Spring is usually the time when college football teams prepare for an upcoming fall season.
                It's a time to find see if the returning players have upped their game, to learn if others are ready to assume the positions that are vacant and get every detail in place so that when the new campaign arrive everything will be in place.
                This year, however, like every other small college program, the Berry Vikings' spring season was an actual season – four Southern Athletic Association games that were held to make up for the lost season in the fall of 2020 due to the pandemic.
                On Saturday, head coach Tony Kunczewski and his Berry team will get back to business as usual, using the actual game experience they got five months ago when they kick off the 2021 campaign hosting the Maryville Scots in a non-conference game starting at 6 p.m. at Valhalla.
                "It gave a lot of experience for the young guys," Kunczewski said about the spring season that saw Berry record a perfect 4-0 record and win its fifth consecutive SAA championship. "It was a blessing and a curse. It was a blessing that it gave the guys game experience, but typically you use the spring to prepare for the fall."
                "The credit goes back to the players. They were the ones who had to make sacrifices," the coach said about what the Vikings did to not only play an abbreviated season but also make sure they remained healthy, while at the same time doing what they had to do to win close game – three of the four wins were decided by a combined five points.
                "We figured out a way to win," Kunczewski said, who was named the SAA Coach of the Year for the fourth time since he started the program in 2012.
                The lessons learned in battle back then are being counted on to carryover to the new season this fall, one that sees Berry begin the year ranked No. 12 nationally in the D3.com preseason poll.
                Perhaps the biggest factor carrying over from the most recent competition is that the Vikings returns the majority of the 17 players who earned All-SAA honors in the spring, with both the offensive and defensive units boasting all-conference credentials.
                 Offensively, the Vikings will snap the ball with a new offensive coordinator at the helm with Colin Duling, who for the last three years served as the quarterbacks coach.
                   The good news is that the player he worked with in that capacity returns to take snaps – junior Gavin Gray, who is a claimed his second All-SAA honor in the spring throwing for 940 yards and nine touchdowns and averaged 235 yards per game.
                "He's a winner, he's accurate, he's a leader and he's smart," Kunczewski said of the Gray.
                Lining up behind Gray in the running backs in the spread set are three running backs who give Berry depth at the positions. Freshman Josh Rogers is slated to get the start his first time out of the gate, but the Vikes have the services of junior Darius Barnum and sophomore Jonahan Maisonave, who started during the spring season and on 32 carries rushed for 184 yards and a touchdown, and had a pair of receptions.
                Catching the ball, however, remains a potent weapon for Berry as the Vikings return four seasoned wideouts.
                Sophomore Cameron Kawa is back after claiming All-SAA First Team recognition after leading the team in receiving with 182 yards and four touchdowns. Overall, he averaged 45.5 yards per game in his first year for the Vikings.
He is joined be senior Michael Zhu and sophomore Jake Bretz, who will round out the trio of starting receivers, while senior TJ Watkins give Berry another pass-catching threat.
                Senior Garrett Kinsey will line up at tight end and be a part of an offensive line that is anchored by sophomore center Tonny Garcia, who as a freshman was a First Team All-SAA selections. Flanking him at the guard slots is junior Patton Turner and true freshman Colton Simmer, and lining up as tackles will be senior Joel Alcarez and sophomore David Billiard.
                "We're still young," Kunczewski said, "but we gained valuable experience in the spring."
                On the other side of the ball, where defensive coordinator Zack Smith returns to direct the unit, Berry has a plethora of veterans, including six seniors that form the nucleus of a hard-hitting squad.
                The Vikes' last line of defense in the secondary is headed up by senior Devin Grier, a four-year starter at Berry who was selected as a Preseason D3.com All-American after he had 11 tackles and an interception in the spring to garner All-SAA First Team honor, and is also a threat as a punt and kickoff returner.
                "He's a talented individual who's started since Game 1 as a freshman," Kunczewski said of Grier, who also is a threat as a punt and kick returner. "He's a great open-field tackler."
                Senior Jordan Wilson joins his teammate in the defensive backfield, hoping to pick up where he left off in the spring when he was an All-SAA selection and junior Elohim Hull is another all-conference performer from the spring when he had 15 tackles, two pass breakups, two interceptions and had one forced fumble that made him "out defensive MVP" according to Kunczewski.
                 Completing the potent four-man secondary is sophomore Kristofer Thomas.
                In the middle of the unit are four linebackers who, like their counterparts in the defensive backfield, have already made their marks.
                Back for the Vikings includes Brock Skinner, who was the SAA Special Teams Player of the Year, an All-SAA second-team selections who had eight tackles and two picks, one he returned 57 yards for a touchdown; senior Connor Cheyunski, another first team all-conference choice who led Berry with 33 tackles; senior Jake Weitkamp, named to the All-SAA second-team defense with 16 tackles; and sophomore Luke Filipkowski, who made an impact in his first year at Berry.
                Forming the three-man wall up front along the defensive line will be seniors Ben Prescott and Jake Seeger, and sophomore Al Williams.
                When it comes to special teams, Berry doesn't have to look far as Matthew Syverson brings his leg back. In the spring, the junior was an All-SAA selection and an All-Region pick when he converted four of seven field goals, one from 47 yards out, and averaged 35.1 yards a punt, with three of them
                "The conference continues to get more challenging," said Kunczewski, who will see his team play three non-conference games – including a road trip Sept. 18 to No. 2-ranked Wisconsin-Whitewater – before entering the SAA slate Oct. 2 against the preseason pick to win it all in the conference, Trinity.
                "We take it one game at a time," the coach said. "If we want to move the program forward, we want to challenge ourselves. Our goal is to move the program forward.