KEN VIGDAL, OGDEN'S new football coach, has had to work fast as he arrived on the scene three weeks ago to replace Rick Hamilton who has coached the Bulldogs since 1998. Vigdal is pleased with what he has seen so far as he's setting up a basic Wing-T offense, with modifications to come - developing a more hybrid type as he calls it - and staying with something the Dogs are familiar with, a 3-5 defense.
Not only that, numbers are up this year - 49 in all, enough to put together a JV and freshman schedule - and his assistant coaches, Brian Reimers, Dave Neubauer, Sean DeMoss and AJ Pfaltzgraff, have bought into his system with pride and enthusiasm. Seniors are starting to show good leadership as they take on the challenge of "learning to do a lot of things."
"Our practices are being done in short, fast segments," Vigdal explained. "They're being done faster than what the Bulldogs will face in actual games. They have to learn to think fast as we work with quick huddles, pursuit, blocking, etc. We're working hard on basic fundamentals and we're concentrating on learning to do things well one step at a time. We' don't want to overwhelm them with too much new stuff right now."
Vigdal said all positions are open.
"We're moving the kids around in different positions to see where they'll fit in best," the coach told. "I'm not even sure today who our starting quarterback will be Friday when we open against Perry."
Soph Gabe Summerhays, 5'11", 165 lbs., will probably see plenty of kicking action, however.
Eight 2008 starters are back, including seniors Conner Anderson, 6', 200 lbs.; Brett Daniel, 6'2", 190 lbs.; and Sean Nichols, 6', 185 lbs. Thomas Vigdal saw action at quarterback and defense on a rotation basis as a member of the Sioux Center Warriors last year.
Returning junior starters are Tyler Baumhover, 6'3", 185 lbs.; Jared Hefler, 5'7", 150 lbs.; and Asher Van Sickle, 6', 155 lbs. Sophomores include John Brown, 5'6", 200 lbs., and Tanner Wilson, 6'1", 195 lbs.
Other letterwinners include seniors Tony Allen, Kurt Cleveland, Colton Good, and Nick Katzenmeier. Juniors: Ryan Cottington, Tyler Happe, Wade Olson and Kyle Paulson. Sophomores: Adam Adreon, Brandon Brend, Nolan Eich, Gabe Summerhays, Josh Turner and Nick Wassenaar.
The new coach says he is happy being back in Ogden. He taught math at Howe Elementary in the late 1990s, but moved to Sioux Center where he has been head football coach for the past 11 years. He had hoped to become the head coach here back then but did not get the job when the legendary Larry Tryon resigned in 1998 after 21 years at the helm.
Vigdal had success at Sioux Center as most of his seasons were plus .500. The Warriors were a playoff contender in 2001, and had the present playoffs rules been in effect during some of his other years, his teams would have qualified. In fact, even with season records of 7-2 and 8-1, the Warriors were left out of postseason play.
Both Tryon and Hamilton put the Bulldogs in the state finals, although neither won the championship. Vigdal hopes he can build on that tradition.
It's hard to predict just what's going to happen during this year's campaign, however.
"It's back to the basics," Vigdal said. "We're spending a lot of time on fundamentals, but it's encouraging as we see the mistakes the kids are making are correctable mistakes."
The Dogs are not particularly big and speedwise, they're probably "about average." The freshman class, however, has some sizeable kids and Vigdal plans to keep them together.
Senior squad members will share captains' duties throughout the season.
Ogden's two opening non-district games are tough. Perry returns a key runner along with overall experience while South Hamilton is always well coached and prepared.
Tryon and Hamilton
Larry Tryon died May 9, 2008, several years after he retired from the Ogden school system as a biology teacher. Hamilton ramains at OHS as the industrial arts instructor.
The complete fall sports schedule can be found on page 8 today. Previews of the cross country and volleyball teams, along with photos, will be published in a future issue.
PHOTO ID: Front row, left to right, Nolan Eich, Brandon Brend, Wade Olson, John Brown, Thomas Vigdal, Nick Wassenaar, Tyler Happe. Middle row: Colton Good, Kyle Paulson, Gabe Summerhays, Ryan Cottington, Tony Allen, Asher Van Sickle, Conner Anderson, Brett Daniel. Back row: Adam Adreon, Nick
Katzenmeier, Josh Turner, Sean Nichols, Kurt Cleveland, Tyler Baumhover, Tanner Wilson. Jared Hefler also lettered but is not pictured. -Ogden Reporter photo
|
