2023 Pigskin Preview: Northwood-Kensett’s youth preparing for tough schedule

(ABC 6 News) — The 2022 season for Northwood-Kensett Football was a bit of a rude awakening in some ways. In head coach Trevor Hunt’s first season, injuries and a small roster plus a difficult schedule exposed the long road Vikings Football has to get back to winning more frequently.

But even with a substantial number of underclassmen coming in from junior high and junior varsity, Coach Hunt believes they’ll make the transition into varsity play.

As for the upperclassmen, wide receiver/linebacker Kooper Julseth and quarterback Colby Eskildsen are aware of how much they have to lead by example with how few fellow seniors the team has.

Julseth was an All-District player as a wideout last season, leading the Vikings with 3 touchdowns and 384 receiving yards. As a defender went from corner to linebacker and racked up 31.5 total tackles with 2.5 for a loss.

Eskildsen enters the new campaign with plans to improve his passing game. The Vikings are still adjusting to adding that to their repertoire after a run-heavy offense in the past under Dave Capitani. Eskilden threw for 687 yards with 6 touchdowns and 10 interceptions plus 168 rushing yards.

The Vikings begin the new season on the road against Janesville on August 25.