H.S. football preview: Gladstone
It’s no secret that the Gladstone Braves football team has struggled the past few years. They’ve won just two games the last two seasons.
But the dark times for the Braves appear to be now a thing of the past.
Cody Kangas was hired as the Braves head coach in late June. Kangas has a very solid football background. He played for his Dad, Todd, at Manistique High School. The younger Kangas coached the Emeralds jayvee team last season.
Kangas has installed a completely different offense and defense at Gladstone. He says that his players are picking up the new system quite well.
“Their skills are getting a lot better. We work skills everyday,” said Kangas. “The transition from different offenses and different defenses is going really well for the first year. I’ve been very impressed with this group.”
“We have a lot of senior leadership and I think they are taking it in stride. They think that they have a fighting chance in the GNC (Great Northern Conference). This has always been a goal of mine, to a be a varsity head coach,” Kangas added.
“I think the team has progressed well learning the new offense and the new blocking scheme,” said Braves quarterback Jared Hunter. “We’re coming together as a team, we’re starting to know the plays better. It’s all getting easier to understand and comprehend.”
“We look great so far, we’ve been working very hard in practice,” said senior defensive back Riley Ballard. “You can tell that the team comradery is great right now and we hope to keep that up the whole season.”
Gladstone begins the season on the road at Gwinn on Thursday.