The reigning Class 1A state champion Grundy Center football team is preparing for the season with a fair amount of starters to replace, but also some key returners.
At running back, Brody Zinkula enters his senior year after recording the third-most rushing yards on the team last year. Head Coach Travis Zajac expects Zinkula to be a key figure in the offense.
“He grew so much last year as a junior, as compared to the limited touches he got as a sophomore,” Zajac says. “I mean, that’s to be expected. The running back spot in our offense is one that’s probably the most difficult position to thoroughly know and understand, because there’s, unfortunately, a lot of memorization involved in what responsibilities are. And Brody’s been all that I could ask for, and then some, just his retention of the information. And obviously, he’s a highly decorated athlete in the sport of football and multiple others. He’s poised for a really, really good season. Behind him, the kind of spell would be Pete Lebo. Pete was a 13-game starter last year for us defensively, so we feel really good about the running back position right now.”
Other key returners on offense include center Ryker Thoren and tight end Tiernan Vokes.
The roster will feature some others who were part of the last two championship teams, but didn’t record many varsity snaps. Zajac says the key this season is staying humble and battling complacency.
“We’ve got so many kids that have kind of been a part of those teams. They haven’t played a lot of the snaps in those varsity games. They’ve been on teams that won state championships. And now it’s their turn. It’s their turn to step up and be the guys that are playing on the field. And that doesn’t just happen. You’ve got to do everything right and do all of the extras. And then have luck with the injury situation, things like that, in order to reach your potential and play late in the season. And all that really is messages from the coaching staff, but it’s always going to be driven by the players. They’re the ones that are going to kind of drive this thing. And as far as they’re willing to take us from a leadership perspective and showing our team the right way to go about doing our business, will kind of dictate how our season goes.”
The Spartans will open the season on Friday, August 30 by hosting Dike-New Hartford.
