Aug 25, 2007 - 04:05:17 CDT
The University of Mary football team has to be breathing a sigh of relief that the season-opener is today.No more grueling conditioning drills. No more two-a-day practices.
Perhaps Erik Kruse is the most eager of them all to take the field against Augustana (S.D.)
It's been almost three years since the redshirt freshman has suited up on game day. He took last year off when his mom, Kim, died from a seven-year battle with breast cancer.
"I wasn't sure what I wanted to do," said Kruse, who worked as a welder at a machine shop during his off time. "I talked to my dad and realized I wanted to go to school."
Kruse, a 6-foot-3, 185-pound wide receiver is listed as a starter tonight.
"I missed football a lot,"Kruse said. "I thought I would be rusty. I felt better my first time out here. It was neat. It was like I needed a little break to get away from the game."
Kruse, who is from Seattle, has ties to North Dakota. His mom was a Jamestown native. His brother was a quarterback at Jamestown College.
Kruse's mom was his biggest supporter through his football career.
"My dad is a fisherman so he would be gone for a month at a time,"Kruse said. "My mom was very supportive. Through Little League and high school, she was always there."
Kruse and U-Mary will kick off the 20th year of Marauder football tonight. It will be the earliest start to the season in U-Mary history and it will also be the Marauders' first night game.
U-Mary coach Myron Schulz is eager to get a look at Augustana, a member of the North Central Conference. Augustana will be lodge brothers with U-Mary next season when it joins the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
"All I know about them is from the game film," Schulz said. "I've never seen them play in my life. You can be in the middle of the pack in the NCC and still be a good football team."
The Vikings finished last season at 5-6 overall and 3-5 in the NCC, which tied them for fifth place in the regular season standings. The Vikings threatened NCC nemesis and national powerhouse North Dakota last season. UND made a goal-line stand to sneak by for a nail-biting victory.
U-Mary finished last season at 6-4 overall and beat Bemidji State, the top team in the NSIC. U-Mary wasn't eligible for the playoffs because it was stuck in a probationary period while making the transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II. The Marauders are official members of the NCAA and can qualify for the postseason.
"They run a 4-3 defense, have a new offensive coordinator and quarterback,"Schulz said of Augustana. "They've had all of spring ball and fall camp to prepare. It's tough during the season because you only have three days to prepare."
Daniel Millus of Upland, Calif., is listed as the starting quarterback on Augustana's depth chart. The Vikings' go-to guy is senior wide receiver Tommy Ellingworth. The senior amassed 651 receiving yards and five touchdowns last season.
"We will have to have an awareness of him," Schulz said. "They will move him around a lot. He won't be in the same spot every time."
The Marauders return just one starter on offense quarterback Blair Sandy and 10 on defense. Despite the lack of experience on offense, Kruse believes the Marauders will be ready for their first test of the season.
"We have come together well," he said. "We have a lot of weapons. Nobody seems to be nervous at all."
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