Red Lake football players press on

By Gregg Aamot Associated Press Writer

RED LAKE, Minn. (AP) - There were prayers for the Red Lake high school football team before and after the game.

No high school in the country began its football season quite like the one at Red Lake Indian Reservation, where five months ago a student killed nine people and himself in this remote town in northern Minnesota.

Students were scared to come back. Last month, teachers, parents and elders fanned over the reservation to encourage the kids to return.

Assembling a football team was no small thing. On Friday, the Warriors opened their season with a 44-0 loss to powerful Hillcrest Lutheran of Fergus Falls in nine-man football.

"I thought they were very courageous just to keep playing as hard as they did,'' Hillcrest coach Charlie Brue said. "I just wish them well and hope that they see some success.''

Red Lake went 1-6 last season. This season, sophomore Jeff May, counted on to bolster the defensive line, is recovering from gunfire to the face. Two defensive backs decided against returning. A top running back recovering from a knee injury will miss more than half the season.

School starts Tuesday, and coach Mike Roy hopes a few more players will show up for football. In all, 23 players have practiced, though only 14 or 15 stuck with it. In a normal year, he would have more than 20 players wearing the Warriors' red and black uniforms for the first game.

On March 21, a heavily armed 16-year-old walked through the school of about 300 students after killing his grandfather and his grandfather's girlfriend. He killed a security guard, a teacher and five students before exchanging gunfire with police. Eventually, he shot himself in the head.

"I had to do a little bit of recruiting, but I didn't want to force anybody to come back to the school,'' Roy said. "But what I get from being around these guys is that they want to get back to sports.''

Hillcrest quarterback Jeff Risbrudt acknowledged this was no ordinary game.

"We prayed for them before the game and after the game,'' Risbrudt said. "I certainly feel for their situation.''

Roy was encouraged by the effort.

"We kept playing hard and hitting until the final whistle. That's all I can ask,'' he said. "We went up against a really tough team and did some good things.''

The Warriors drove to the Hillcrest 20-yard line with six minutes left in the fourth quarter, but a fumbled snap ended their best chance of scoring.

"I'm not saying we're going to go all the way, but we're going to win some games,'' Roy said.

During the summer, several Red Lake players sought special instruction. Jeff Tesch, the football coach at Bemidji State University, put on a daylong clinic for the team. He wanted to give football a boost in the basketball-crazy town.

"They are hardworking kids who showed a passion for learning the game,'' Tesch said. "Hopefully, it will help them improve and get them excited about football.''

The camp may have provided some respite from all the hardship.

"There were a lot of things we did over the summer to help us recover,'' quarterback Tom Barrett Jr. said. "It's good to be together playing football, but it's not about recovery. We'll be dealing with that for a long time and continuing to heal.''

Roy, who played for Red Lake in the late 1980s and early 90s, shook his head and smiled as he watched his team gather in a tiny huddle.

"I guess we just can't afford to get anybody hurt, right?'' he said.

Looking at Barrett, he implored, "Four quarters both ways! Are you up for that?''

"Oh, yeah,'' Barrett answered, nodding. "I can do that.''