GF football preview: Red River QB Reese Walters gets another shot after injury

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Aug. 27—GRAND FORKS — After serving as the backup to standout quarterback Pearce Parks in 2024, Reese Walters entered his junior season with the keys to Grand Forks Red River's offense.

He wound up making just five starts.

Walters suffered a stress fracture in his tibia in the second quarter against Kindred on Sept. 26. Matt Dosch was named the starter for the rest of the season, and though Walters eventually returned in Week 9, his role was limited to receiver.

This year, the 6-foot-3, 200-pound senior is getting another shot as the Roughriders' starting quarterback.

"Last year I obviously wasn't super thrilled about not being able to play again," Walters said. "But I'm so close with Matt, I had so much fun watching him. It really made me realize how lucky I am to be in the position I was in. I'm just excited to get out there this year and hopefully make the most of it."

Walters' best performance last year came in a 49-12 win over Williston on Sept. 19. He threw for 250 yards and three touchdowns in the first half alone.

"Reese is pretty excited to have the opportunity again to lead the team," Rider head coach Vyrn Muir said. "Being a senior, he saw what happened when Matt came in last year. I think he'd like to not necessarily emulate exactly what Matt did on the field, but be able to emulate what Matt did for our team, which brought confidence to the rest of the team."

Though his playing time was limited, last season offered Walters a taste of what it's like to play quarterback at the varsity level.

Walters kept working in the offseason, too. He attended camps at UND and South Dakota State, and went to the Easton Stick Quarterback Clinic in Fargo.

"Those are always nice," Walters said. "Working with some of those older college coaches, you get tips about stuff that you didn't think about at all. … It was nice to hear those little things that are impacting my play."

This season will also be important for Walters' collegiate future.

Luckily, he has someone to help navigate the recruiting process: his brother, JB Walters, who plays for South Dakota State.

"His advice has been nice, just to see what it's really like as a college football player," Walters said. "When you go on these visits, it's all glammed up and everything. But knowing that he's been through the trenches of it all has been really nice to learn from and see what it's like to have to get it all done."

Muir is hoping Walters can be the level of playmaker that Dosch became, whether it be with his arm or his feet.

Dosch's ability to make something out of nothing was one of the traits that stood out to Walters while he watched from the sidelines.

"I really got to watch a lot of that from Matt last year," Walters said. "Even in plays that seemed pretty broken, he would run back across the other side of the field and score. That was really nice to watch, just to see that if something does go wrong, there's always a way to make something happen."

Walters will be supported by the plethora of players Red River has returning at skill positions.

Senior wide receiver Max Mannausau is one of the standouts. He was an all-EDC selection last year and finished with 28 catches for 605 yards and five touchdowns despite playing in only six games due to injury.

Mo Kamara, Brody Neil and Caden Tostenson are three additional returning seniors bolstering the wide receiver room.

"It's always pretty comforting to know that I'm surrounded by dudes that can play football and make the most out of anything," Walters said. "It's super exciting because I know that we can always control the game and play how we want to play, but also come out and hit a big play when it's needed."

Senior tight end Brody Behm, senior running back Cam Irion, junior running back Brennan Johnson and senior tight end Oliver Pieper are a few more of the weapons the Riders have on offense.

"The returning guys all went through battles last year," Muir said. "They got the week-to-week grind, whether you feel great or not so great about what happened the week before, whether your body feels great or doesn't feel great, just having to prepare each week and having to go out on Friday night and play to the best of their abilities, they have all experienced that."

Red River opens the season at 6:30 p.m. Friday with a road game against West Fargo Horace.

The Hawks beat the Riders 34-7 in last year's season opener.

"It's really exciting," Walters said. "They're a super good team, really physical, I know they're going to be able to make their own plays. But I think we have the power to just play our game and control it, and do what we need to do to win."

Grand Forks Red River

Coach: Vyrn Muir.

2025 record: 4-6, lost to Minot North in the state quarterfinals.

Key returners: Sr. RB-DB Cam Irion; sr. WR-DB Max Mannausau; sr. QB Reese Walters; sr. WR-DB Mo Kamara; sr. WR-DB Brody Neil; sr. WR-DB Caden Tostenson; sr. TE-LB Jonah Pence; jr. OL-DL Jordan Myers; sr. TE-DL Brody Behm; sr. TE-DL Oliver Pieper; sr. OL-DL Kaden Holt; jr. RB-LB Brennan Johnson.

Top newcomers: Sr. OL-DL Charles Brutger; jr. OL-DL Brock Demuth; jr. OL-DL Zane Thurman; sr. WR-DB Cooper Barendt; jr. RB-DB Kaden Porter; so. RB-LB Reid Nelson; sr. TE-LB Logan Bimler.

Coach Muir says: "We have to try to develop some players here these first couple games, so we're a little more lenient with mistakes. But by the time we get to game three, if we haven't seen fast improvement or if we don't have any hope for their development at that point, then we're going to have to play guys that we feel can do it for us. By the time we get to our region conference games, we've got guys that have at least a game or two under their belt playing where we want them to play. I think we're going to try to see who can play football these first couple games, and then the rep windows will probably narrow down."

Grand Forks Central

Coach: Jake Schauer.

2025 record: 7-3, lost to Devils Lake in the state quarterfinals.

Key returners: Jr. QB Brody Leddige; sr. RB-LB John Shereck; jr. RB-LB Carson Kotrba; sr. OL-DL Eli Fischer; sr. OL-DL Sawyer Harlow; sr. OL-DL Jaeden Vetter; sr. OL-DL Gage McNally; sr. LB Zethan Vorderbruggen.

Top newcomers: Sr. WR-CB Brody Schneider; sr. WR-DB Jaden Cochran; sr. WR-DB Blake Solberg; jr. LB Devin Wockenfuss; so. DB Asher Fischer.

Coach Schauer says: "Our main expectation as a team is that we are a team, we're not a bunch of individuals. We're going to play as one unit. We're going to do things the right way on and off the field, and we really believe that if we do the little things right, they add up to the big things. That's our focus right now: we've got to worry about us and worry about these little things that add up to the big things. I'm excited to see where this team can go."

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