The best thing about covering high school sports is that you know what you’re going to get in terms of effort from the athletes.Unlike many professionals, high school athletes lay it on the line for the love of the game."Playing with passion" are the words I would use to describe 2005 Hills-Beaver Creek High School graduate Cody Scholten on the Patriot football team a couple of years ago.Scholten was an intense competitor as a two-way starter on offense and defense, and he played the game with a lot of heart.He twice was selected to the All-Southwest Ridge Conference Football Team during his playing days at H-BC, and always seemed to be near the ball or making a tackle when playing as a linebacker on defense.Although he hasn’t played a high school football game in more than 17 months, Scholten’s passion for the sport hasn’t died.That’s why he subjected himself to the rigors of being a red-shirt freshman with the Dakota State University football program in Madison, S.D., last fall.And, when he decided to leave the school for the reason of changing majors, Scholten made sure he would be able to pad up and play football even though the new school he will attend next fall (Southeast Technical Institute in Sioux Falls) does not have a team.Instead of playing college ball, Scholten will be a member of the Dakota Lawdawgs, a Sioux Falls-based team that’s a member of the North American Football League."I’m really pumped up about this," Scholten said. "Now I can go to Southeast Tech and still play football."Scholten drew his lead to play football for the Lawdawgs at DSU last fall.One of the DSU linebackers played with the NAFL team the summer before, and he gave Dakota coach Jordan Taylor Scholten’s phone number when Taylor made it known the Lawdawgs would need more linebackers this season.After checking out a team practice in February, Scholten liked what he saw, and he’s been attending the team’s every other Saturday practice the last two months.Scholten said the practice schedule is about to become more demanding.Starting May 13, the team will practice every day in preparation for the June 3 season opener against the Kansas City Panthers at Howard Wood Field.Once the season begins, the team will practice Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays until the campaign is over. The NAFL playoffs begin Sept. 23.The commitment to play with the Lawdawgs is a big one, but Scholten with his current job with Sioux Vocational Services in Sioux Falls.Even if there were conflicts between his work and play, I’m not so sure work would be on the winning side.Scholten once made the Top-30 Club out of more than 400 athletes who attended the Tice Brothers Football Camp (ran by former Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Tice) in the summer of 2004. He said he’s is too passionate about his football to be distracted from it. "I just love to play football and I’m not ready to give it up yet," he said.