Coach T Tops Record

Bulldog head football coach Jeremy Tostenson made history Friday night as Milbank Area defeated Flandreau 55-7. With the win, Tostenson broke Rollie Greeno’s Milbank record of 68 wins. “It means I have been around a long time,” Tostenson said humbly about his achievement. Tostenson took over the helm in 2002 after serving as
assistant to Darren Tipton for two seasons. Prior to that, he was an assistant coach at Aberdeen Central and also coached eighth grade football.

Tostenson was happy to return to his alma mater. “My heart is shaped in an M,” he said. “I have maroon and Vegas gold running through my veins.” Tostenson currently holds a 69-57 record in his 14 seasons. Under his leadership, the Bulldogs won two conference crowns (2005 and 2007), two region championships (2002 and 2005), were the state Class 11A runner-up in 2005 and captured the Class 11A championship title in 2009. Tostenson was named the Region 1 football coach of the year by the South Dakota Football Coaches Association in 2007.

The position of head coach does not come without its ups and downs. As any coach will tell you, leading a team takes countless hours of preparation where hundreds of tasks tend to go unnoticed. “He would usually tell me when the season started that the submarine was going down,” mentioned Tostenson’s wife, Ginny. “That meant that during the season, we would not get to see each other very much except on the field.”

Tostenson gives all his credit to his assistant coaches and all the players he has coached over the years. “We have coached many special football players throughout the years,” noted Tostenson. “I also have been fortunate to have loyal, hard-working assistant coaches.” Assisting Coach T this year are Ryan Scoular, Troy Gauer, Carl Larson, Scott Wiese, Travis Lester and Tyler Sieh.

Tostenson will continue to spread the Bulldog tradition to his players and is very thankful for the opportunities he has been given. When it comes time for Tostenson to step down, he plans to devote more of his time to the ranching operation he is involved in along with his father and brothers, Matthew and Paul. Until then, he will enjoy his players, fellow coaches and fans , and those Friday night’s under the lights.