returning players include senior Jarrod Rudi, an honorable mention AC player as a junior who has played just about every position in his three years of varsity play. Rudi averaged 6.8 ppg putting him third on the team a year ago and led the Vikings in blocked shots with 34. Senior Kedar Davis was second in scoring, knocking down 51 three point shots while leading Colfax in steals with 36, and junior Aliymu Davis was fourth in the scoring department with a 5.2 average per game while swiping the ball 27 times. Filling out the varsity are seniors Andrew Harmon, Brett Prince and Isaac Lee who came off the bench for valuable playing time, along with another senior Alex Knudson. A pair of juniors, Jacob Larson and Matthew Reisdorf will be expected to do some work in the paint this year.

Maas looks for Elk Mound, Mondovi and Durand to be conference contenders with the returning players they bring back, but expects his team to be in the thick of things.

“If we can get a few more kids to step up and give us some depth, we should be competitive,” he said. “If we want to play a fast paced game with the new 18 minute halves, we will need several more players to help out. We are playing a tough non-conference schedule which starts at Cochrane-Fountain City Nov. 30, then we play at Mondovi, McDonell Central and Durand. With our first six games on the road, we may be road weary by the time we have our first home game in January but we will know where we stand right away,” he added.

Junior varsity and C-team players for now are juniors Michael Hurlburt and Rowdy Kadinger, sophomores Jacob Jensen, Mitchell Kiekhafer, Caleb Korevaar, Adam Pretasky, Marcus Reisdorf, Taylor Sarauer, Brett Schindler, Treyton Teige and Jonathan Welk and freshmen include Koby Flodquist, Luke Heidorn, Jackson Hellmann, Thomas Jensen, Wyatt Olson, Zachary Paffel, Tate Russell, Trevor Rothbauer, George Scharlau and Ben Thompson.