October 1, 2009 at 8:49 a.m.
Chisago Lakes celebrates 40 years at homecoming this year
Over 50 players from the first unified football team are expected to be on hand as they are honored at halftime of this Friday's homecoming game against Totino Grace. One former player is planning to make the trip all the way from Texas. Cheerleaders from 1969 will be part of the celebration, as well. Jacob Klinke, the grandson of one of the players from the 1969 squad, is a senior on this year's team.
Prior to 1969, two legendary football coaches headed up the high schools in the Chisago Lakes area. Jim Molnar coached the Chisago City Indians and Hedley Ward coached the Lindstrom-Center City Chi Hi Bulldogs. When these two schools and football teams merged, Ward coached the first season and Molnar served as Athletic Director. A few years later, these two legendary coaches swapped positions.
Bob Hanson, Ward's assistant coach, recently said this about that first historic season: "Getting the consolidation passed was a big challenge, but the players started early August football practice with great spirit and enthusiasm. Camaraderie developed quickly with the Chisago City and Lindstrom players. There was a blend of talent and size when the two teams combined. This brought together numbers that provided depth that enabled the coaches to place players on offense or defense, which was very unusual 40 years ago. The smothering defense was a joy to watch! They were spirited, hard hitting, quick, and made big plays."
The Chisago Lakes Trojans (who became the Wildcats in the early 1990's) finished the season with an 8-1 record. They dominated throughout the season by outscoring their opponents 300 to 59. The team ended the season ranked 12th in the state's small division. There was no playoff system at that time.
The following ten players earned All-Conference honors: Brian Froberg (QB), Ron Keller (RB), Mike Carlson (RB), Bruce Weinreich (RB), Ron Hoffman (FB), Burnell Peterson (C), Ed Eichten (G), Rick Waldemar (G), Buzz Nelson (T), and Neal Shoquist (T).
The past 40 years of Chisago Lakes football have been a great source of pride for the people of our community and the players, parents, fans, and coaches who have been involved. During our 41st season, we look back with a great sense of pride from the past and accept the responsibility to uphold the high standards of excellence in the future.
It's appropriate that our large homecoming crowd will be on hand to honor members of the first unified team in Chisago Lakes High School history.
Chuck Fitzer also contributed to this article
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