Brainerd Set to Open 2023 Football Season Friday Against Mahtomedi

Brainerd football is set to kick off their regular season touting a lot of experience on its roster.

“We’re probably returning about 16, 17 guys that played a lot of snaps last year,” says senior quarterback Eli Hoelz. “So that’s really promising for us to have a lot of experience and just move forward. I feel like we haven’t lost a step from last year, just building on it.”

And the Warriors believe that confidence will pay dividends as they revert back to a familiar schedule.

“We played a blend last year. We played a [Section] 5A schedule with one 6A opponent, which was nice to keep our natural rivals last year,” says head coach Jason Freed. “I think as we talk to the kids, when you play those schools and in the playoffs, you see what another level of speed looks like. If we can emulate that and get our team to play at that speed and that physicality, we feel that that will hopefully be a benefit for us as we get back down here to 5A.”

After having two consecutive seasons end in similar fashion for Brainerd football, the Warriors are attacking the 2023 season embodying two simple yet pivotal words from Coach Freed: hungry and humble.

“That’s kind of been our mantra here,” says Coach Freed. “We’re obviously excited to get the season going and we don’t want to look ahead. It’s 1-0 everyday, so for us it’s about staying humble and staying hungry. We’re not going to rest on our laurels or anything like that.”

And it’s that day-by-day mindset the Warriors can see serving as that last boost to get them over the hump.

“It’s just been really a motivator for us in the off-season,” says Hoelz. “A lot of us guys kind of got together after last season and realized that we want more. So it’s been coming for six months and now just to get on the field and stuff, it’s been really refreshing and we’re just super excited.”

Brainerd football is looking to reach state as well as the prep bowl for the first time since 2017 and 2013, respectively. Notable games for Brainerd include their season opener on the road against Mahtomedi on Friday, Sept. 1 and their home opener next Friday when they host Elk River.

Also, for the second straight year in a row, the Warriors will host the Battle of Babe’s Bell, the annual rivalry between them and the Bemidji Lumberjacks.