With the high school sports season underway, I recently posted a picture on my social media of myself in my 1975 football uniform. I didn’t expect the incredible response it received. It seems people were eager to share their own memories of playing or watching high school football “back in the day.” Reading all the comments from my followers brought back so many great feelings.

I played for the Madison Dragons in the 70s, and looking back, my high school football career was one of the best times of my life. The teams I played on from 1973 to 1975 were a tight-knit group of guys. I started at right tackle my sophomore year, and our senior quarterback was Duane Hastad. Today, Duane and I are still a team—we broadcast the Dawson-Boyd Blackjack football games and co-host a radio show called the Garden Show. We’re still great friends and love reminiscing about our “glory days” on the field. We mostly talk about all the head concussions we must have had.

​My senior year was our most successful season. My brother, Greg, was the junior quarterback, and we started the season with four straight wins and four shutouts on defense. Our homecoming game against Ortonville was heartbreaking. We were up 14-0 at halftime, but they scored the first points on us in the second half, and we ended up losing. We bounced back to beat Clarkfield the following week, but the final game of the season against Granite Falls was a crushing blow.

Back then, you had to win your conference to make it to the playoffs. It was a cold, rainy night in Granite Falls for the conference championship and the loss was the most devastating of my high school career. It was also the last time I ever put on a football uniform. To this day, when I go back to that field to broadcast a game, I still feel the emotions of that loss, even fifty years later.

​We played in the Little Sioux Conference, which was full of great rivalries. Our conference included the Appleton Aces, Ortonville Trojans, Canby Lancers, Dawson Blackjacks, Clarkfield Cardinals, Granite Falls Kilowatts, and the Olivia Wildcats. Madison had especially fierce rivalries with Dawson and Appleton. Even now, I still run into guys from those teams and we share stories about our games.

​I wouldn’t trade my high school sports experience for anything. As a four-sport athlete, I made lifelong friends and memories that I’ll cherish forever.