Tracy High School's football team will engage in a four-team scrimmage Saturday, Aug. 23, at Slayton. The open-to-the-public scrimmage at 7p.m. will feature Tracy, Slayton, Wabasso and Storden-Jeffers.
Coach Gale Otto who scheduled twice-a-day drills this week after one-a-day workouts during conditioning last week, will get a "first look" at many players that will be needed to fill spots on this year's team.
Otto has only nine returning letter-winners and one saw no action last year. In addition, Otto knows that after the first two games against Redwood Falls and Marshall respectively, his team must be ready for Little Sioux Conference race starting at Olivia.
Mike Devetter is a senior quarterback who saw extensive action a year ago. Terry Schaar is a veteran running back and Doug Schmitz and Steve Carter have seen fullback action, but Carter was out all of last year.
In the line where some experts say the game is won or lost, Otto will have senior veteran guards Ivar Peterson and Joel Van Moer. David Schmidt and Pat Eischens are tackles and Mark Daniels is an experienced end.
There may be some shifts as Otto works his juniors and seniors into the squad. Seniors Dan Silvernale, Ken Hannasch, Ty fiegen, Bill Fredericks and Darren Donner could win spots while juniors Steve DesLauriers, Mark Biederman and Mark DeVetter will be eyeing starting positions.
But lack of size and experience will be a detriment to this year's team and it will depend on how quickly the team can jell, Otto says.
-Redwood drops Tracy in opener
Tracy Headlight-Herald, Sept. 6, 1980
Redwood Falls capitalized on size and ability Friday night to dominate Tracy in the opening game of the football season and had the Scrappers a 20-0 loss.
"we didn't play very well, but we played a good team," said Tracy Coach Gale Otto. "They were bigger than us, and they weren't slouches."
Redwood's offense, led by Chad Jonson's 128 yards rushing, rolled up a total of 267 yards rushing, rolled up a total of 267 yards on the ground. The Cardinals threw only one pass and completed it for 12 yards and racked up 16 first downs.
Tracy, in the meantime, was held to just three first downs and 79 yards rushing. The Scrappers hit two of 10 passes for 20 yards and were intercepted twice.
After a scoreless first quarter, Johnson broke the ice for Redwood with a 23-yard sprint to paydirt. He repeated the action in the third period and Mike Erie iced the game in the fourth with a five-yard dash.
Scrappers statistics listed Terry Schaar with 57-yards rushing as the top ground-gainer for Tracy.
Otto said his team "looked rough and ragged" in the Redwood game and pointed out that the Scrappers are working on execution during drills this week. Some defensive changes may be coming, he hinted.
Friday, the Tracy club takes on Marshall on the Tiger field. "They'll be tough," Otto predicted, stating that although the Tigers were nipped by Montevideo last week, they rolled up nearly 300 yards rushing in that game.
-Marshall wins, 22-6, but Scrappers look to Friday
Tracy Headlight-Herald, Sept. 11, 1980
Tracy's 22-6 defeat at the hands of the Marshall Tigers Friday night is history, according to Coach Gale Otto. "We told the kids that 0-2 doesn't mean very much. We're 0-0 in the conference."
After two non-conference losses, Tracy will play in the Little Sioux football conference for the first time this Friday when the Scrappers travel to Olivia. Olivia, according to Otto, is a rushing ball team which uses a 215-pound fullback successfully up the middle while it sweeps right and left on opponents. As usual, it will be up to the Scrapper line to contain their opponents in the northland.
"we were pleased with our performance in a number of areas in the Marshall game, despite the score," said Otto. "our offensive and defensive lines did an excellent job and were a very bright spot from a week before. Also, we controlled the ball more, but we gave up he long runs."
Mark Templeton will be quarterback this Friday while Mike DeVetter, who was field general for the Scrappers in the Redwood game, will be utilized as a flanker back because of his pass receiving abilities.
Terry Schaar was again the Scrapper workhorse ground-gainer.
-Scrappers earn first win as Madison falls, 15-0
Tracy's football Scrappers received their first test ever of Little Sioux Conference victory Friday night in a 15-zip Homecoming win over the visiting Madison Dragons.
Coach Gale Otto's club dominated the game with a 201-yard rushing total while the Scrapper defense, lead by Dan Silvernale and Pat Eischens, held the Dragons to 87 yards on the ground.
The win puts Otto's team at 1-4 overall and 1-2 in the Little Sioux league heading into this Friday's tilt at Canby.
For the night, Schaar was the game's leading rusher with 145 yards in 26 carries, while Schmitz finished with 35 yards in nine carries.
-Tracy Headlight-Herald, Oct. 2, 1980
More Homecoming highlights:
Monday is "Toga Day;" Tuesday, "Twin Day;" Wednesday, "My Mommy Dressed Me Day;" Thursday, "Hobo Day;" and Friday, "red and Blue and Hat and Scrapper Wrapper Day."
Coronation events have been changed from Thursday to Tuesday night this year by the student council to allow the selected king and queen a chance to "reign" over more of the week's festivities. A snake dance will begin at 7:30pm with students gathering at Central Park, then weaving out to the high school field. There, the coronation will be held at about 8:15. Football players will ride the Tracy fire truck to the coronation and king and queen candidates will ride on cars.
This year, another pep fest is planned for 7 p.m. Friday at Scrapper Stadium with parents invited to come early and participate Tracy will take the field against Madison at 7:30, followed by the annual Homecoming Dance which will feature music by "Volcano."
Pat Eischens and Amy Nelson were crowned king and queen.
Racking up 280 yards in total offense and holding Granite Falls to just 56, Tracy's football Scrappers rolled to their third straight win for Coach Gale Otto Friday night.
The 23-6 victory came on the heels of two big shut-out wins over Madison and Canby in the previous weeks. "We're trying to get it going," said Otto. "Ortonville will be our big test Friday night."
Statistics told the story for Tracy in the Granite Falls game as the Scrappers doubled their opponents in first down and shut off the airways completely for the visitors. All ten of Granite's passes were incomplete, except for one intercepted by Tracy.
Terry Schaar raced for 87 yards in 22 carries and Dough Schmitz carried the ball 15 times for 72 yards. Otto praised the entire Scrapper defense for doing an excellent job. "I was very pleased, except for the penalties," said the coach. The Scrappers lost 93 yards on a total of 11 penalties during the game.
Tracy is now 3-4 overall and 3-2 in the Little Sioux Conference. The Scrappers have moved up to fourth place in the conference standings, with Terry Schaar still the league's rushing leader with 566 yards after five games.
This is a collection of game films from the Tracy Scrappers class of 1981. The films were digitally scanned and match the original film quality. Slow-motion was added so you can see yourself catch a pass, make a tackle, or miss a block. You can control…
This is a collection of game films from the Tracy Scrappers class of 1981. The films were digitally scanned and match the original film quality. Slow-motion was added so you can see yourself catch a pass, make a tackle, or miss a block. You can control the film speed from the settings button on the player. Follow this channel for updates. A player roster for this season is available at tracyscrappers.com
