Photo by Noah Clooten
North Star is going to a junior varsity schedule for the remainder of the football season, the Devils Lake Journal has learned.
Low numbers and safety concerns for the athletes were cited as the primary reasons.
The North Star varsity roster only had 17 players to begin with. In the first game of the season, on Aug. 22, senior quarterback Hunter Hagler suffered the second broken leg of his career. Combined with other injuries, the Bearcats are down to 14 active players.
JV games are shorter and should put less stress on the small group.
Hagler’s exact injury timeline is uncertain. If all goes well in rehab, he should have a chance to return in the early part of basketball season. Hagler is a standout in basketball and baseball, in addition to football.
Rylen Anderson has filled in for Hagler at quarterback.
Previously, North Star only had varsity and junior high football schedules listed on its website. This provides a natural opening for the varsity players to slide down to JV.
The Bearcats were off to an 0-3 start in nine-man football this year. They lost 30-0 to St. John, 30-14 to Midway/Minto and 40-18 to Four Winds. Last year, in a full varsity season, they went 1-7.
Before that, they’d had success, going 6-3 in 2023 and 5-5 in 2022. They made the playoffs in both those seasons. Dane Hagler, Hunter’s older brother, was the quarterback.
North Star’s new JV schedule is yet to be announced.
Looking ahead to next year, four of the 17 rostered players will graduate. Anderson, the backup quarterback, is still a sophomore.
