2023 Pigskin Preview: St. Ansgar aiming to wear down their challengers

(ABC 6 News) — The Saints are as blue-collar and lunch pail as teams come going into 2023 with their wishbone offense that aims to pound the rock.

Head Coach Drew Clevenger oversaw a Saints unit that went 5-4 in 2022 with four shutout wins, but two shutout losses as well. One of those shutout defeats ended their season in the First Round of the Class A Playoffs, a 35-0 decision against Wapsie Valley.

As Clevenger’s 24th season as head coach looms, he says the team had too many uncharacteristic mistakes that affected their playoff seeding. Going forward, execution against many of the fiercer teams will be essential in his view.

The previously noted wishbone offense will be the method of approach, looking to chip away in the trenches and tire out the defense.

There are enough players on the Saints where not everyone will need to play both sides of the ball, but Clevenger still expects conditioning to be a top priority.

St. Ansgar begins the 2023 season against Osage on August 25 in the first ABC 6 Game of the Week this year.