Graduation Dims North Star Mullan’s Reed Has Great Promise, But League’s Offensive Leaders Have Departed North Star League Football Preview

Graduation left some big question marks in the North Star’s eight-man football league.

Mike Gow of Clark Fork, the NSL’s leading receiver the past two years, is playing NAIA football at Dickinson (N.D.) State.

The Dan Usdrowski-less Kootenai Warriors sputtered offensively in their opener, a 58-14 drubbing by Lakeside.

Mullan, however, returns the league’s premier player in senior David Reed, a bulldog-tough running back-linebacker.

The 6-foot-1, 193-pound Reed is as good of a runner as 30-year Mullan coach John Drager has coached.

A healthy Reed could be a 3,000-yard career rusher by season’s end. Knee surgery cut Reed’s sophomore season short after two games. Coaches named Reed the NSL’s Most Valuable Player in 1994 and 1992.

Mullan, ranked No. 4 in the state preseason poll, comes off a 9-1 year, including a state playoff berth.

But the NSL champ may not go unbeaten in 1995, as the Tigers did last year. Falls Christian (1-0, 1-0) and Lakeside (1-0, 1-0) could make it a three-way title chase.

The Eagles find out Friday if they are up to the task, when Falls Christian travels to Mullan. Lakeside is at Clark Fork (0-1, 0-1). Kootenai (0-1, 0-1) is at Troy for a non-league game.

Mullan and Lakeside are Clark Fork coach Frank Hammersley’s NSL favorites.

But, Falls Christian gained its share of respect last week. “They hit a lot harder and improved a lot of skilled positions,” Hammersley added.

Drager, now in his 32nd year overall at Mullan and 30th as head coach, scouted the Eagles-Cats game.

“Falls, I thought they were impressive,” Drager said. “They’re a good football team. They’re big. That’s the way we used to be.”

“We’re like a bunch of young puppies,” Eagles coach Brian Cruess said. “They’re huge. They’ve got talent, but we’re not sure what to do with it right now.”

Behind Reed, the NSL returns two of its top four rushers from 1994 in Tyson Allen of Falls Christian and Buck Allen of Lakeside, both potential 1,000-yard runners.

Back at quarterback for a third year each are juniors Ian Reuter of Clark Fork and Dan Fritz of Mullan, the NSL’s top passers in 1995.

Reed and Allen are also the top returning receivers. Each made 14 catches last year, and four of Reed’s went for TDs.

MEMO: Two sidebars appeared with the story: 1. NORTH STAR In predicted order of finish: 1. Mullan Tigers 1994 record: 8-0 NSL champs, 9-1 overall Coach: John Drager Year’s coaching: 30 Coach’s record: 215-47 Top returners: David Reed, sr., 6-1, 193, running back-linebacker; Dan Fritz, jr., 6-0, 170, quarterback; Victor Siri, sr., 6-2, 220, rb-nose guard; Adam Frank, jr., 5-11, 175, guard; Dale Stepro, sr., 5-8, 145, lb. Key newcomers: Chris Angle, jr., 6-2, 175, tight end; Al Sisk, jr., 6-2, 165, wide receiver; Steve Greenfield, soph., 6-1, 165, rb-split end. Quick kicks: Mullan has plenty of holes to fill and must do so with upperclassmen. There are no freshmen and only one sophomore among the 19 players. “The classes are small; there’s no one there,” Drager said of the lack of underclassmen. Coach’s comment: A “real healthy” Reed and the rest of his teammates reported for practice “in better shape than we’ve been.” Outlook: Mullan must develop another running back and receiving threat other than Reed, who often drags four tacklers before being stopped. “We lost a lot of good kids,” Drager said.

2. Lakeside Knights 1994 record: 5-3 (league, overall) Coach: Ron Miller Year’s coaching: Four Coach’s record: 6-20 Top returners: Buck Allen, soph., 5-10, 165, rb-lb; Chris Brown, sr., 5-11, 180, de-g; Todd Fuchs, sr., 5-8, 170, c-lb. Key newcomers: Mario Falciani, jr., 5-7, 150, qb-cb; Sam Lozeau, soph., 5-11, 180, rb-lb; Brock Halstead, soph., 6-2, 230, l; Ken Pluff, soph., 5-10, 165, split end. Quick kicks: Twenty-two of 28 Knights are freshmen and sophomores. “I’ve got a real young team - a decent team, though. I really like the way they’ve been practicing.” Coach’s comment: “We’re not overly large, but they are quick, even down into the backup positions. I think speed, being small and quick, in eight-man, it should help them defensively.” Outlook: Could be the league spoiler. “My kids could be right up there. It’s just this youth thing - I don’t really know what to expect yet. We’re an untested commodity.”

3. Falls Christian Eagles 1994 record: 1-7, 1-9 Coach: Brian Cruess Year’s coaching: Two Coach’s record: 1-9 Top returners: Tyson Allen, jr., 5-11, 160, rb; Luke Swank, sr., 5-9, 163, rb-lb; Jared Horton, sr., 6-6, 195, wr-cb; Ben Berg, jr., 5-9, 135, rb-safety; Esteban Arana, sr., 6-foot, 265, g-tackle; Matt Smith, soph., 6-1, 252, g-de. Key newcomers: Ryan Erlandson, sr., 6-2, 155, wr-cb; Matt Backs, sr., 5-8, 150, qb-lb; Joey Phelps, soph., 6-1, 200, rb. Quick kicks: The Eagles defense set up six possessions - four off fumble recoverys and two off interceptions - in last week’s 36-23 win against Clark Fork. Coach’s comment: “The difference in eight-man football always is the running back, and I didn’t realize that (last year). You can talk about our size, but Tyson Allen won the game last week. He was the difference. You’ve got to have a game-breaker when playing eight-man.” Outlook: Depth gives Cruess reason for cautious optimism. All 25 Eagles played against the Wampus Cats. “We don’t have the tradition that Mullan has. We haven’t been working all summer. We’re a football-season football team - that’s something we’d like to improve on.”

4. Clark Fork Wampus Cats 1994 record: 3-5, 3-6 Coach: Frank Hammersley Year’s coaching: Seven, fourth at Clark Fork Coach’s record: 36-21 Top returners: Ian Reuter, jr., 6-0, 160, qb-de; Mike Conn, jr., 5-6, 190, rb-lb. Key newcomers: Nick Higgins, sr., 6-2, 175, ol-de; Blaine Stevens, sr., 5-9, 155, rb-cb; Jeremy Powell, jr., 5-9, 190, ol-dl; Brent Stevens, soph., 5-7, 145, rb-cb; Nate Stutzke, freshman, 6-foot, 160, wr-cb; George Klontz, fr., 5-11, 175, c-lb. Quick kicks: Reuter led all NSL passers in 1994. One of his new wide receivers is Carla Haller, a 5-foot-7, 143-pound junior. “She plays hard. She practices hard,” Hammersley said. “She’s not afraid to get in there and mix it up. That’s unusual; she hasn’t had any experience.” Coach’s comment: “I didn’t think we did too badly, 344 yards passing and running for the first game, is not bad at all,” Hammersley said of the Cats’ opener. “Our big problem is we had so many young kids, it took them at least a half to make a decision they weren’t going to get hurt.” Outlook: This is Clark Fork’s rebuilding season. There are just four seniors among 19 players, and Reuter is the only three-year starter. “We’re still shaking some of the cobwebs out.”

5. Kootenai Warriors 1994 record: 3-5 (league, overall) Coach: Scott Shafer Year’s coaching:Four, second at Kootenai Coach’s record: 3-5 Top returners: Cory Bissaillon, jr., 5-6, 150, wr-db; Aaron Torline, sr., 6-foot, 200, qb-lb; Randy Reinhofer, soph., 6-6, 200, te-de. Key newcomers: John Sturgill, sr., 5-10, 180, wr-de; Matt Scheurrman, jr., 6-0, 200, ol-dl; Jed Olson, jr., 5-8, 190, ol-dl. Quick kicks: Size is good, but speed? “We’re as slow as molasses in the springtime,” Shafer said. “We need the speed in order to have a running game.” Coach’s comment: Only five of 19 players are upperclassmen. Bissaillon, one of three returners, injured his back in a 58-14 season-opening loss to Lakeside. He is out two weeks. “Starting from scratch is what we’re doing.” Outlook: “We’re so green. We’ve got a lot of freshmen and sophomores, even our upperclassmen haven’t played before,” but attitude is good, the coach added.

PLAYERS TO WATCH 1. David Reed, senior, 6-foot-1, 193 pounds, running back-linebacker, Mullan. The one-man wrecking crew seeks two three-peats, including a 1,000-yard rushing season and NSL most valuable player award. Led NSL rushing (1,511 yards) and touchdowns (29) in 1994. 2. Tyson Allen, junior, 5-11, 160, running back, Falls Christian. Rushed for 980 yards in 1994 and is out of the chutes fast in 1995 with 258 yards in last week’s 36-23 win over Clark Fork. Very good breakaway speed. 3. Ian Reuter, junior, 5-11, 160, quarterback-defensive end-kicker, Clark Fork. The NSL’s top passer in 1994 with 1,164 yards and 14 TDs. Quickness shows on defense; blocked a punt in opener and kicked 24-yard field goal against Falls Christian. 4. Dan Fritz, junior, 6-0, 170, quarterback, Mullan. The third-year starter poses an option threat, and may find himself keeping the ball more as teams overplay Reed. Passed for 936 yards, 15 TDs in 1994. 5. Buck Allen, sophomore, 5-10, 165, running back-linebacker, Lakeside. Is a dart and dash-type runner who should gain more than 100 yards in total offense each week.

2. NORTH STAR REMAINING SCHEDULE Sept. 1 Lakeside at Clark Fork, 3:30 Falls Chr. at Mullan, 3:30 Kootenai at Troy, Idaho, 7 Sept. 8 Clark Fork at Kootenai, 3:30 Falls Chr. at Wellpinit, 4 Mullan at Lakeside, 7:30 Sept. 15 Lakeside at Falls Chr., 3:30 Kootenai at Mullan, 3:30 Falls Chr. at Lakeside, 7:30 Sept. 22 Lakeside at Colton, 7 Falls Chr. at Kootenai, 3:30 Clark Fork at Mullan, 3:30 Sept. 29 Kootenai at Lakeside, 7:30 Falls Chr. at Clark Fork, 3:30 Oct. 6 Mullan at Falls Chr., 3 Clark Fork at Lakeside, 7:30 Oct. 13 Kootenai at Clark Fork, 3:30 Lakeside at Mullan, 3 Oct. 20 Lakeside at Falls Chr., 3 Mullan at Kootenai, 3:30 Falls Chr. at Lakeside, 7:30 Oct. 25 Mullan at Clark Fork, 3 Oct. 27 Kootenai at Falls Chr., 3