“The number one goal for the Brainerd Warriors for as long as I can remember has been become a family,” Ron Stolski, Brainerd’s Head Football Coach, said.

The Brainerd Warriors were able to become a family last season, and it ended in a trip to the state tournament. Now, they look to build a new one.

“When you develop a family almost on the field, it really helps when you’re in those tight games,” Brett Hague, Senior Offensive Lineman, said. “You can really pull together and get the job done.”

“It’s pretty sweet to have the trust in anyone on the field,” Braden Kramer, Senior Outside Linebacker, said. “You can trust anyone that they can do their job, that they are going to make a play.”

On the field they return starting quarterback Sam Miller, whose season ended after just four games due to a separated shoulder.

“Sam’s a quality quarterback, and we throw the ball pretty well,” Stolski said.

And Miller is already finding the chemistry with some of the new receivers.

“Gervanak, me and him have played catch since we were in third grade so we got a connection there,” Miller said.

The Warriors see their defense as a strong point as they return almost everyone from last year’s squad, and the defense has a hungry mentality going into the season.

“Big dogs gotta eat,” Kramer said. “We made shirts for our state team that said, ‘Big dogs gotta eat.’

One position where they do not have anyone coming back is the running back spot as they graduate the dynamic duo of Charlie Geraets and Max Zimmerman.

“We got a good stable of running backs,” Stolski said. “We like our running backs tough, and we’re going to see if we can develop that, but we got a good stable, I like it.”

The team kicks off their quest towards another state tournament this Friday night when they travel to Buffalo to face the Bison.

By — Anthony Scott