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No offense to Bratland, but he was a last resort.
Not very often is a 5-foot-7, 120-pound freshman going to be anything but a last resort.
Regardless, he got thrown into the position. He managed to survive the few games he started on varsity at linebacker that season.
The next year, Winona changed its defense, and made a tiny little sophomore the focal point.
Since, Bratland has been a two-time all-state linebacker. He’s been an absolute tackling machine with 129 and 148 tackles the past two seasons.
“He’s a gutsy little player,” WSHS coach John Cassellius said. “Here you have a kid that can be all-state again and have over 500 career tackles. That’s unbelievable for a career. He just has a nose for the ball.”
Bratland isn’t an overly vocal guy. He doesn’t have to be. He lets his play speak for itself, including playing with a broken thumb last year.
“He won’t let a nick hurt him,” Cassellius said of his 5-foot-10, 160-pound senior. “He played four games with a broken thumb and a big club on his hand. He didn’t miss anything.
“The other players see that and automatically give him respect. In the (Rochester John Marshall) game, we had to peel him off the field because of that thumb.”
In Winona’s 3-5 defense, Bratland plays middle linebacker and has the freedom to roam wherever the ball goes. As he got more experience at the position, he began to just fly to the ball, despite the offense trying to counter or reverse him.
“Chase always just has a sense where the play is going,” WSHS senior Joe Zimbric said. “It’s like a sixth sense.”
What may have made Bratland into this tackling machine is the fact that he played as a freshman. Not just the experience, but the sheer mismatches he endured.
“I learned to stay low and tackle low,” Bratland said. “I didn’t really have any other choice.
“When Cassellius told me I was starting (as a freshman) I didn’t know what to expect. That whole Friday, I was sick, nervous and excited. I was kind of going a little crazy.”
Bratland went through some learning experiences as he got more accustomed to the position.
“I remember against (Rochester) Mayo, going for a tackle and getting my helmet stepped on and going two feet into the dirt,” Bratland said. “It was hard, getting tossed around by those teams.”
As funny as it is to think about little Bratland playing as a freshman, there’s a couple of other things even more unique about him.
First, he’s not really interested in sports. He doesn’t watch ESPN and he said he couldn’t name 10 players in the NFL.
Yet, somehow, he’s a freak at linebacker.
“It’s not that I don’t like sports, but I don’t like to watch them; I don’t follow them,” Bratland said. “I have three jobs in the summer. I like to work out. We were never big TV people. My mom just put me in football when I was little to make sure I wasn’t one of those kids who sat around on the couch.
“Neither of my parents knew what was going on in football, and half the time I don’t know either. Once I got to practice, it was, ‘Find the guy with the ball and tackle him.’ It’s been pretty good to me, I guess.”
It’s an all too simple philosophy for a student who is way ahead of the curve.
The other thing unique about Bratland is he isn’t even a student anymore at Winona High. He’s full-time at Winona State University. Last year, he was part-time at Saint Mary’s University.
“I’m just trying to get some (general education courses) done,” Bratland said.
Obviously, Bratland plans to attend college, but he’s not sure about football.
“It depends on football or academic scholarships,” he said. “I’ll go to whatever university. I’m thinking about getting into the engineering program.”
