(Coon Rapids) Coon Rapids-Bayard looks to play the role of spoiler on Friday night when they match up with Exira-EHK.
At 3-4 it hasn’t been the year the Crusaders would’ve hoped for, but they’ve had some impressive moments along the way. “The kids have been pretty resilient. We’ve been through a lot with injuries and the kids have really responded. The biggest surprise this year is our passing game has come alive. Our senior at quarterback Tanner Oswald has done an awesome job for us. A couple of other seniors Preston McAlister and Easton Hayes and Peyton Betts have really have done some great things for us.”
The Crusaders did an about face halfway through the year and went from a run heavy team to a squad that throws the ball over 20 times per game. “Just a little bit was a lack of size up front. We still try to run the ball when we can, but just inexperience up there and we have some good athletes so we want to get those guys out in space and put them in one-on-one situations and exploit some things that way.”
Back-to-back dates against Audubon and CAM haven’t been friendly to coach Chris Mohr’s squad. It wasn’t long ago they sat at 3-1 and were averaging over 45 points per game, but now they are trying to snap a three game losing streak after falling to CAM 82-22 last week. “They are a really good football team. Big up front. (Lane) Spieker is probably the best offensive threat we’ve ever seen since I’ve been coaching. We got our passing game going. They were trying to jam us and we got over top on them, so that was a good feeling, but shortly after that they were able to shut that down and it was tough sledding there last Friday night.”
Coach Mohr says against Exira-EHK it all starts with containing quarterback Trey Petersen. The junior has passed for over 1,400 yards this season and run for 475 yards. Exira-EHK needs a win against Coon Rapids-Bayard and a Boyer Valley loss to CAM in order to extend their season.
Coon Rapids-Bayard coach Chris Mohr:
