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If ever there were a team that deserves become a sentimental favorite, it would be Minot High. The Magic City is still recovering the flood that devastated much of the city this summer. And Magicians head coach Barry Holmen thinks football may provide some much needed therapy.

Q. What’s your general outlook for 2011?

A. We’re very optimistic for 2011. Going in, we’re going to be, hopefully, bigger and better up front than we’ve been the last couple of years. We’ve got to find some skill people and figure out the right pieces working together. And then, given circumstances in our city, with flooding and all of that, we’re certainly behind. Kids are displaced, and our efforts for offseason work have certainly been interrupted. So we’re excited to get together at the beginning of the year and just give kids a release from some harsh realities right now.

Q. As you look at other teams in Class 3A, how would you say Minot is going to rank this season?

A. We need to be more physical and we’re going to have to do a couple of different things offensively to compete with the very best in our league. I really think Century is the team to beat this year. They’re a physical team up front and return some really strong candidates. Bismarck High will also be right there again. We haven’t competed well with those two schools the last couple of years and we hope to reemerge there.

Q. Do you think you’ll be a playoff team again this year?

A. Expectation wise, we always set a goal; make the playoffs, but more than that, you have to beat one of those Bismarck teams of late to get a one or two-seed. If you can get a one or two seed and get a home game in the playoffs, that’s a crucial part of being successful in the postseason. When we’ve managed to start with a home game we’ve won, and when we’ve been a three or a four these last years, we haven’t had success in the playoffs.

Q. What are the strengths of this year’s team?

A. If we stay healthy, we’re going to be able to run the ball a little better than we have the last couple of years because our guys up front will, hopefully, overwhelm some of the teams. We hope that we can throw the ball a little more than we did last year, be a little more diverse. We haven’t really met as a staff recently, due to things, so changes that we’re going to make will be made day-to-day in practice as we reconvene. It’ll be exciting.

Catch the Magicians on Midco Sports Network

We will feature the Magicians Sept. 16  matchup, tape delayed, as part of our HD schedule. The game will air following "Varsity Sports Now!" on Thursday, Sept. 22.

• Sept. 22 (tape delayed from Sept. 16): Minot at Mandan, 7:30 p.m.

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