Hutchinson football

[50PoundHead]

By the way Murtha had a classmate named Nate Swift, who set the receiving record at Nebraska, the problem started with Mason turning off the coaches with their BS. Minnesota could have used those two....guaranteed

In the classic, "heard it from a friend who heard it from a friend who. . ." Mason told Swift he wasn't fast enough to play in the Big 10. Mason wanted Murtha and Mortenson, but told Swift he'd have to walk on. I believe Swift did walk on at Nebraska before earning a scholarship.

I have also heard that the Hutchinson coaches tried to sell Mason on Mitch Erickson (who went to South Dakota State and was on the Seahawk practice squad last year), but Mason wasn't interested in him either.

In talking with people familiar with the situation, the Hutchinson folks were disappointed with Mason's opinions on Swift and Erickson, but they were really ticked about his demeanor, which they thought was condescending.

 

[Edpoli]

I'vebeen able to watch football in the w. suburbs for quite awhile. Wright county football is probably under rated in the state. I think Hutch got a dose of reality when the hit the Wright County. There is no doubt that they have a strong tradition but they've been very average in the past seveal years. If my memory is correct GSL has had the upper hand in the contest over Hutch in the last few contests. Nothing against Hutch but it seems that they've been pretty average for the last few years. It's interesting to see what the conference coaches have to say about their best players. Considering the Wright County has produced several high quality players (Carlson, Spaeth, Vandesteeg, Triplett) shouldn't the U consider the players that the conference coaches consider their "best"?

 

[MJGopher]

My point is simply that in the 80s and 90s Hutch served as a model program for GSL and other schools in the area. Quality coaches, a youth program that reflected what the h.s. team did (plays and schemes), "bigger, faster, stronger" programs, etc, etc. A number of GSL kids (and Dassel Cokato kids) used to (again, back in the 90s) come to Hutch's health clubs to work out and they saw (and heard) first-hand the expectations that were placed on players back then (this was under Grady Rostberg and his staff).

GSL is now far enough removed that they have their own identity, and their very own program that the towns can be extremely proud of. But having a strong program like Hutch nearby (and a goal of beating them), I think, meant a lot to kids from GSL (you may be old enough to remember, but if not, check for articles on the celebration in Glencoe back in 89' or 90' when they beat Hutch for the first time in many, many years - pretty nuts). I don't think anyone would argue that Hutch used to have somewhat of an elitist attitude (arguably deservedly so) when it came to football, and for it, teams wanted to beat them as much as anybody. Now, however, it seems the program is "run-of-the-mill", and again, GSL has surpassed them far and away.

Thanks for clarifying. These are all fair points. I do vaguely recall the excitement from those games back in the early 90's (although I was pretty young at that point). However, I also know that when they discontinued the rivalry in the late 90's, through the early 2000's (I believe the matchup that included Murtha/VandeSteeg was the first time in 8-10 years the 2 teams had played); I think alot of the "model" program stuff went out the window.

The coaching staff at GSL has been top-notch since the 2 programs merged. This (along with facilities built in the late 90's) are the main contributing factors to GSL's rise.

To get back to the original point, if the Hutch coaches do in fact have a bias against the Gophers, I guess - who cares? That is their problem, and they are probably only hurting their own players chances of playing DI. I am pretty confident that the GSL coaches (as well as the other Wright County Conference coaches) have a pretty good relationship with the U, as evidenced by the players who have been recruited/played for the Gophers.