Darren Beenken 1537 totals yards, 11 touchdowns
(photos by Jim Lidnquist)
After a disappointing 1-8 2010 season the Tigers made strides toward a return to the upper division of the Missota Conference in 2011.
Coach Mark Froehling's squad finished 3-6 overall and its 3-4 run in the Missota landed them in fifth place in the final league standings.
"I'm proud of the team's improvement this season," Froehling said. "They were great competitors under all kinds of circumstances. The coaching staff enjoyed working with this group of athletes. They were positive and hard-working and wanted to learn and improve."
Froehling rattled off a list of positives from the 2011 campaign, including a big 27-0 homecoming win over Northfield that brought home the Tractor Trophy; a three-place move up the conference ladder; improved execution on both offense and defense; a successful move to a two-platoon system and quality play at the sub-varsity level.
"I am very happy with our two-platoon system," Froehling said. "This allowed more teaching and learning time for each athlete and that helped improve execution both on offense and on defense."
The veteran Tiger coach added the final numbers could have been even better had the Tigers found a way to play more consistently.
"We gave up a lead to Mayo in our first game and then played a poor first half in our loss at Red Wing," he said. "Our loss to New Prague in the last game of the season hurt us because of the playoff implications."
The 2011 edition of Tiger football featured one of the most balanced offensive attacks by a Farmington team in many years with quarterback Darren Beenken and tailback Ather Ashton leading the way.
Beenken completed 110 of 210 passes (52.4 percent) for 1265 yards and nine touchdowns and ran for an additional 272 yards and two scores for 1537 yards of total offense.
The hard-running Ashton carried the ball 170 times for 770 yards and caught 18 passes for another 201 yards for 971 yards of total offense. Ashton scored six touchdowns and led the team in scoring with 44 points.
Six different receivers caught at least 10 passes, including Nathan Graham (26), Dillon Jones (21), Austin Bassett (18), Ashton, John Dittman (17) and MacKinley Bassett (12).
Andrew Peterson (left) 3 pass interceptions
Drew Hegseth 90 tackles, two sacks
(photos by Jim Lindquist)
Senior linebacker Drew Hegseth led the defense with 90 tackles and tied Tyler Engel with a team-high two sacks. Blake Weinand had 68 tackles, Ryan Schoening 56, Mason Auge 48 and Alex Chadwick 46.
Andrew Peterson recorded a team-high three pass interceptions and Weinand and Jake Erickson picked off a pair apiece.
With the successful transition to the new platoon system and the encouraging play of the sub-varsity teams, Froehling said he is optimistic about his program's future.
"The JV was 4-1 and the sophomores were 5-3," he said. "The seventh through ninth grade teams had good numbers and some great athletes. We have the potential for continued progress toward being a strong contender in the conference and section.
"The key to improvement will be our athletes' commitment to their off-season work in the weight room."
Froehling reserved his final reflections on the 2011 season for the members of the senior class.
"I really liked working with this group," he said. "They were great leaders and teammates who played the game with pride and class. They were great role models who demonstrated a consistently strong effort and a never-give-up attitude."
