‘Sticking together’ helps Chickasaws exceed their expectations

Scott Frerichs gathered his team together on the football field in Garner, smiled and asked his seniors to think back to the trip they took to a water park this summer.  “Would you have taken 7-1?”  And to a man, the seniors smiled, for in a season that began with so many unknowns, the Chickasaws are going back to a familiar place — the state playoffs.  Friday’s 15-9 win over GHV clinched a sixth straight playoff berth for the Chickasaws, who have made the postseason in 17 of Frerichs’ 24 years at the helm of the Chickasaws.  But with the number of automatic district qualifiers dropping from four to two this year and the question marks New Hampton had going into the season, there were no guarantees.  New Hampton had just three full-time starters returning on offense and four on defense. Seniors Zach Wemark and Noah Hopp were coming off season-ending injuries. A new defense was being put in. And numbers at the varsity level were low.  The rest of the story may be found in the Oct. 18 Tribune.