Lincoln Lutheran football: ‘We got something special’

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – After a strong showing of 8-3 in 2021, the Lincoln Lutheran football team is determined to have another winning season.

The Warriors return a large senior class, which has been together since middle school.

“This year’s senior class has a little bit more aggressive goals,” head coach Greg Nelson said. “They want to fight for a district title, which we were probably one game away from last year and has only been done twice in Lincoln Lutheran history.”

Despite graduating a majority of the starters from the Warriors’ offensive line, the team has a strong offense, headlined by senior quarterback Garret Hoefs.

“Garret, I would say, is probably one of our best leaders,” Nelson said. “He’s played a ton of different positions, both on offense and defense, for us over the last couple of years, and he’s always the first guy to just step in and say, ‘I’ll do whatever you need me to, Coach.'”

Senior lineman Jackson Masek said despite the rebuild on the line, he’s confident in how his unit is shaping out.

“We got a really big group of linemen this year,” Masek said. “We got, I think, 15 total, so we got a really big group we can work with, plus we got a lot of guys who are willing to work and get better.”

Nelson said the biggest focus the next two weeks is on building a little bit more depth, something that is always more of a struggle in Class C-2.

“Having guys be able to practice multiple positions because the reality is if someone gets hurt, it’s maybe not plug and play with their No. 2,” he said. “It might be moving a couple other guys around to try to just fill the holes and prioritize what the problems are a little bit.”

What the Warriors may lack in depth, they make up for in team chemistry.

Nelson said the team views playing for Lincoln Lutheran as “a badge of honor” and is especially excited for the first game of the season, against city rival Lincoln Christian.

“I want everybody to know that we got something special this year,” Hoefs said. “This is a great group of guys. Lincoln Lutheran doesn’t get this every year, so I want everybody to know what we have the opportunity to do some special things this year.”