Will experience and confidence lead Nooksack Valley to a winning season in 2016?

Perhaps no Northwest Conference football team took its lumps more than Nooksack Valley in 2015. With only one returning starter and fielding a team of mostly sophomores and juniors on both sides of the ball, the Pioneers won only one game.

The good news is that the growing pains the Pioneers went through last year helped foster confidence and experience for the squad coming into this fall.

“We return 11 starters on both sides of the ball,” head coach Robb Myhre said. “Our confidence has grown, and is still growing. That will be key this season.”

Michael O’Bryan, a senior wide receiver/defensive back who caught 48 passes for 480 yards and three touchdowns in 2015, said the Pioneers struggled last season to get along, but learning from last year’s pitfalls should benefit the team this season.

“Last year, a lot of guys blamed each other after tough losses and just weren’t kind to each other,” O’Bryan said. “It seemed like a lot of guys weren’t playing for each other. This season we’ve been working outside of practice to build that chemistry, and I think that has really helped.”

That budding togetherness has helped brand a new motto for the Pioneers: “Stand Together.” That motto and the goal to work more as a team has O’Bryan feeling much more confident in the Pioneers’ chances.

“I think we look really good so far in practice,” O’Bryan said. “It’s not just a bunch of sophomores and juniors running around, but a bunch of seniors that know how to play with each other after some bumps in the road.”

Many of the returning starters didn’t play junior varsity football, instead jumping straight from the freshman team in 2014 to varsity in 2015. After a year of varsity experience, their confidence has grown during practices this summer.

“Practices have been good so far,” Myhre said. “There is a lot of energy from our guys, and they’re ready to play.”

Junior Casey Bauman – a 6-foot-5, 200-pound quarterback, who was the Pioneers’ only returner in 2015 and, Myhre said, is currently gaining interest from college recruiters – threw for 1,600 yards and 16 touchdowns last year while adding three rushing touchdowns. He again will play a vital role in the Pioneers’ plans this season.

“We’re depending on Casey a lot,” Myhre said. “He’s going into his second year at quarterback. He’s smart with the football, and as he goes, we will go as well.”

As important as Bauman will be, the players protecting him on the offensive line will be integral to his success, Myhre said. With the Pioneers using the spread offense, the offensive line will have to give Bauman time to stand in the pocket and complete a high number of passes.

Defensively, Myhre said, the Pioneers will depend on their defensive ends – senior Evan Blankers and junior Luke Winter. Returning 1A Northwest Conference first-teamer Kyle Vedman, a senior linebacker, also brings experience and talent to the defense.

“The biggest goal for this team in 2016 will to be better at the end of the season than the beginning,” Myhre said.

This story was originally published August 31, 2016 at 1:00 PM with the headline "Will experience and confidence lead Nooksack Valley to a winning season in 2016?."