2 weeks Ago By Max O'Neill
JAMESTOWN — The University of Jamestown football team wrapped up its spring practices with a joint practice against Minnesota State University Moorhead on Saturday, April 14, at Charlotte and Gordon Hansen Stadium. The Jimmies and Dragons spent approximately 90 minutes competing in various practices. Jimmies head coach Brian Mistro said the teams had their first- and second-string units compete against each other.
Mistro said the practice setting allowed more coaching to happen from both teams compared to if it was a game. Mistro said the practice saw both teams using their base plays and everybody on his roster got to play. ADVERTISEMENT “We went two team sessions and a skelly (7-on-7) session and then we did a live session in which each offense ran 20 plays and then we had a two-minute drill type thing,” Mistro said.
“It’s weird to say it this way but this was a complete 100% evaluation and a practice versus competing and trying to beat Moorhead. So from that standpoint, we got out of it exactly what we wanted. We got to eval (evaluate) a lot of guys to see if they’re in the right spots versus a team that’s traditionally been in the upper echelon now in the last five or six years of the NSIC.
” Mistro said Dragons head coach Steve Laqua reached out to him earlier this year and told him the joint practice was a possibility and they scheduled it at that time. As a result of the practice allowing all of the Jimmies to get onto the field, Mistro said there were no shortages of players stepping up and making an impact. Mistro specifically highlighted wide reciever Erastus Antsino, running back Mason Whitley and defensive backs Xander Jarosh, Spencer Russell, Kyle Williams, Tanner Chaffee, Jacob Van Lith and linebacker Evan Smith.
After practicing since March 12, the joint practice allowed the Jimmies to play against a team that did not include any of their teammates. “I think it’s a great thing heading into the summer because it puts you into a situation where we get to evaluate you and here’s the things you need to work on and not because you know the guy you’re lining up against,” Mistro said. “When you know the guy you’re lining up against, you get used to some of the things that they do and the plays that they run and you know things about the other side of the ball.
When you see somebody that you don’t know necessarily, it’s a true evaluation tool. I think it’s helped us out tremendously. We watched film this morning and there’s a lot of things we can continue to work on and there’s a lot of things we did.
I think it helps propel us into the summer for the guys to know mindset wise where we are and where we need to be.” One of the things the Jimmies continued to work on throughout spring camp was getting used to new offensive coordinator Shane Kelly’s offense. Mistro said his team is starting to understand the playbook conceptually but it is not fully installed on the field yet.
Mistro said he can see his team’s hunger and drive to continue to improve throughout the entirety of spring camp. Mistro said heading into the fall, he expects the quarterback battle to be between incoming University of North Dakota transfer Cole Hentges and redshirt junior Nick Martinez. Last season, Martinez was limited to five games due to injury, but he completed 57.
6% of his passes for 242 yards, one touchdown and one interception. ADVERTISEMENT “Our guys are disciplined, our guys understood the assignment, our guys executed to the best of our abilities. I was proud of them for that,” Mistro said.
“New offense going in, so we had some struggles there, operationally whenever you have a new offense put in and you only have 14 practices there’s gonna be some of those things. Defensively, you know having to replace eight or nine starters it was good to see some other guys step up.” Mistro said he was happy with how his team played this spring and appreciative of how helpful the Nelson Family Bubble was to let his team practice when the weather did not allow them to be outside.
The Jimmies and Dragons will play in the 2025 regular season, starting at noon on Saturday, Nov. 8. “It was good.
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We’re all running pretty base stuff, no one’s really pulling out the trick plays or anything like that,” Mistro said. “..
. I think the big question that a lot of people are going to have is how are you going to compete. This was an ability for us to test and evaluate where are we at and where do we need to go and are we there yet? No, but then again, I think every team would tell you that they’re not where they need to be yet in April.
So I think there’s some really good that came from this for sure.” Mistro said there will be between 75 to 90 players who will be staying in Jamestown in the summer to continue to work out and practice with their teammates. Mistro said it gives him a lot of confidence to know how many players are staying for the summer because they know the players are continuing to work and improve.
“I think the growth and maturity that opens over the summer is super vitally important to the progress of our team,” Mistro said. “I’m really excited about what our guys have planned, most all of our guys have jobs and places to live. It’s good to see our guys in the community all summer long.
I’m thinking that this summer is going to be a big step towards the right direction.”.
