The 2024-2025 season has officially come to an end after playing a hard-fought conference matchup against Northwestern at home on Friday, October 16th. For the past four years, the Canes have been the underdogs in the Great Northern Conference until this year, when we returned back to the Heart of the North this season. This season was the first time most of our players have competed against these teams, so it was a big change. Even with the change and adversity, the HHS varsity football team battled hard. After losing the large 2024 class, the underclassmen were forced to step up and did an excellent job at that. With a record of 2-7, this year was definitely challenging for the Hurricanes, but it is definitely one to remember. There were only nine seniors who played this season, meaning the majority of the team was made up of underclassmen. Despite the young team, as well as the injury bug, each and every player contributed greatly and fought hard until the very end of the season.
Players were asked several questions about how the season went. The general consensus was the football team didn’t have the most successful season, but the team was definitely a tightly-knit crew. Our offense communicated well, rarely making mental mistakes, which allowed the execution of special trick plays. Our defense also communicated well and worked efficiently with an advanced defensive playbook. The defensive line was made up of all seniors and was a very dominant and effective group. We interviewed players for their opinions on the football season. Here are some of their responses. When asked if we had improved this year, senior WR Xzavier Stojek stated, “I believe mentally we have improved. Our main issue is roster depth. We just didn’t have many guys this year.” Most of the team agreed with this statement.
The biggest issue for the team this year was injuries and position changes. Due to not having as many players, when somebody would get injured, another would have to fill the spot which usually played a different position. Despite this issue, the Hurricanes always kept their attitudes positive and their heads up. When asked about the team morale, junior WR Viktor Enk stated, “I believe the team morale this year was very positive despite the losing season. Each and every one of the guys loved each other and battled for each other no matter what.” After each game, regardless of a win or loss, once Monday rolled around the guys were ready to work and practiced hard every week. Even with the losing record, we went into each game with a winning mentality.
When asked what we can improve on for next season, Junior WR Cade Schlapper stated, “I feel we as a team need to hit the weight room harder than ever. Lifting weights will be the key to our success for next season.” The team is excited to use the new Tamarack Health Fitness Center to help them achieve these off-season goals.
What really got the guys on the football field going was the electrifying student section. Every home game, we had about 50-70 students cheering the Canes on. We had creative signs hanging down from the fence with sayings like, “Tiger Hunting Season”, “Dam the Beavers”, and “Blackout the Blackhawks”. The chants were loud, the spirits were high, and according to Guy Swenson, “most importantly… the studie was electric!”
The 2024-2025 football season has come to an end, and the Canes had a very challenging season filled with ups and downs. The Canes battled through adversity and hardships with great mental strength and perseverance, and grew a lot as a team. There are big things coming for the 2025-2026 season!
