Members of the Newberry football team gather around head coach Joe Austin, center right, during a recent practice. The Indians won’t have a game this weekend as scheduled home opponent Wolverine had to forfeit the game and no other team could be found as a late replacement. (Photo courtesy Newberry News)

2019 Newberry football schedule

(Independent schedule)

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Fri., Aug. 30 — WOLVERINE — forfeit win

Sat., Sept. 7 — STEPHENSON, 2:30 p.m.

Sat., Sept. 14 — at Ontonagon, 2 p.m.

Fri., Sept. 20 — at Forest Park, 7 p.m. ET

Fri., Sept. 27 — RAPID RIVER, 7 p.m.

Sat., Oct. 5 — NORTH DICKINSON, 1 p.m.

Sat., Oct. 12 — at North Central, 1:30 p.m. ET

Thurs., Oct. 17 — at Brimley, 6:30 p.m.

Fri., Oct. 25 — at Rudyard, 7 p.m.

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NEWBERRY — Change seems to be the perfect word to describe the Newberry football program.

Indians head coach Joe Austin was named the boss shortly before last season, so Newberry had to transition quickly last season and finished with a record of 3-6.

“It was a rough season,” Austin said. “I didn’t get the job until a week before the season began and there were some real transition issues that we had to go through there. So we struggled a little bit early on, but I think by the end of the season, that we were playing pretty hard.

“We had kind of a rash of injuries as well. So it surely didn’t go as well as anybody would’ve hoped for, but we ended up 3-6 and it was (what) it is. I think we set the tone toward the end of the season on what we expect in the future.”

This year, change comes in a bigger way as the Indians have switched from 11-player to 8-player football, which might be an even bigger transition for Newberry, both its players and fans.

As a Class D-sized school, the Indinas will be eligible for the MHSAA’s 8-player postseason, which culminates in the state championship game at the Superior Dome in Marquette.

When asked if that will be an adjustment, Austin said it probably will be, but also added that football is football, no matter how many players are on the field.

“I think it was for a lot of people, sure, and I think we’re dealing with that a little bit, the fallout,” he said. “I think a few people may not come out to play football, but it’s their loss.

“Football is football whether it’s 8-man or 11-man. The alternative, no football, just doesn’t compare to that. So we’re embracing the 8-man game. The school administration showed a lot of foresight by choosing to go 8-man and our numbers certainly reflect that in the next three or four years as well.”

Newberry will get a late start to its season after it was announced in the past week that tonight’s home opponent, downstate Wolverine, had to forfeit the game. The Indians have already been credited with a 1-0 forfeit win on the MHSAA website, www.mhsaa.com.

Instead, Newberry plays its first game on Saturday, Sept. 7, against Stephenson. The home game is scheduled for a 2:30 p.m. start.

As far as how the team looks, Austin said quarterback is set with senior Austin Troop taking the starting role. However, Troop is at boot camp for the National Guard and won’t return to the Indians until next week, so Connor Rintamaki is currently the signal caller until Troop returns.

“They’re both pretty similar,” Austin said. “They control the ball pretty well and they’re just good athletes. They’re both basketball players and they can do some things on the floor, so they’re pretty similar. We want to be able to run and pass.

“We’re excited about going to 8-man football this fall and we’re looking forward to a great season.”

Change will occur again for the Indians in the backfield as they lost two outstanding 1,000-yard running backs to graduation and will have to start over. The good thing is that the Indians’ offensive line seems stable with some veteran players.

“We lost two outstanding running backs in Brandon Christensen and Jaylen James, they both rushed for more than 1,000 yards last season,” Austin said. “Our 3-6 record wasn’t great, but we could put some points on the board and we could run the ball. So we’re definitely going to miss those two boys, but we got some other talented boys.

“We’ve got Ivan Oswald back and he was our starting fullback last year. Our line has Chandler Galor and he’s back, he’s going to be a junior. He’s got good size and we’ve got Steven Brown as our center. He returns and we’ve got Keltin Dunbar back as our guard. Our line should be as solid as we can hope for right now.”

Like the majority of the teams in the Upper Peninsula, Newberry’s players will be expected to play both ways. The good thing for the Indians is that they have 18 players to play varsity 8-player football, and they have a kicker, which can be uncommon in the U.P.

“Right now, we feel pretty lucky because I believe we have 10 juniors, seven seniors and a sophomore on our varsity squad,” Austin said. “So we can live with that. Lance Boley is our kicker. He’s our middle linebacker and on our offensive line and our backup fullback. We didn’t have Lance all last year due to an injury he had in preseason, but we’re hoping he’ll kick in his senior year for us.”

Change may be the word to describe the Indians right now, but the desire to hit the gridiron is still there and that’s definitely the case with Austin, who has coached many seasons.

“Heck yes, I’m excited every year we play football,” he said. “This will be my 42nd year.”

Ryan Stieg can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 252. His email address is rstieg@miningjournal.net.