Le Mars Community football got over the hump last year and made the playoffs for the first time in nine years. That has obviously energized the Bulldogs heading into 2023 based on weight room attendance and participation in offseason workouts. Head coach Ken Vigdal says that allowed the Bulldogs to be ahead of schedule in the first weeks of practice.
Teagen Kasel returns to man the offense for Le Mars after a strong junior year in which he threw for nearly 1,400 yards and 12 touchdowns. Coach Vigdal says this allowed the Bulldogs to tweak their offense a little more this year.
The big changes on the offensive side of the ball came in replacing Elijah Dougherty in the backfield and a pair of strong offensive tackles in Nolan Hodgson and Dylan Walking Eagle. Coach Vigdal says Le Mars has transitioned to a two-man rotation in the backfield but have some things to iron out on the offensive line.
On the defensive side of the ball, Le Mars was and continues to be strong in the box. Of Le Mars’ 17 sacks last year, 9.5 of those return led largely by the stellar play of Alex Allen. Coach Vigdal is going to rely on Allen and others in the box for continued success in halting opposing offenses.
Allen and Carson Ott made for a great 1-2 punch on both ends of the defensive line last year. While Allen returns, the Bulldogs needed a replacement for Ott, and they got it from an unlikely source in Ayden Hoag. Hoag has taken the last two years off of football but is back for his senior year to complement a fellow wrestler on the defensive line.
Le Mars got the opportunity to scrimmage the defending Class 2A state champs from Central Lyon/George-Little Rock last week. That scrimmage showed Coach Vigdal that the guys need to make sure they turn things up a notch when things get going at game speed.
The Bulldogs kick off their season tonight at Sergeant Bluff-Luton. You can listen to the game on KLEM with pregame coverage beginning at 6:15.
Click here to listen to our full interview with Le Mars head coach Ken Vigdal:
2023 LE MARS BULLDOG FOOTBALL SCHEDULE:
August 25 – at Sergeant Bluff-Luton
September 1 – SIOUX CITY NORTH
September 8 – at Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley (at Hull)
September 15 – MOC-FLOYD VALLEY
September 22 – at Spencer *
September 29 – SIOUX CITY WEST * (Homecoming)
October 6 – at Fort Dodge *
October 13 – DENISON-SCHLESWIG *
October 20 – at Storm Lake *
* – denotes Class 4A District 1 game
