Krieg more than just the Midgets’ big target

• Jordan Krieg

Press Photo by Dustin Monke Dickinson High senior tight end Jordan Krieg shoves off a defender on his way to a touchdown on Aug. 31 against Custer County, Mont., at the Biesiot Activities Center.

Talk about it

Dickinson High senior Jordan Krieg isn’t bashful about saying football isn’t his favorite sport.

However, Krieg knows playing football is beneficial to be a better athlete in every other sport.

“The training for football helps you in all your sports,” Krieg said. “The countless hours in the weight room is not only going to make you a better football player, but it’s going to help you in other sports.

“There’s the mental toughness needed to get through practices. The mental toughness needed to finish out the season and play a game for all four quarters. It carries over.”

Midgets head coach Dennis Morris knows it too.

“He’ll straight up tell you, football isn’t even his favorite sport,” Morris said with a smile. “He’s a basketball player. But he’s a competitor in the fact that he doesn’t want to lose. He wants to win the game and he’s going to do everything he can to win that game.”

The Midgets wrap up homecoming week hosting Class 3A nonconference opponent, No. 2-ranked Fargo South at 5 p.m. today at the Biesiot Activities Center. Though it’s a nonconference game, the dividends of playing this game could pay off later down the potential postseason road.

A win over Mandan next week automatically puts Dickinson in the playoffs, where they’ll likely face South again.

“We’re taking this game as seriously as we can, especially because after Fargo South, win or lose, we play Mandan,” Morris said. “If we beat Mandan, we’ll probably play Fargo South again. This is a week where we need to learn that scheme inside and out.”

Krieg has been Dickinson’s rock at the tight end and defensive end positions.

The 6-foot-5, 225-pound senior has 17 catches for 227 yards and three touchdowns. Krieg also recovered a touchdown on junior quarterback Dylan Skabo’s fumble in the end zone during a 34-23 loss to Minot High last Friday.

“There’s the saying, that the tight end is the quarterback’s best friend,” Morris said. “In our situation, it truly is. He’s our go-to guy when we need to throw the ball. We’re going to put him in a situation where he’s going to be our target.”

During the offseason, Krieg wanted to become the safety net in passing situations for Skabo. So far, Krieg has done that job after putting in countless hours in the weight room to enhance every facet of his game.

“Past years Dickinson High has been run, run, run,” Krieg said. “In the offseason, I worked on my quickness, my speed and my hands to be a reliable guy that Skabo can throw to.”

One of Krieg’s most impressive attributes is picking up yards after initial contact.

During the Midgets’ 42-28 loss to Custer County, Mont., on Aug. 31, Krieg dragged two defensive backs into the end zone on a 30-yard TD pass from Skabo.

“I’m not only one of those flashy guys that are going to try to juke and jive,” Krieg said. “I’m not one that tries to avoid contact. I kind of seek it.”

A quality expressed by coaches and teammates has been Krieg’s strong leadership quality.

“He’s a great player and he’s also a great leader,” Dickinson junior lineman Jordan Wanner said. “He’s pulled us through a lot of things. At the halfway point in the season, we were kind of getting down on ourselves and he brought us back up.”

On the defensive side of the ball, Krieg can wreak havoc in the backfield. Morris said Krieg has the intelligence and the correct technique to be in the right place more often than not.

“If we had 11 Jordan Krieg’s out on the field, we would be a dangerous team,” Morris said. “He’s that kind of kid.”

With South in town, the Midgets know the ball will be in senior running back Zach Reich’s hands a majority of the time. Reich has rushed for more than 1,200 yards this season, but Krieg believes the Midgets can go toe-to-toe with the Bruins.

“We have to be ready to answer every call,” Krieg said. “If they score, we want to score. We never want to get down on ourselves, I want to pick me teammates up and be there for them.”

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