There was a quiet confidence, augmented by an aura of optimism, as the 2024 Hot Springs Savage Heat football team hit the field for its first official practice of the season.

For most six-player teams, having two returning starters from an 8-1 team the year before would generate hope by the bucket full. The Heat boast five returning seniors who started all or part of the 2023 campaign, including four who made the six-player all-state teams. 

And, for extra measure, the Heat added a 6-foot-3, 220-pound foreign exchange student from Brazil who will handle kicking duties, putting his soccer experience from his native country into play. 

“We feel pretty good going in,” head coach Jim Lawson said as the team went through first-day practice drills last Friday. “The guys have been working hard in the offseason." 

That offseason work was evident as the team flexed its way through stretching and running drills. They open the 2024 season Friday, Aug. 30 against Denton-Geyser-Stanford-Geraldine, a four-town co-op that went 6-4 last year. 

Hot Springs breezed to an 8-0 record last season before a tragic loss derailed their spotless season. They finished 8-1 with a playoff loss to state 6-player finalist Harlowton-Ryegate-Judith Gap. 

“We are ready to go,” said senior quarterback Nick McAllister over the summer. The 6-foot-4 McAllister will have plenty of options on offense, led by senior running backs Johnny Waterbury and Weston Slonaker. Both are speedy, solid runners who can catch the ball. Waterbury is a two-time state finals wrestler, and both are multi-sport standouts for the Heat. 

McAllister was sidelined much of last season with a high ankle sprain. But he appears good to go as the 2024 season looms. 

McAllister and his two veteran running backs are joined by senior David Chapman, a fleet of foot tight end/defensive end who was a major contributor to the Heat’s run last year. Waterbury and Slonaker also double as outstanding linebackers on the formidable Hot Springs defense. 

The fifth senior of the group of upperclassmen is Calvin Timmer, who finished last year as the starting center. And sophomore Daniel Slonaker, younger brother of Weston, is slated as the starting fullback this season. 

Pedro Vedotti, the Brazilian exchange student who is living with the McAllisters during his time in Hot Springs, brings an added scoring element with his kicking abilities. 

“He’s a big kid with a strong leg,” said Lawson. In six-player football, the standard point after touchdown kicks are worth two points due to the rarity of accurate kickers at smaller schools. He is also a solid basketball player, as is McAllister and both Slonakers. 

“I think these guys know this is a potentially good year,” said Lawson during offseason weightlifting earlier this summer. 

Some rule changes may create obstacles to the Heat’s run, including tight budgets that make travel a daunting prospect. This year overnight accommodations for traveling teams are not allowed, meaning the team will have to leave at about 4 a.m. to make their game with Gardiner in time for the scheduled 1 p.m. kickoff.  Gardiner is 356 miles from Hot Springs, which turns the trip into a long down and back situation with a football game in between. 

Hot Springs won state six-player championships in both 2016 and 2012, and has won two straight Western conference titles. 

    Savage Heat football players step through and agility drill then run up the hill during their first practice of the 2024 season last Friday in Hot Springs. (Chuck Bandel/VP-MI)
  

    Running is a must in 6-player football and the Hot Springs Savage Heat do lots of it during practice. (Chuck Bandel/VP-MI)