Hills Beaver Creek football team might be even better than last year’s team that made the 9-man title game

HILLS, MN (Dakota News Now) -Last year the Hills Beaver Creek Patriots made it to the 9-man championship game. But they lost 11 seniors led by Beau Bakken who’s at SDSU.

This year, they’ve been even better with future Jackrabbit Micah Bush still there... And as Cooper Seamer tells us, a lot of guys and a head coach named Metzger!

Hills-Beaver Creek has hardly missed a step all season. The team is playing with incredible efficiency on both sides of the ball.

Head Coach Rex Metzger said that’s because this team is selfless.

“They really don’t care who’s scoring touchdowns. They don’t care who the ball is going to. They just want to win football games, and I think that makes this group pretty special,” Rex said.

Being from small communities, it helps too that they’ve known each other for so long.

Especially for Rex and the four Metzger boys on the team.

Brothers Jamin and Karson, Rex’s son Brodie, and his nephew Maddox all grew up playing football with each other. Now they get to do it Friday nights.

“I mean it’s always fun playing with your younger brother. I mean, you play with him in the backyard. And then, getting to play along with your other two cousins. It’s even better than that,” Jamin said.

“It’s just fun, especially with my brother as my quarterback. I can just trust him with whatever he throws me or whatever his decisions are. And then, Coach Metzger, it’s just good because he’s really smart. He knows what he’s talking about,” Karson said.

But the Metzger boys said it’s not just them out on the field. Everytime the Patriots play under the lights, they’ve got their entire communities behind them.

“Yeah, it feels good. It feels like the fans and other players are like your family,” Brodie said.

And at this point, knowing their teammates for so long, everyone basically is family.

“We’ve been together for so long that everyone is kind of close. It’s really fun to have to have everyone together and playing is our thing. We go out there, and it’s really nothing different. We just go out there and flow,” Maddox said.

Still, Rex knows how special it is to coach his son, nephew and cousins. And with the playoffs here, any week could be the last.

“Every week goes by pretty fast, and then all of a sudden, you have your boy that you’re coaching. Some of your cousins and nephew. You just have to enjoy the moment and enjoy each game. We’re not guaranteed another week, so we’re going to try and bring it every week. To be with these guys week in and week out has been pretty awesome,” Rex said.

In Hills, Minnesota, Cooper Seamer, Dakota News Now.