John's Journal: The Owls Are Finally Home In Hancock

HANCOCK – Twenty grown men sat quietly in Room 115 at Hancock High School. It’s normally a math classroom but on this late Friday afternoon the theme of the activity was Nine-Player football. It was Dad’s Night for the Hancock Owls, and by tradition the fathers hear a scouting report and watch film as head coach Chad Christianson stands in front of them, offering insights into what they may see on the field in a couple hours.

The men view video of the Owls’ game a week earlier against Border West in Wheaton, a narrow 30-28 win. One week before that, the team opened the season with a 52-0 victory at Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal. They also watch video of tonight’s Week 3 opponent, the Ortonville Trojans.

Christianson said, “If we run up the middle we should be able to pick up five yards a pop.”

The football expectations are high every year in Hancock, which the coach touched on when he said to the dads, “We’ve told the kids we have to be prepping every week like it’s the state championship game.”

After the two road games, tonight’s festivities, starting with this 4:45 p.m. meeting in Room 115, will be different. The Owls’ home field is across town in this community of 857 people, 124 of whom attend ninth through 12^th grade at the K-12 school. Hancock is in western Minnesota, 160 miles from Minneapolis and less than 70 miles from the South Dakota border. And for everyone who lives here, it is a home that they are proud of.

That’s why this game is especially significant. It will be the Owls’ first true home game in nearly two years. Their final home game of 2022, a win over Cedar Mountain in the Section 2 playoff semifinals, was followed by two road games; that season ended in a loss to Spring Grove in the state quarterfinals at Macalester College in St. Paul.

And with that, the Owls became nomads. Their home field, which doubles as the outfield for the high school baseball team as well as the local amateur baseball team, the Hancock Orphans (seems fitting, right?), had perennial flooding problems whenever it rained, and in previous years home games had to occasionally be moved elsewhere due to unplayable conditions.

Enough was enough, and in early 2023 the field was ripped up and rebuilt. Drainage tile was put in, an irrigation system was added and the ground was seeded. Grass, of course, doesn’t grow overnight so the Owls played every game on the road in 2023. They played their four “home” games on nearby artificial turf fields at Big Cat Stadium at the University of Minnesota Morris and Minnewaska Area High School in Glenwood.

On Friday, after the dad’s preview was complete, the fathers walked down a hallway to the locker room. As they got closer, loud music could be heard thumping from the locker room. “All the Way Turnt Up” by Roscoe Dash & Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em was booming through a speaker as one of the dads held the door open and said with a grin, “I should shut my hearing aids off.”

The next tune was more familiar to the older gentlemen: “I Was Made For Lovin’ You” by KISS, circa 1979. It’s a warm day and players hydrate by drinking from gallon jugs of water. All are in stocking feet.

Adding to the tradition of Dad’s Night, the 26 players were dressed for the game, with the exception of shoulder pads, jerseys, helmets and shoes. The boys were waiting for their dads to help them strap up their shoulder pads, and then the older men pulled the jerseys down over their son’s pads.

Christianson said a few words to the group before opening it up to dads who cared to speak. The fathers, many of whom had stood in this same spot as players, talked about teamwork, family, pride, tradition. They were told, “You’re in here because you love the game. And the people in here love you.” There were hugs and tears.

Christian had said earlier, “I tell people if you want to see a grown man cry, come to the locker room on Dad’s Night.”

When it was time to head to the field, Christianson said simply, “OK gentlemen, have a day.”

(The team also has a night designated to honor the players’ mothers, when the kids hand-write letters to their moms and present them with flowers.)

The Owls carried their cleats with them, sitting on the grass outside the school and tying their shoes. Then came another special tradition that was returning for the first time in two seasons: the team walks from the school to the field on game days. It’s about five blocks, and on this night the fathers join their sons for the journey through town on an 80-degree day.

Down Hancock Avenue, then Washington Avenue, under canopies of shade trees, they walked in silence. Coaches, players and fathers. It took about 10 minutes to make the trip, with folks already gathered at the field long before kickoff.

As the group reached the field, fans took photos and offered encouragement. “Let’s go boys!”

Someone asked a young student, “Is your mom crying? It looks like she’s crying.”

The mom was Ashley Christianson, Chad’s wife, who is a kindergarten teacher and photographer of school events. Ashley grew up in Wadena, Chad in nearby Verndale and they were high school sweethearts. Ashley would go to Verndale to watch Chad play football during the afternoon (because Verndale had no lights at the time), then change into her cheerleader uniform and be on the sideline for Wadena’s game that evening. The Christiansons have three daughters.

As the Owls and Trojans warmed up on the lush, perfect 1.3 acres of heavenly lawn, more spectators arrived and many headed to the concession stand. Burgers and fries were a hot item at nine dollars, with proceeds going to Hancock’s post-prom activities. Business was so good that half an hour before kickoff there was a five-minute wait for burgers to come off the grill. Absolutely nobody complained.

The Owls have a practice field at school, which will help the new turf maintain its richness. This year, stencils were used (for the first time) to paint large white numbers next to the lines every 10 yards. They weren’t easily visible for the multitudes standing on the sidelines or sitting in lawn chairs or on blankets – or from backyard decks for a couple of lucky homeowners -- but they looked fantastic from the highest level of the three-story press box, and surely looked even better for whoever was watching from a much higher altitude, whether those football fans were angelic or alien.

Chad Christianson, 41, is in his 15^th year as the Owls’ head coach. He’s also the athletic director and teaches college-level math. There were some lean times in the early years but the Owls have become a strong program in the Nine-Player game. And the coach knows a lot about challenges and overcoming obstacles: He has suffered two heart attacks, the first when he was 29, and has a pacemaker implanted next to his heart.

Hancock was the state runner-up in 2019, losing to Mountain Lake Area 22-14 in the Prep Bowl. They went 9-2 in 2022 and dropped down a bit to a 5-5 finish last year. This year’s team is headlined by senior Chase Evink, a 6-foot-6, 246-pound running back/linebacker/defensive end – and basketball and baseball player -- who will continue his education and football career at North Dakota State.

The head coach described Evink succintly: “He’s kind of a dude.”

To absolutely no one’s surprise, Chase had a big night against Ortonville. He carried the football 12 times for 190 yards and three touchdowns, including a 66-scoring burst that included shifty feet, stiff arms, raw speed and pure power. Teammate Jeremiah Schmidgall ran 65 yards for a score, Nathan Kellenberger caught a 64-yard TD pass from Brady Luthi and Levi Kellenberger returned an interception seven yards for six points.

“I've been really looking forward to this night,” Chase said after the Owls led 46-0 at halftime and wrapped up a 60-6 win. “It's fun to walk down here from school again and it’s amazing to play at home.”

Ortonville had only 16 players in uniform, and injuries whittled that number during the game. Hancock finished with 485 total yards to the Trojans’ 94.

The setting was not only much-anticipated for everyone in Hancock, but it was also everything that makes the atmosphere of small-town football special. Early in the evening, a train horn was heard as a locomotive rolled through town. As darkness settled in, the background noise was provided by crickets in the neighborhood and cheers from the crowd.

As is automatic in such places, young kids played sandlot football while paying zero attention to the actual football game taking place a few feet away. The littlest kids threw a ball around behind one of the end zones while kids a bit older did the same on the baseball infield. Their high-pitched hollering added to the sweetness of the ambient noise.

At halftime, the Owls left the field. But not for the back of an end zone or an equipment shed and certainly not for the distant school. The playing field is surrounded by a single strand of rope, supported by posts, and as the first half ended, Hancock senior Seth Feuchtenberger held the rope up over his head so his teammates and coaches could pass underneath. Seth checks in at 6-foot-5 and 301 pounds so this was not a heavy lift.

They walked behind the press box, where the lights of the field didn’t quite illuminate everything, and simply sat on the grass in a neighbor’s yard. In the category of “You can’t make this up,” John Mellencamp’s “Small Town” played over the stadium sound system.

No, I cannot forget from where it is that I come from
I cannot forget the people who love me
Yeah, I can be myself here in this small town
And people let me be just what I want to be

With the outcome not in doubt, a special thing happened in the fourth quarter. The Hancock roster consists of eight seniors, seven juniors, three sophomores and eight freshmen. The smallest kid on the team is ninth-grader Damon Messner, who stands all of 5 feet, 2 inches and tips the scale at 91 pounds. One of Damon’s classmates is Landon Wink, who’s a little heftier at 5-4 and 126 pounds.

Landon, one of the most popular kids among his teammates, is a special education student. He needs some assistance in things like putting on his equipment, being in the right spot at practice, lining up for drills, etc. That’s where Damon comes in. The smallest boy on the team has given himself one of the largest and most important roles in guiding and encouraging Landon.

Damon and Landon had watched from the sidelines into the fourth quarter, when they heard the coach call their names. Chad was sending them into the game as a pair of wide receivers who would stand next to each other. With loud encouragement from the starters who were now on the sidelines, Damon directed Landon to the proper position and made sure he stood still until the snap.

The two came off the field for a play, then back on, then back to the sideline for a play, then back on the field. It was magical. Landon and Damon drank water each time they came off the field, as teammates and fans cheered for them.

“The amount of care that Damon has placed into a teammate with special needs this year is above anything I have ever seen,” Christianson said. “Damon is always encouraging him, saying things like, ‘Here we go Landon, we need to run over here now.’ ”

As the game reached the final minute or so, the dynamic duo was put in the game on offense. The coach gave Damon the play, which he would relay to the rest of the offense in the huddle, and Damon must have seemed taken aback at what he heard the coach call.

“That’s right,” Christianson said. “You’re running the ball.”

Damon lined up in the slot on the left side, ran toward the middle at the snap and took a handoff. He gained a few yards and got up to raucous cheers. Again, pure magic.

During his presentation to the fathers a few hours earlier, Chad Christianson had talked about football preparation as well as preparing young boys for life as adults.

He had told the dads that one of the team’s goals was to “get better for the Tuesday after MEA.” Everyone knew the meaning of that statement; the Owls’ regular season will end with a Wednesday night home game on Oct. 16 against Otter Tail Central, and the postseason will begin the following Tuesday.

Chad also talked about their Owls’ coaching philosophy, which extends far beyond football.

“Winning games is awesome but our goal is to turn them into men,” he said. “We have 26 kids on the roster and you could ask any of the coaches, they’re all like sons to us.”

After the historic return to their home field had been completed, after handshakes and complementary words with the boys from Ortonville, the Owls gathered at midfield. They all were on one knee as Christianson spoke. He talked about the good things they had done, about what could be improved upon, and congratulated everyone on their effort and attitude.

Then he said, in what might have been the most impactful words the kids would hear on this beautiful mid-September Friday, “When we’re done here, find your parents, hug them and tell them you love them.”

The game had started at 7:01 p.m. and the final whistle came at 8:53. As the players, families and friends mingled on the thick green grass they had waited so long for, various groups posed for photos. The place was plastered with hometown smiles.

As the players slowly drifted off to make the return walk to school, this time in clusters of three or four instead of the slow, regimented group march before the game, back on the field one of the Christianson girls had a question for her dad, involving postgame activities.

Chad smiled and replied, “I’ll be a while. I have to turn the lights off.”

Postscript: This Friday the Owls will play at home again, against Ashby/Brandon-Evansville. It will be Homecoming. An official Homecoming.

--MSHSL senior content creator John Millea has been the leading voice of Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Twitter @MSHSLjohn and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts. Contact John at [email protected] or [email protected]