The 2020 Tri-State Tigers (photo provided by the team)
Most high school football players in Minnesota are heading into fall without a season, trying to keep themselves sharp and working out as they wait to compete in the highest profile high school sport in the state. Nearly a month ago, the COVID pandemic forced the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) to postpone the football season to the spring.
Most players. But not all.
Campbell-Tintah is a tiny high school on western edge of Minnesota, separated by about seven miles of farmland from the North Dakota border. With only 66 students enrolled in grades 7 through 12, fielding a football team is nearly impossible.
About a decade ago the school formed an athletic cooperative with Fairmount, N.D., a 15-minute car ride across the Bois de Sioux River from Campbell. Three years ago, nearby Rosholt, S.D., was looking for a partner for a cooperative of its own, reached out to Fairmount/Campbell-Tintah.
With that, the Tri-State Tigers were born.
The football team, 16 varsity players strong, plays and practices in Fairmount but has players from all three schools on the roster. Five hail from Campbell-Tintah: Seniors Tate Freeberg, Ryan Hensch and Leonel Chavez, and juniors Greg Murdoff and Andrew Purcell.
They are a select quintet, among the few known players attending a Minnesota high school and playing competitive high school football games this fall. The Tigers, who play nine-man football and compete under the umbrella of the North Dakota High School Activities Association, have already played twice, losing their season-opener to powerful Wyndmere-Lidgerwood (N.D.) 45-28 and bouncing back last Friday to win their home-opener over Enderlin-Maple Valley (N.D.) 46-44.
"I think it's pretty awesome that we got to keep our season on track," said Freeberg, a 5-9, 185-pound offensive lineman/linebacker. "I do talk with players from other schools and they seem pretty bummed out that they can't play until spring. They're kind of jealous that we get to play."
Tate Freeberg
Their Tri-State coach, Fernando Reese, is a story unto himself. The native of Lexington, Miss., pop. 1,496, he played cornerback in college at Arkansas-Pine Bluff and found his way north playing semi-pro football for the Fargo Invaders of the Champions Amateur Football League. He's in his second season as head coach of the three-state cooperative on the northern prairie.
Even he shakes his head when thinking about the journey he took to get this far.
"It seems crazy. I had coached some fifth- and sixth-graders from the Campbell area and there were some parents who wanted me to coach this team," Reese said. "Then about three year ago, a friend from MSU Moorhead told me the same team was looking for a D-coordinator. I guess it was meant to be."
Reese jumped in, despite never having experienced the quirkiness of Nine-Man football. "Man, I never heard of Nine-Man football in my life," he mused. "I didn't know where to start."
A year later, he was named head coach. He's got the Tigers on the right track. They were 6-3 and made the playoffs a year ago. This year's team has all the offense it needs but is trying to stitch together a defense.
"I like it," Reese said. "These kids, they show up and they work hard and they do their jobs."
Reese said he's glad the Tigers' season went on as planned this season, saying he's aware that postponing football has taken a toll on Minnesota players.
"I live in Wahpeton (N.D.), right across the river from Breckenridge. From what I've seen, it hurt them. But I've also seen them still putting in the work and getting ready for whatever season they're going to have."
Freeberg said he faced a lot of the same stress Minnesota players were facing over the summer, wondering if North Dakota would allow fall football.
"It was pretty up in the air. A lot of guys were worried that they were going to delay the season or even cancel it altogether," he said.
When North Dakota announced it was going to play the season as scheduled, albeit with COVID protocols in place, Freeberg said he was "stoked. I was so happy."
He acknowledged concerns that the high school league decision might force Tri-State's Minnesota players to sit out. But with two games behind them, that's no longer a worry.
He knew the season was back to normal after their victory last Friday. After their first game, the Tigers were diligent about following pandemic guidelines and refraining from celebratory contact. But in the excitement and emotion of their first victory, they let their guard slip a little.
"Our first game, we weren't allowed to go through the line after the game, giving high-fives and saying 'Good game' to each other," Freeberg said. "After this last game, we all kind of said, 'It's football. You're a bad sport if you don't do that'."
