The Bloomfield Bees had the STATEMENT win of the first week of the 8-man football season. Austin Jacobsen is joined by Bees’ coach Matt Kuchar to discuss the week one victory, and the pride his program has built through the nearly-four decade run of postseason success. How did the program recover from a disappointing 4-5 campaign in 2024 to rebound and DEMOLISH last year’s Class D1 runner-up in Stanton?
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What’s the biggest challenge you have left for your team? Because you don’t win a state title in week one, but a lot of people are going to pat you on the back for that victory over Stanton. Talked about it a little bit today and it was like, hey, you know, that was a good win. It’s it’s good for our program. It’s some of these other kids have never beat Stanton before. Thought we were more physical, which is, like I said, a staple of Bloomfield football. And I think we’re on the the right page. We’ve got to continue to do what we go and do. push for the uh for the future. [Music] Welcome back to Small Town Ball, a podcast brought to you by Herat Sports and NEB Preps. And joining us today, the man of eightman football, Matt Kuhar of Bloomfield Football, hanging out with us. Coach, how are we doing tonight? I appreciate your time. Uh, excellent. It’s it’s a good good day. Well, it has to be an even better day, too, considering that you got off on the right foot in week one. And I just want to start with with your team because I think a lot of people look at it from the opposite side where they see, oh, the state runner up from last year goes down, but your team had a lot of success and what looked like a lot of confidence coming into that first game. Uh, yeah, we had a great uh off season. We uh we go to Wayne State uh football camp and um I I thought we played fairly well with uh uh with our kids. Um we had a lot of got a lot of kids uh who were out and had a lot of them who were uh competing and and getting time on the field. So um pretty confident with uh with our bunch. I had read a little bit about that Wayne State trip. Is that when you kind of figured out that this team was building the right way and was kind of gaining that confidence that you’re looking for? Uh absolutely. Um we’ve got a group of uh 10 seniors and so they’ve been with us for uh you know three years going into four here and you know I told them in the past like you know you’re just you’re you’re men when you’re you’re a senior and you’ll be going up against you know sometimes juniors or sophomores or freshman and u there’s just a difference between a senior boy and a you know a sophomore boy in most cases. So that’s when it happened at Wayne State. Um, but having that that large group of seniors who can all go and contribute. Maybe it’s not every down, but uh they’re playing a little bit here or there. They spell people, which is which is awesome. And especially coming off of last season, you finished four and five overall. Was that maybe a little bit of disappointment that led into I I guess maybe more uh not confidence, but just the ability to know that you needed to take that extra step in working together. Was last year learning experience? What do you take from 2024? Uh it it was definitely a learning experience for all of us. It was a tough one. It’s um you know we were four and five. It’s a you know first time in 37 years that we’ve uh finished um at the end of the season with a four and five. We still made the playoffs and still kept that um streak going but um overall you know we got matched up with a Croft in a week one of the playoffs and they were a great team. So, what what is the biggest difference that you’ve noticed? Is it experience? Is it just a a maybe a new fresh face that’s a part of your unit or was there something learned from the four and five season to where you’ve started now 1 and0 to start 2025? Uh maybe just a little bit of freshness. It was uh we have uh a lot of those kids who were, you know, they played a little bit here or there, but I think it was their time, you know, and it’s their senior year and with having a large bunch like that, it it kind of helped them solidify that, oh, it’s my time, it’s our season. Uh we’ve got to go and do the best we can go and do. So, um I I attribute to a lot of the a lot of the seniors. Now, I I hope I get this right, Brock Genau, right? uh your running back. He is fantastic and I’ve listened to a couple of things that he had said in the preseason. He seems like one of those guys that maybe gets the troops rallied and especially when he was talking about the the team coming together this off season and that there really wasn’t a lot of kids that missed any of that summer wait room session or summer practices. How did that attest to the early stretch of preseason camp and to where you started before kickoff of week one? Yeah. Uh the weight room is very important to us and I think we really really believe in that. Um you know being physical is one of those traits that we want to go and put on the field. We want to put a a strong physical football team on there and um a lot of those seniors just got people uh bought in. Uh younger kids were buying into that as well. And we had a lot of kids that um you know at camp uh we tried something a little bit different where uh we did a lot of that uh Tony Holler uh feed the cats and we sprinted a lot and it was it’s all of our kids got faster from big kids to um you know the speedy ones already. Um so that was one thing that we uh you know we focused on and they all got faster which you know I I think that’s going to go and help us as well being physical and and fast. Did you feel like there was a little bit of a chip on your shoulder? Maybe either just from the coaching staff, something you used as motivation or did the kids see it themselves when you kind of entered this season maybe a little bit more under the radar than what you’re used to? Uh yeah, we definitely were uh um but I think the kids kind of like that uh underdog a little bit where, you know, they feel uh slighted or jaded uh a little bit. So, it’s, you know, I got a chip on their shoulder that, hey, um, we’re not going to go and, you know, let a team go and have that many points against us or, you know, nobody went and put us, uh, you know, ranked us in a lot of things, but we, like the kids kind of buy into that. Obviously, you’re getting a lot of love now. It’s a 30 to nothing win in week one over Stanton, who’s been one of the premier teams in class D1 and an eight-man football across the state for the past few seasons. How did you get your guys just mentally ready for that type of test? Because sometimes the logo, the colors, the jersey, sometimes that can be intimidating if if you’re not ready for that moment. Um yeah, I I think uh you know, last year and seeing what they uh they had and and what they lost, it it was nice to um you know, see that they were in the championship uh game two years in a row and I thought we did some really good things last year. Um, but you know, with our kids that we uh lost and the kids that were uh stepping up, I I I felt okay. But I knew um they got a they got a proud program. They got a great coach there. Um so I knew they were going to be tough and they do some things that are, you know, some power football and um I was ready for it, but um we were a little nervous going in. There’s so much of this game that I want to break down, but I do want to start at the beginning because you don’t shut out a former state runner up the way that you guys did without getting off to at least a good start. But I mean, this contest it looked like early you took a early sack. You had a little bit of, you know, some of some figuring out to do, but then you break the door open early on that first touchdown run. How did you get the guys comfortable just in the flow of the game and getting back to the season in football? Um, I think beating on our uh JV the entire uh three weeks it’s, you know, they’re they’re tired of that. They’re tired of tackling those guys, JV kids as well. Um, but we were ready for, you know, for that. Like I said, we had a pretty good off season and, you know, we wanted to carry that in. We had some success at at Wayne and wanted to carry that in. But, uh, yeah, you know, setting the tone of a game is is huge. And, um, special teams, got another senior, Jared Saer. He had a great tackle. um Stanton started on the on the two yard line. Well, if that doesn’t put you in the hole right away and you know then you get good field position off that. So, um it’s kind of just setting the tone. They were ready. So, you start off with some of those little details, right? Making a tackle on special teams. You kind of work through a couple of mistakes there and then make it big for a couple of big plays in that first half. You get into the locker room at halftime. What What’s that feeling like? because there hasn’t been a lot of teams that have put Stanton in the position they were in when they were at your home turf there at at midfield. Um yeah, we, you know, being up 16 uh uh nothing, it was good cuz we we made our double extra points, which is, you know, one of our key things for us to go and do. I mean, 16 to 12 to nothing seems a lot better than, you know, that 12 to nothing. Um I mean, they got, you know, four things they have to go and do to uh to go and bring it back to there and it’s it’s just tied. So, um, you know, we felt good. Um, I I thought we were the more physical team. Um, uh, you could kind of go and see them getting a little bit, uh, tired after that. And like I said, we we put a lot of kids in. Um, and you know, we were fresh because of that. So, kind of just looking at this game as a whole, I felt very, very confident in where your team was moving forward after this game because of how you closed out that fourth quarter. You continued to add more scores and like you said, wear down your opponent. Was that just a mission statement that you’ve had this season? I I know obviously 37 straight playoff appearances. you don’t do that by, you know, just skirting by for that long for nearly four decades. But has this been as a staple of this year’s program or just a part of your year in and year out mentality? I think it’s a year in year out that we want to go and play uh you know a physical type uh football. And I think I hope teams go and think that when they uh they they’re going to go and play Bloomfield that you know they’re going to be beat up the next week cuz we’re going to go and play physical and I don’t know we run the ball a lot, play a lot of smashmouth football and our defense is um usually uh on point. We’re we’re physical. We like to go and you know tackle and we like to gang tackle on those things. So I mean good football teams that’s that’s one of the things that they have is they like to tackle. They’re physical. I think one of my favorite memories just from my own high school football days was uh you’re up big, you’re watching some of the younger guys get some time, but if you have a shut out, you can preserve it and everyone kind of rallies to that point. Did Did you get to a a chance in the game on Thursday night where everyone was kind of saying, “Hey, no matter what, we got to keep that goose egg on.” Uh yeah, I started uh putting a couple of uh the younger kids in and um and we were mixing some stuff up and um couple of the seniors were yelling at the the younger ones like, “Hey, you got to keep this thing up. We got to keep this thing going. We we didn’t want to go and give up some points there.” But I I think having the ball at the end uh makes it so I mean, we got a turnover late in the game um and and put it back in our offense’s hand and and then just kind of grind it out from there. And I mean, talking about the grinding style, you still averaged over five yards a carry running the ball. You ran for over 200 yards as a team. Uh Jenna himself had 21 carries for 140 yards. That feels like it’s going to be just a dominating train just running down the tracks every single week. Do you intend on just keeping that sort of pace every single game or are you trying to spread the wealth a little bit more when you get further along in the season? Oh, yeah. We’ve we’ve got a a stable of backs who can go and uh who can go and tote the ball. Uh um you Jonato is a you know is a special player. He’s big and physical and uh he’s got that breakaway speed that state track the year before and um for the hundreds. So I mean he’s a fast athletic kid and he’s got um great vision. So looking kind of just at the future now, how hard was it to come out of that Thursday night and then Friday you kind of get a little relaxed, probably doing some film study, watching opponents, but getting the guys back in now it’s Labor Day weekend. It’s a very awkward time in this first stretch of the season. What’s been that message for the guys early in this week as you get ready to gear up again on Friday? Uh yeah, it’s, you know, we got to be one and0 each week. So, it’s we were ready to, you know, after uh conditioning uh tonight and some film study, we um kind of we got that Stanton’s done. We did well. Um we’ve got to continue to go and and micro yourself better every day. Do you see it as a challenge and obviously, you know, your program has had so much success, but there is something to say about that let down spot, right? Everyone talks about it. You get a big win, you take down a high tier opponent or someone that everyone is talking about, you get the talk of the town. How do you keep your team level and make sure that no one gets too high or too low just from either the the top-notch wins or or the opposite side of that spectrum? Um, I think that’s always a tough thing that you have to go and uh, you know, work on. And I think having a grounded bunch of seniors, um, you know, they they kind of keep people on that that even kilm. So I I I really appreciate how they uh you know and it’s the leadership that they go and give. Um we didn’t I mean it’s the same kids but that year of a maturity is um we’ve got kids who were uh maybe not the um the captains the leaders last year um but I’ve had there’s probably eight of the seniors who have stepped up in different roles um and everybody’s looking up to them. they’re they’re being positive and they’re they’re bringing these kids up, these other ones. So, you know, it feels kind of like a family and it actually is. So, it’s um I really appreciate that from the seniors. Um we do the same thing with the coaching staff and it’s um you know this is a learning environment for our kids and you know we’ve got to go and teach them and you know and I think they you know they learn best uh when they they can make a a mistake and they can go and learn from that and knowing that you know we’re not going to yell at them or you know you know pull them out or if we go and tell them what’s wrong hey we’re going to go and put them back in then on that same note coach I And you have to feel pretty good about not having to worry about this team when you see the press clippings and the highlights and everything coming in talking about your team after a big week one win. I mean, it it has to feel nice knowing that we’ve got guys with good heads on their shoulders that they’re going to see coaches pulls. They’re going to see top 10s come out and although our name’s going to be on there now, they’re going to keep that same fight that they had before they were on that. Uh yeah. Uh that’s that’s I mean uh they don’t they don’t want to be a sixth or seventh in the in the state. They want to be in the top and so I think they’re going to go and keep on striving for for the best and and that’s what we’re we’re pushing as coaching staff and and the seniors are on the same page that we want to go and do the best we can. What’s changes so much from your game plan in this upcoming week? Maybe not specifically against Tri County, but is there anything that you have to continue to look for at your team that even if in a shutout win, a game in which you scored 30 points and had a lot of rushing yards, is there still some growing to do that you would like to see corrected? Oh, absolutely. And that’s why people go and look through that film to see what, you know, hey, praise where we uh we can go and do that. And if there’s places that we go and uh you know need to improve on uh and we saw u places that we need to go uh we didn’t play a perfect game. We played we played well but um like I said we need to go and improve stay on blocks a little bit uh better get some better reads um you know make sure that we’re we’re doing what’s uh you know correct in technique and rallying around the ball. Is that challenging to do sometimes, especially when you’re coming off of a good win and obviously you want to be able to correct some things. Is that tough to balance saying, “Hey, we did really well overall, but we still have to correct these little pieces.” Um, I don’t know. Just kind of being in the business long enough, you just and and the kids have, you know, bought into it as well. uh and they know how it is at Bloomfield football that we have to if you don’t go and put that effort out or you don’t go and you know work, you know, you might not win that night if you you don’t put that uh that time and effort in um the week before prepping and at practice and then you’ve got to go and prove it on the game. Then on that same note too, I mean it’s it’s as easy as getting up for one opponent kind of like what we talked about earlier, but then maintaining that focus and taking every opponent seriously because Tri County doesn’t have the same three, you know, past three season reputation as Stanton did, but any team can get anyone. And I think that’s that’s been kind of the storyline here in the first few weeks of the season. Uh yeah, we we don’t take anybody lightly. It’s I mean on any given uh you know day people can go and and beat you if you have I mean you go and have injuries, you go and have you know bad weather, you have bad calls. Um and it is what it is. So we’ve got to go out there and uh and compete and if we don’t you know you you could go and get beat and I and I say that to the kids a lot like you can go and you can have some mistakes but it makes it more difficult uh you know each step. you know, you have turnovers and um penalties that’s going to make it more more difficult for us to go and win. Obviously, every single week are going to try to, you know, find every which way to to earn a victory. Uh but what what’s something you’re hoping to learn from your team in this week that that maybe can, I guess, parlay into more success through the rest of the season and especially where a lot of people are now expecting you to go after a big week one win. Yeah, I I think uh we’re going to have to go and spread that uh um that ball out a little bit more. Um but I I think we can go and do that. We had I mean Ganet Edmol uh uh was a fullback for us and you know he he had some nice uh little runs. He had a you know touchdown run for us. Uh we got to get some of those other guys involved in that uh that run game and and get that pass game going a little bit more. And what did you learn from uh looking back through film of Tri County? Did you see anything there? I mean, they they did fall 42-22, but they’re able to put some points on the board, and it’s not like they’re playing a, you know, a sleeper team in their own right anyway. Yeah. Um, they have the same coach as they had last year. He’s a second year uh coach. He uh um looking at a lot of the stuff that he uh did this year. Uh um this last game he was doing last year. So, um we’ve got to go and get out to a good start and um be firing on all uh cylinders. And I know it’s still a few weeks away too, but you mentioned kind of the Croftton matchup. That one is just, you know, a couple weeks out and it’s still one of those road tests. It’s probably one of those that you had circled with Stanton as maybe critical games on your schedule or at least ones that, you know, a lot of people are going to be excited to see for your team. That three, four-week focus. How difficult is that to keep it game to game and make sure that your team is just focused upcoming for week two and then recycle get ready for week three? Yeah. Um I think our kids do a pretty good job of, you know, keeping um kind of the blinders on and be like, “Hey, we got this week to go and take care of and um I mean because you can’t go 4-0 if you don’t go 2 and 0.” So um that’s that’s probably our biggest thing is, you know, we got to focus on this week u the task at hand. Um, so yeah, Croftton, every all those other teams will be a a good one. Croftton’s a, you know, great program as well. So I do want to ask you just in general picture, right? I mean, 37 years of a playoff streak is remarkable. There are so many programs across the state from class A to sixman, wherever they’ve come from, that have had maybe not as long of success in getting in the postseason, but have their own type of records, own type of streaks. What is the overall just mentality of a community like like Bloomfield and when it comes to the schools and when it comes to how this program can continue year in and year out to find success to get that extra game in? Uh I think it’s um you know just kind of an expectation at this point in time that we’re going to go and you know do what we need to go and do to um you know to get in the weight room uh so we can be a you know stronger physical bunch in in football. And uh I think it’s just the expectation. Um, the other one is we we’ve had a series of coaches for 37 years that have been excellent. I mean, the ones before me better than I was. So, um, that is I think that’s probably the biggest thing. And, um, the other one with that is all the assistant coaches that we’ve had um, throughout the years, at least when I’ve been here, um, they all been Bloomfield grads. They know what we’re doing. And I think it I think it’s a little bit more special when it’s, you know, you’re part of that program. Uh you’re going to go and do a little bit more uh to go in, you know, help help preserve that. So, um a lot of assistant coaches, you know, from Bloomfield who were um who understand some of those nuances that we go and do. And then how critical is that sense of community to your guys’ success? I mean, you even mentioned that you have had people that have not only been a part of the program, but continued to want to be a part of the program. I’m sure that there were a lot of other circumstances that could have taken him many different places, maybe even yourself included, but it it just means something to stay with Bloomfield and stay a part of that community and just be a part of that town. Yeah. Uh I I definitely think we’re a uh you know a football town. Um you know when it comes to uh athletics, but um we’ve got a lot of other uh sports as well here in Blfield that you know have done pretty good uh as well. Now coach, I do have to ask too. You you go to the Wayne State uh camps in the summer. We hear about that success and everything, but you’re a UNK guy yourself, aren’t you? Uh yeah, I’m a loper. So I don’t know. Like I mean there’s not very many UNK football camps that I’ve heard of I’m pretty sure. So does it does it hurt you a little bit to go out there or is that just you know you don’t even worry about it. It’s been so so long. Uh I think it’s just been in tradition for you know when I I grew up in in Bloomfield and uh played for uh um you know coaches here and we always went to Wayne State and I think there’s been a couple of years we went to Carney one year. um it just didn’t feel like home for for the kids. Um but and they went to USD one year, but I’ve gone to Wayne State every year and uh it just feels like um that’s an important part of our our bonding experience. And I I think that’s an important thing for kids to go and get away from their uh from their families for a little bit and just rely on their buddies, which I mean may sound a little goofy, but uh they need that bonding. they need to go and um you know have fun together and the more you go and do that it builds that bond in between those players uh and I think it makes us stronger. How do you create those tighter bonds through the season? Is that just how circumstances arrive if you face strife and struggle that you hope it brings the team together or is there something that you can do as a coaching staff you’ve learned that kind of builds that sort of sense if you need it in the middle of your year? Um, we try to go and do things together. Um, I don’t think we have like a, you know, a perfect one. Um, I think that Wayne State really does go and and help that bond and that and when we go and have practice and, um, I think it’s a it’s kind of a right of passage and they kind of build up through there. Coach, I know we talked a little bit about how your impact and your win over Stanton kind of translated across the rest of the eightman field. Is that something that you focus on as a coach, coaching staff, or maybe just you hear in the hallways that hey, this one was big because of X, Y, and Z that happened somewhere else or I does that does that affect you at all? Is that something you look at or like you mentioned, are you also blinders up or it’s just who we’ve got next and I’m just worried about what’s on our schedule? Oh, I probably uh you know, I I’m not uh I I know what’s going on throughout the state and see uh you know, who’s who’s playing well and um you know, who you might match up with later on. But um generally, it’s a I I’m thinking about what can we go and do to make oursel better so we can have success this week or what can we go and do to um make oursel better. It looks like you have a good support system or at least we can hear from behind you, too. So, I mean, if if the dogs are barking for that too, maybe do they have something do they have a team they want to shout out as well? No. Is there any other uh maybe just on that same note, was there any other teams maybe not that you’re not keeping an eye on, watching out for, is there any other games or anything that kind of piqu your interest from last week or this week? One that you are going to, you know, keep keep an eye on, just have it in that lower corner whenever you get a chance to. Um, I don’t know. I went to uh the Friday night uh Croft and why not game which was uh amazing. Um yeah, it was, you know, two teams who couldn’t go and stop each other on defense. It Croftton just ran the ball down their throat and and why not couldn’t stop any any of it and Croftton couldn’t stop any of why not’s passing and it’s you know just kind of what they both go and do and you know those double extra points are are big. Yeah, I mean that that game had to be probably fire and ice for you, right? Because you mentioned you’re a hard-nosed guy. You like to run the ball, but then on the opposite side, you’re just seeing all these points fly up. I mean, at some point, did you have to break out the calculator and realize what the total points was? Because I was trying to look and see what the historical mark of that could be, like how close we were getting to total points scored. I was like, let’s let’s get this thing over with. How did So, that’s the other part, too. If you’re going and just, you know, you’re kind of enjoying the night, but you’re also there for a reason, too. At what point do you say, “All right, well, I also need eight hours of sleep at some point.” I mean, I played last night, so I’m good. Yeah. Um, it didn’t bother me because I I mean, I we played the night before and I knew I had a long weekend, so, you know, and I got plenty of football this weekend, which is great. Yeah, that has that has to be another part, too. What What is the advantage for you playing on Thursday night, especially? I mean, it kind of has to be a little bit, you know, ahead of schedule knowing that you do Labor Day weekend’s always a little goofy. Monday always a kind of an awkward practice. No one’s going to probably just head out of town completely, but does that give you a little bit of an advantage comparative to maybe other opponents you would face in week two? Oh, I I think so. Uh it kind of stressed us out a little bit like, hey, what can we what do we have to all have put in? You know, you know that Wednesday was like our our Thursday practice, so we had to have everything uh you know, put in. So, we kind of got sped up there. Um, but it is nice to go and have that, you know, that that weekend to kind of relax. I’m sure the kids were relaxing and uh recuperating. So, that was that’s important to us. But I I think it’s a good one. We got an extra day compared to some of the other ones. Coach, uh, I’ll leave you on this. What’s the biggest challenge you have left for your team? because you don’t win a state title in week one, but a lot of people are going to pat you on the back for that victory over Stanton. What do you tell your team getting ready for week two and just for the rest of the season coming off of a big win? Um, yeah, we we go we talked about it a little bit today and it was like, hey, you know, that was a good win. It’s it’s good for our program. It’s some of these other kids have never beat Stanton before. Um, so that was a nice a nice solid win for us and I think we did some things uh uh right. I thought we were more physical, which is, like I said, a staple of Bloomfield football. And I think we’re on the the right page. Um, but it’s we’ve got to continue to do what we go and do and, you know, push for the u for the future. Coach, appreciate your time. Great chatting with you. And also, fellow loper, I don’t know if you see we just red this is much as much redecorating as I can do, but uh appreciate your time as always. Best of luck the rest of the season. really hoping we get to be able to see your team now moving forward because you keep pounding the rock the way you do. You’re going to make a lot of people happy, especially in this state. Absolutely. Thanks. All right, that was uh Bloomfield football coach Matt Kuhar joining us today on Smalltown Ball. Always appreciate your time, coach, and appreciate everyone’s time. If you need anything more, her at sports nebres and of course herports.com. Check you again next time. [Music] [Applause] [Music]
