Here's what to watch for Saturday when Northern State hosts 4-1 Winona State

There won't be many surprises Saturday afternoon when the Northern State University football team takes the field against Winona State.

Isaac Fruechte is the new offensive coordinator for the Warriors this year after having has the same position with the Wolves the past two seasons. In other words, the game should come down to which team executes best since the coaches for both teams have some idea what to expect.

While Fruechte's return to campus will be a little odd, it's something that happens in the coaching profession, said Northern head coach Mike Schmidt. He said he understands why Fruechte took the Winona job and that there are no hard feelings. The Wolves coaches have even been in a group text with him this week, Schmidt said.

Fruechte knows what the Wolves will try to do and Northern knows his schemes. The Wolves offense uses the same vocabulary as it did last season, Schmidt said, and promoted Ryan Schlichte to offensive coordinator for that very reason.

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So the familiarity is essentially a wash.

Kickoff for the annual homecoming game is set for 2:30 p.m. at Dacotah Bank Stadium. Here are four things to look for during the game.

Ty Gavin leads Winona State's ground game

Schmidt knows that the Warriors have one of the best backs in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference in Ty Gavin. Gavin has rushed for 577 net yards so far this season and is averaging 6.7 yards per carry and 115 yards per game.

The interior defense will be called upon to stop Gavin and the rest of Winona's strong ground game, Schmidt said.

Northern's defense has been largely solid this year, though it gave up 265 passing yards last week against the University of Mary.

Starting linebacker Nate Robinson will miss the first half of Saturday's game because of a targeting call in the fourth quarter last week against Mary. He will be replaced by senior Jackson Martens, who perviously played at Northern Iowa. Schmidt said it's a good opportunity for Martens and he should be ready for it.

Northern offense needs to take what Winona gives

On offense, the Wolves will need to remain patient and take what Winona allows. That probably means some short passes underneath, he said. Big plays are nice, but when players don't wait for the right opportunity, trouble can follow.

Running back Stanley Haskins, Jr., a Britton-Hecla grad, had a nice game against Mary, finishing with 98 rushing yards, including a long touchdown run. He will remain a threat, Schmidt said, and the running backs corps will have to break some tackles for longer gains.

Northern's wide receivers need to step up, run good routes and remain patient, the coach said. That will certainly help redshirt sophomore Will Madsen, who has started the past few games for the Wolves.

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Make sure special teams are special

Last weekend, Northern had two blocked extra points, which proved costly during the 27-26 overtime loss in Bismarck, N.D.

That needs to be corrected, but Schmidt said he has confidence in placekicker Payton Eue. The blocked kicks aren't going to change the strategy any when it's time to attempt a field goal, Schmidt said.

The other thing the Wolves special team unit needs to watch out for is the Winona return game. The Warriors have already returned three kicks for touchdowns this season. Northern is aware of that and needs to keep the return game in check, Schmidt said.

Home field has been an advantage this season

Northern is 2-3 on the season and has won both home games while losing all three road games. It will be nice to get back to Dacotah Bank Stadium after dropping two straight games on the road, Schmidt said.

He said it seems like every time a team gets on the bus for an away game in the NSIC, it feels like like they're already down 7-0. The Wolves hope that trend continues.

Schmidt said he expects a large crowd Saturday, and that should provide some momentum for the team.

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While it looks like the University of Sioux Falls is a strong team even on the national stage, about anything can happen in the league, he said. Some teams that haven't played their best much of the season scored a lot of points last weekend. The margin of difference between most teams is thin, making the NSIC competitive, he said.

The Warriors enter the game at 4-1 having beat Wayne State and Mary, two teams Northern has lost to. Winona's lone loss was 34-24 at Bemidji State on Sept. 17.

The game will be streamed on the NSIC Network at https://nsicnetwork.com/.

High school football: After three straight wins, Aberdeen Central hosts Brookings

In high school football, Aberdeen Central hosts Brookings in an Eastern South Dakota Conference battle at 7 p.m. Friday at the Brownell Activities Complex.

The Golden Eagles (3-3) are coming off of three straight wins against Mitchell, Huron and Watertown and are ranked fifth in the Class 11AA poll. The No. 4 Bobcats, though, will pose an interesting challenge. They have soundly beaten Watertown, Huron, Spearfish and Douglas, but those teams have been struggling this season. And Brookings, like Central and just about everybody else, was trounced by the five-time defending 11AA champions from Pierre, then lost 38-27 at home against Yankton last weekend.

Brookings (4-2) has had a balanced rushing attack this season, while defensive tackle Loehr has more than a dozen sacks and linebacker Jaxton Eck averages nearly 13 tackles per game.

Central's defense has given up just 20 points in the past three games, while the running game has found its stride with Karson Carda, Austin Erickson and Drew Salfrank all being threats.

The three straight wins should give the Eagles some momentum heading into Friday's game.

Roncalli looks to remain perfect when traveling to Webster

There are no secrets about how Roncalli gets the job done week to week. It's running the ball and a stout defense. The Cavaliers have yet to give up more than seven points in a game this fall.

That's going to pose a challenge for 2-5 Bearcats in the Northeast Conference battle that kicks off at 7 p.m. in Webster.

The Bearcats have beaten winless Dakota Hills squad that is struggling profoundly the season and have a nice NEC victory over Groton. But they have been walloped in their five losses, though they're in good company in taking a decisive loss against Winner, the No. 1 team in Class 11B.

Webster will have to find a way to move the ball and score against the Roncalli defense, which is led by linebackers Maddox May and Zane Backous and tackle Breden Livermont, among others.

Coach Billy Young has a senior-laden team, and it's shown this season. The only score allowed against St. Thomas More of Rapid City was a long touchdown pass early in the game. If the Cavaliers have a weakness it's in finding a consistent passing game, so it wouldn't be surprising to see the Bearcats load the box defensively to try and stop the Cavaliers ground attack.

Editor's note: Information about St. Thomas More's touchdown against Roncalli has been corrected in this story.

This article originally appeared on Aberdeen News: Keys to Northern State football's game against Winona State Saturday