THOMPSON FALLS — Thompson Falls was moved from 8-Man to Class B football this year, and despite the small roster and adjustments, the team says there are no excuses for not having success.
"These guys are fine," said Thompson Falls head football coach Jared Koskela. "They’re welcome to the challenge and it’ll just take time to get our chemistry down, but once we do, watch out."
After posting a 30-3 record over the last three years while playing 8-Man, and winning last year's state title, the Blue Hawks know what it takes to win.
"These kid’s confidence from last year is just outstanding and I can work with that," said Koskela confidently. "And these guys have been showing it, they haven’t really shown that, you know, that they’re getting beat up at all. It’s just the confidence that they can go through all the way through November and they can compete with anybody."
Confidence that is evident in the fourth-year quarterback Elijah Ratliff’s chip-on-the-shoulder mentality.
"I’m most excited to prove people wrong," said Ratliff. "I heard for the first three years that we wouldn’t be anything if we were an 11-Man team, but we’ve got several games left to prove we’re a top team in the state."
Despite owning the smallest team in Class B football with only 14 players on the varsity roster, the Blue Hawks don’t use it as an excuse.
"We try and set goals that are achievable for ourselves you know," said senior linebacker and tight end Breck Ferris. "So our first goal would definitely be playoffs, you know shock the world there and then if we can you know, go for that state championship again. It’d be fun to win it."
And as they battle through their first season back in Class B since 2018, they couldn’t be hungrier.
"It’s more of a sense of pride than it is anything, you know," said Ferris. "If we can win one and we get moved up we should try and go for another you know, just to prove that we aren’t just some 8-Man team."
