Juniors will lead the Thompson Falls Blue Hawk football team this fall.

With no eligible seniors and only a handful of incoming freshmen on hand, Thompson Falls coach Jared Koskela says that juniors will form the backbone of this year’s, and next year’s Blue Hawk football team.

“We have zero local seniors, we have several seniors that will not be able to play varsity but, other than that we do have a huge junior class,” he said. “This is a team we can grow with, we just have to get some games under our belts.”

The growth of this year’s team will begin with the season-opening game at Townsend Friday night. Koskela said the Bulldogs should be a tough test to start the season with.

“They have like three-fourths of their starting lineup from last year back,” he said, “including their quarterback who looks like a spitting image of Garrett Graves to me.”

That should be of concern to Hawk fans as Graves quarterbacked the Western B rival Eureka Lions to the last two State B titles and is now in fall camp with the Montana Grizzlies Division I college football program.

“They have a very good wide receiver to go with their quarterback,” Koskela added. “We could have our hands full with those two.”

The team leaders for the Hawks this season – co-captains Trey Fisher, Jake Jacobson, Gage Fuhrman and Justin Miller – could affect how Thompson Falls deals with Townsend this week.

“Those four have been showing really good leadership,” Koskela said. “They were voted in as co-captains by their teammates, they have earned the respect of the other players.”

Fuhrman is a sophomore and Fisher, Jacobson and Miller are juniors. Koskela said Miller is a transfer from California that knows his way around a football field after having played for a much bigger program than he is in here in Thompson Falls. “The other kids are looking up to him already, he fits in well,” Koskela said, “and he wants to play at the next level, so he is pretty serious about football.”

Koskela said the Hawks’ line has also been looking good in practice. “This is the best line we have had in a while, they know how to play together,” he said. “They are strong and have pretty good size which is also good.”

The Hawks will miss their only All-State B player from last year, quarterback/linebacker Jase Sorenson, who is now in fall practice with a college program in North Dakota. “We are going to miss Jase’s quickness and his brain,” Koskela said. “He was a great player for us and, from what I understand, has been doing really well in North Dakota so far, too.”