By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
With the departure of Tom Flax from Minneapolis to Concordia, the Lions found themselves in need of a new head coach ahead of the 2025 season.
Former coordinator Garrett Galanski, who had served as an assistant coach at Minneapolis for the last four years and a coordinator for two, was happy to answer the call.
With a renewed vision and a new skipper at the helm, the Lions are hopeful that they can take their program to the next level after posting a combined finish of 31-59 over the last ten seasons.
“I want us to come out and compete to the best of our ability every week,” Galanski said. “I don’t believe in losing scenarios; there’s always a way for us to do the things we want to do and whether we’re winning or losing by a million, I don’t ever want to see our kids give up.”
This offseason has been an intense one in Minneapolis, but challenge and discipline are necessary to attain success, and could give an edge to the Lions in their upcoming campaign.
“It’ll be interesting to see if we’re going in the right direction once we get out there,” he said. “We need to be able to do our job, that’s something we’ve struggled with for the last six years. We like to do everyone else's job other than our own, but if we can instill trust in the guys around us that will be huge.”
On offense, the Lions will be led by third-year starter Owen Just, who returns to the role for his senior season in a new-look offense that should unlock his full potential.
“I think Owen’s ceiling can be whatever he wants it to be,” Galanski said. “He can play multiple sports at the next level, he’s mentally tough, and I’m excited to see how he works within our tweaked offense. We’re going to play a little more to his skill se,t and we’ll see how that looks on Friday nights.”
Just will be joined in the backfield by the tandem of Bryson Lonberger and Brayton Peters, while a brand new receiving corps is headlined by Kingston Derronet, Brayden Johnson, Nolan Arnold, and Charlie Klein.
In the trenches, the Lions will be veteran-heavy, with five upperclassmen leading the way.
Defensively, Minneapolis will be shaking things up, with just four returning starters in the same spots as last year.
Logan Haley, Wyatt Griffin, and Bladen Johnson will form the Lions’ three-man front, while Brayton Peters, Logan Biggs, Josh White, and Jasper Johns fill out the linebacker positions.
In the secondary, Owen Just and Bryson Lonberger patrol the deepest parts of the field at safety while Charlie Klein and Nolan Arnold play up at cornerback.
For Minneapolis, taking the next step will mean focusing on opponents one at a time, and confidence will play a big role regardless of who lines up across from the blue and white on Friday night.
“Our biggest challenges in the past have been in our ability to look at the next opponent as just the next opponent,” Galanski said. “Past accolades don’t mean anything to me; who a team is going to be on Friday is all that matters. We have to be able to adapt to that.”
The Lions get a huge test in their season opener as they play host to the defending 2A State Champions in Southeast of Saline.
You can stream the season opener free of charge with live video and audio commentary on Salina Post, or tune in on KINA (910 AM/107.5 FM)
Full 2025 Football Schedule
9/5 - vs. SE of Saline
9/12 - at Lyons
9/19 - vs. Ellsworth
9/26 - vs. Norton
10/3 - at Halstead
10/10 - at Beloit
10/17 - vs. Russell
10/24 - at Phillipsburg