LONE TREE FOOTBALL

Lions prepare for week zero kickoff

By Jeff Yoder
Posted 8/14/21

Counting down the days until the season’s first game is an annual tradition for many football teams and their fans. But in Lone Tree this year, the countdown skipped from 24 days to 16 in just …

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LONE TREE FOOTBALL

Lions prepare for week zero kickoff

Posted

Counting down the days until the season’s first game is an annual tradition for many football teams and their fans. But in Lone Tree this year, the countdown skipped from 24 days to 16 in just a two-day span. 

The Lions received word on a Tuesday that fellow district member Tri-County would be sharing a team with Oskaloosa for the 2021 season, leaving an opening on the Lions schedule for September 17.

By Wednesday, Lone Tree and Midland agreed to turn their August 20 scrimmage into an official game, leaving a bye week in the middle of the Lions’ season.

“We just tried to get on it as soon as possible because we want to play games. We always want to play a full schedule,” Lone Tree head coach Aaron Bohr said.

The Lions briefly considered looking for an 8-man opponent from Illinois for the bye week, but communicated with a few schools, including Midland, and decided to go that direction. 

“Thankfully, they obliged,” Bohr said. “After that we had to get a certain number of practices in, so we just got right to it.” 

The week zero start leaves little preparation time for Lone Tree, but the visitors from Midland are in the same situation. While the Lions won’t have many practices under their belt for the August 20 kickoff, most of the starters have varsity experience from 2020.  

“We only lost three seniors from last year,” Bohr said. “We have so many guys that, even if they didn't play a whole bunch, they each kind of  had their niche last year.

“I've said it a number of times, but there probably aren’t too many in the state that will benefit more from having played last year. Because all these guys got some experience, and they all know they can do it now. So, I think that's really going to be the key thing that helps us out.”

Lone Tree’s senior quarterback Cade Shield had just three catches, six carries and two pass attempts at the varsity level prior to last season. He’ll begin the season with much more experience this year after throwing for 977 yards and rushing for 460 as a junior. 

“I feel a lot more comfortable,” Shield said. “I've learned a lot in the past year and hopefully I can build on that.”

Senior Tyler Bell, who plays tight end and defensive line is excited to play the season opener this year after missing the first few games with an ACL injury a year ago. He said that he feels further along on the defensive side of the ball after the first week of practice. “Definitely defense,” he said. “I like laying people out.” 

Bell said that physicality will be a strength of the defense this season, as well as experience. 

Lone Tree also returns its leading receiver, senior Cade Patterson, who caught 37 passes for 511 yards and seven touchdowns last year. 

“They're a good group,” Bohr said about the seniors.  “They're really kind of businesslike in their preparation. They're all kind of quiet guys, but they've been terrific as far as displaying leadership and keeping guys accountable.”

On the defensive side of the ball, junior Mathew Hemsted had the most tackles among the returning players with 47.5 from the linebacker position. Junior Caden Smith led the team in tackles for loss with 8.5. 

“Our junior class — even last year, they really stepped up and we had a lot of guys that have been vocal,” Bohr said. “We’ve got a lot of guys that are doing the right thing and showing the young guys a better way.”

The Lions lost leading rusher Alex Viner to graduation, and QB Cade Shield is the only returner who carried the ball more than three times last year. 

“We’ve got a lot of guys that can do a good job filling the gap,” Bohr said. “Cade is definitely going to see a lot more action. Joe Boxwell and Matt Hemsted are two guys that have really looked good at running back. They'll do a lot of blocking, but they'll get some touches as well.

“Cade Patterson will get a whole bunch of balls his way. He did a really good job last year. He probably had as good of a receiving season as anybody in Lone Tree has had in a while. And Tyler Bell, now that his knee is back to full health, he's going to get a lot of touches, because he's a load.”

Even with limited practice opportunities, the Lions are looking forward to getting the season started. And the Lone Tree seniors are looking forward to having a more typical Friday night experience during their final season.

“It's been good,” Patterson said. “It's a lot different than last year when we didn't really have much time in the summer. 

“It feels a lot better. “We're going to have people in the stands and all the fans here. It's going to be a great environment.”