The Hope and Concern Series rolls along with the Ida Blue Streaks.
Biggest Reason For Hope: The Rushing Attack. Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but Ida is at their best when they have a strong rushing attack and an offensive line that is a non-negotiable. Well, the Streaks return four starters on their offensive line, with senior Jackson Werternberger anchoring the group. Ida also returns their entire starting offensive backfield, which includes thousand-yard rusher Dean Thomas.
Biggest Reason for Concern: Taking Advantage of Opponents’ Mistakes. There’s a lot to love about this Ida squad, but the one thing I have personally noticed to be a problem has been coming up empty after forcing turnovers. This has been prevalent in three of the last four playoff losses. In fact, in all three of those losses (2020 vs. Blissfield, 2021 vs. Clinton, and 2023 vs. Ovid-Elsie), the Streaks recorded seven combined takeaways, but got zero points off of them. How much will Jeff Potter emphasize turning takeaways into scores throughout camp and practice?