Swanson, Thies set for classic

For a pair of East teammates, the 31st annual Sertoma 8-Man Classic marks very different points in their football careers.

Nebraska Christian's Mike Swanson looks at the game as an opportunity to begin the transition from 8-man high school football to the college game.

For Giltner's Thomas Thies, Saturday's 1:30 p.m. game at Hastings College Lloyd Wilson Field marks the final time he will put on the helmet and pads.

Both appear likely to see their time on the field come on the defensive side.

For Swanson, that's no surprise. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound linebacker was tops among area 8-man players with 89 tackles in the regular season.

What is surprising is that despite all his success on the defensive side, Swanson actually prefers playing on offense.

"It's funny," he said. "Everybody thinks I'd like defense better. I like offense because there's more strategy. But I think defense is a good time, too."

Despite his success, Swanson wasn't sure if he'd have the opportunity to participate in the Sertoma 8-Man Classic.

"I was a little surprised," Swanson said of finding out he was selected. "I thought it might happen, but I didn't expect it since our football team didn't do too well (1-7) this last year.

"This is a cool blessing. I hope to display the gifts God has given me."

With over seven months gone since Swanson last played, he expected Monday's first practice to be a tough adjustment. He was pleasantly surprised to find out that he was wrong.

"I though it would be (tough), but when we got out there it felt good," he said. "We should be in full swing by Saturday."

Swanson looks forward to using this week as an adjustment period to start getting ready to play for Northwestern College in St. Paul, Minn.

"This will help me get a better feel for a different level of play and different situations," he said.

For Thies, a 6-0, 220-pound lineman, Saturday wraps up his football career. He will begin studying to be a diesel technician at Southeast Community College in Milford this fall.

"I want to go out there for my last football competition and give my all," Thies said. "It's make it or break it, I guess you could say."

Suiting up one final time isn't something Thies expected after Giltner's season wrapped up last fall.

"I didn't think I'd get to play here," he said. "There's so many good players."

Even though Thies' football career ends on Saturday, he hasn't taken it easy leading up to this week's practices.

"I've been lifting and making sure I'd be in shape for this game over the last couple of months," he said.

One thing that Thies has had to adjust to is now being East teammates with five players who he played against in high school.

"You're usually out there talking trash," he said. "Now it's ’hey, same team!'"



All angles

East head coach Ken Swanson has experienced the Sertoma 8-Man Classic from all angles.

"As an assistant here in ’05, I had a great time," said Swanson, who coaches at Coleridge. "I've been here and played in the game in high school 15 years ago. I was an offensive lineman at Leigh.

"Now I've got to experience it as a player, assistant and now head coach."



Dale Miller is a sports writer for The Independent.