When I reached head coach Tom Nelson on Friday afternoon, he was getting ready for the long drive to Pine City. The Agates were preparing for their fourth game of the season, looking to settle themselves after a difficult night against Mora the week before. Nelson talked through the week with the calm perspective of someone who has led the program for more than two decades.
The Agates entered the week with a two-and-one record, including wins over two 4A schools. Nelson said the loss to the Mustangs had surprised them, not because Mora lacked talent, but because the Agates didn’t play to their ability.
The team they saw on film the week before looked different from the one they faced on Friday night. Mora had been beaten soundly in their previous game and came in motivated and sharp, and the Agates struggled to match that energy.
“They came in flying high and wanted to right the ship,” Nelson said of the Mustangs.
The response during the week was straightforward. The group returned to fundamentals and simplified some of their defensive and offensive approaches. The team needed to settle back into the basics and regain the consistency that had carried them through the first two wins.
“We tackled really poorly last Friday,” he said. “We have to go back to the roots and what makes a good team a good team.”
The week was complicated by illness. Several starters missed practices, and even coaches felt it. The bug made its way through families and classrooms, but the group stayed focused. The players showed up, worked hard, and stayed committed to improving.
“They are an awesome group of kids,” Nelson said. “I mean that.”
The roster itself is unusually young. Most teams they face have ten, twelve or fifteen seniors. The Agates have three. Even so, the seniors they do have are strong leaders, and the juniors have stepped naturally into larger roles.
The captains this season are Ryan Stone, Colton Hyopponen, Junior Lucero and Axel Morissette. Each is a multi-sport athlete who spends time in the weight room and leads by example. They are also good students who do what is asked of them and set the tone for the rest of the roster.
“If your best players are your hardest workers, you are going to be okay,” Nelson said.
He has long encouraged athletes to participate in multiple sports. He said it helps them learn to move in different ways, work with different coaches, and develop broader athletic skills. He pointed out that professional athletes often played multiple sports, and he believes high school athletes benefit from the same variety.
The weight room has become a central part of the program’s identity, something emphasized years ago and carried forward by each new group of players.
“If you are not working in the weight room, if you are not training your body physically, you are falling behind because everybody else is,” Nelson said.
The commitment to training has helped keep the Agates competitive over the years. The players understand the importance of strength, conditioning, and injury prevention, and they show up consistently. The culture around the program has grown from that foundation, and the kids have embraced it.
The team’s commitment extends beyond football. The players volunteer throughout the year, helping families move, assisting with projects and pitching in wherever they are needed. Their willingness has become part of the larger identity of the program.
“Very rarely do I ever struggle to find the help I am asking for,” the coach said.
Nelson talked about a book he keeps that emphasizes men being built for others. He said the boys will one day be husbands and fathers and are already sons and brothers, and he wants them to learn how to be there for people. He believes volunteering teaches responsibility, empathy and awareness, and he believes those lessons matter as much as anything that happens on the field.
The coaching staff is large and experienced. Ryan McIntyre and Todd Beck have been with Nelson for all twenty-six seasons. Scott Leavall, Jim Anderson, Bill Anderson, Josh Widdes, Ryan Endicott, Kyle Imholt and Andy Morssette round out the staff, along with Ben Eliason and Kyle Anderson.
The program has limited paid positions, so coaches split stipends to make sure everyone is included. Nelson said the staff is there because they want to be, not because of the paycheck.
“Everybody is in it for the right reasons,” he said.
The continuity among the coaches has helped shape the program’s identity. The staff works well together, communicates clearly, and shares the same expectations for the players. The boys benefit from that stability, especially in a year when the roster is young and still learning how to lead.
Community support surrounds the program. Fundraisers help the team purchase needed equipment, and full stands create an atmosphere the players appreciate. The Agates represent more than themselves when they take the field. The program carries the history of the school, the alumni, and the town.
“We play for this community,” Nelson said, and it’s something he’s believed since he was a kid growing up in the same community.
People follow the team from far away, including alumni who keep tabs from other states.
“There are guys and girls in Arizona that are retired that get online and check our score out on Saturday morning,” he said.
Nelson expressed gratitude for the people who come to games, the families who support the players and the alumni who still follow the team. He said the Agates appreciate every bit of it. The support helps the program grow, helps the players feel connected, and helps the team understand who they represent.
On Friday night, September 25, the Agates delivered the response they had been working toward. They defeated Pine City 37 to 0, a disciplined and confident performance that reflected the week of preparation and the identity Nelson described. The win moved them to three and one and offered a clear sign of the team’s ability to regroup and respond.
The Agates will continue their year with the same mix of youth, effort, and community pride that has carried them through the early season. They will keep working in the weight room. They will keep volunteering. They will keep learning how to lead. And they will keep playing for the people who show up, the people who follow from afar, and the people who have been part of the program for generations.
