GAME CHANGER
NDSU linebacker helped alter the football culture of a small town in Wisconsin
By Jeff Kolpack The Forum FargoSparta, Wis., declares a population of 9,717 and for the longest time there were 9,000-plus residents who didn’t care much for their local high school football team. There wasn’t much to care about.
Losing will do that. As sure as the nearby La Crosse River in the southwest part of the state flows out of the Mississippi River, the flow of victories for the Sparta Spartans nearly stopped every year. It reached the point where there was a term for it: “Sparta Good.”
“That is you’re good enough to start for Sparta, but it doesn’t matter because you’re going to get killed anyways,” said head football coach Adam Dow.
Dow is in his seventh year in the program and third as the head coach. The Spartans won two games in his first year when he was an assistant.
“And it felt like the Super Bowl for the kids,” Dow said. “I think it was the first conference game they had won in a certain number of years.”
Change was on the horizon and perhaps it started with a couple of brothers with the third-mostcommon surname in Poland.
Ryan and Cole Wisniewski helped alter the landscape of Sparta football.
Cole is a sophomore linebacker at North Dakota State who is making an immediate impact in his first two years in the program. Ryan is a senior wide receiver at NCAA Division III power Wisconsin-Whitewater who leads the team in receptions.
Both the Bison and Warhawks are 5-0, with the Bison heading to Illinois State on Saturday for another key Missouri Valley Football Conference game. Cole has been a major contributor on defense, stepping in for injured starter James Kaczor.
NDSU did not lose a beat in the switch. Wisniewski (pronounced Wiss-nes-ski) had six tackles and a quarterback sack in a 34-20 win over Northern Iowa last week. For the season, he’s fourth on the team in tackles and is tied for the team lead in quarterback hurries with two.
The nearly instant success doesn’t surprise NDSU linebackers coach Grant Olson. He said Wisniewski is the type of player who will go home on Tuesday night and watch every play from that day’s practice. Wisniewski often takes notes to double down on avoiding the same mistake twice.
That’s how Wisniewski was part of a game-changing atmosphere in Sparta.
“That attitude alone is the type of guy who is going to change a culture and change a program around,” Olson said.
The change started at Sparta when Cole was a freshman and Ryan was a senior. The Spartans went 7-2 and qualified for the state playoffs for the first time in almost three decades.
Sparta Good no more.
“It was insane what the atmosphere turned into from the years before that,” Cole said. “Not only from the community but from the school. Kids started taking pride in the football team.”
It wasn’t just the Wisniewski brothers, either, who spurned the resurrection. Caleb Schauf is a senior backup tight end at South Dakota State. Madden Connelly is a defensive lineman at Division II Northern State (S.D.).
In all, eight players from the last five years of Spartan football
have gone on to play college football at some level.
“When you look at the overall impact, it was kind of a mind flip for the program,” Dow said. “We shifted the mentality and both Ryan and Cole were a big part of it. When you go from never making the playoffs to playoffs in three of the past five years, there definitely was a change in
something.”
The change was felt in the community. On Friday nights in the fall, the high school football field became the place to be instead of not caring about the team. Cole said everywhere he went in town, people wanted to talk football.
Sparta over the years was always one of the smallest
schools in the Mississippi Valley Conference that had a difficult time beating the bigger programs.
“When you’re the small school in the bigger conference, a lot of times kids don’t see success,” Dow said. “Seeing on their faces and watching all of the time and effort and adversity they had been through to get there, it was something neat to see. And for the community something to be proud of. Those kinds of times in a smaller community are something special.”
Still, Cole wasn’t sure about his prospects for college football for the longest time. It was why he had the maturity at a young age to take school seriously, so much that he became the valedictorian of his 130-member senior class.
Driving back from a campus visit to the University of North Dakota one day, he and his mother began discussing whether they should start touring Division II schools.
“We weren’t sure we were going to get a scholarship offer,” Cole said.
That thought didn’t last. He got his first offer in March after his junior season. Last season, with the Missouri Valley moving to the spring because of the pandemic, he played as a true freshman with NDSU.
Small town, big-time ready.
“I thought when he came in, honestly he looked like the type of guy you thought was from the best high school program in the Midwest based on how ready he was in a lot of areas,” Olson said.
Moreover, Sparta Good has been buried in the past.
“Sparta Good is the epitome of average,” Cole said. “It was not acceptable at all. Every single morning one of my coaches would say we’re not trained to be second. You heard that forever and ever and ever. We were never second, we were last, and that’s where it was for years. Finally we were able to kick it into gear.”
“IT WAS INSANE WHAT THE ATMOSPHERE TURNED INTO FROM THE YEARS BEFORE THAT. NOT ONLY FROM THE COMMUNITY BUT FROM THE SCHOOL. KIDS STARTED TAKING PRIDE IN THE FOOTBALL TEAM.”COLE WISNIEWSKI, NORTH DAKOTA STATE LINEBACKER, ON HIS HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PROGRAM
BISON GAME DAY NORTH DAKOTA STATE AT ILLINOIS STATE inforum.com the forum | Saturday, october 16, 2021 | SPORTS | F3
Eric Peterson The Forum Record: 5-0
Dom Izzo WDAY-TV
5-0
NDSU defensive line will make it a long day for whoever is quarterbacking the Redbird offense Quincy Patterson will take another step today for NDSU NDSU 31, ISU 17
Mike McFeely The Forum Record: 4-1
Redbirds will have a tough time finding the end zone going up against the best red-zone defense in the country NDSU 24, ISU 10
Injured Bison defensive end Waege plans on returning
By Jeff Kolpack and Eric PetersonThe Forum
Fargo
North Dakota State defensive end Spencer Waege and Bison head coach Matt Entz had a talk before the season on Waege’s extra season of eligibility in 2022 because of the COVID19 pandemic. Nothing was decided.
That decision may have become more clear in the last few weeks for an unfortunate reason: Waege tore his ACL last month at Towson University (Md.).
“Now with my injury, more than likely I’m going to be back now,” he said.
While that’s good news for the Bison defense next season, the tough news is Waege has a lot of work ahead of him to get back to health. He knows it. He’s not going through it alone, either, with former Bison players and defensive line assistant coach Buddha Williams paying close attention.
One example: Former Bison standout defensive end Greg Menard called Waege to share his experience. Menard tore his ACL during the first week of practice in the 2017 season, but returned for a first team All-American season in 2018.
Menard led NDSU that season in quarterback sacks and tackles for lost yardage.
“He just told me to keep your head up,” Waege said. “He said it sucks but with the rehab you’ll come back better than ever, so don’t hang your head on it too much.”
Waege hopes to start walking in about six weeks. Entz said the hope is Waege will be back for summer workouts.
“Injuries are never fun to deal with,” Waege said, “but it’s part of playing football and a risk that every football player knows can possibly happen. It’s part of the game and I just have to deal with it now.”
Spack says NDSU has ‘elevated’
MVFC play
Illinois State head coach
Brock Spack said NDSU’s high level of play has been good for the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The Bison have won eight NCAA Division I FCS national championships and nine conference titles since the 2011 season.
“I think they’ve really elevated the league in my opinion,” Spack said. “Everybody is trying to match that and when you try to match that it makes the league get better and better and better. You either match it or you get run out of the stadium every time you face them.”
The Bison have won 10 consecutive games in the series, but the programs have had some epic matchups in the playoffs. In 2019, the Bison earned a 9-3 home victory in the FCS quarterfinals en route to a 16-0 season and national championship.
NDSU edged the Redbirds 29-27 for the 2015 national championship at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.
Former Bison quarterback
Carson Wentz scored the
game-winning touchdown with 37 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
“I think that kind of set the table for the games that followed,” Spack said. “That was a great football game, one of the best games that I’ve ever lost. ... We’ve had some great battles with them.”
Bison QB Patterson a ‘handful’ to tackle NDSU leads the MVFC conference in rushing, averaging 289.8 yards per game, and scoring defense, limiting opponents to 8.6 points per game. Spack said those have become hallmarks of the Bison program, a
strong running game paired with a salty defense.
“There’s two words that kind of sum them up, it’s physical, physicality, and effort,” Spack said. “They do a great job of that and they have good players and good coaches.”
Running back Dominic Gonnella and quarterback Quincy Patterson are the top two rushers for NDSU through five games. Gonnella has rushed for 287 yards and two touchdowns on 41 attempts. The 6-foot-3, 246pound Patterson has rushed for 266 yards and five TDs on 53 carries. Patterson had multiple key power runs in a win against Northern Iowa last weekend.
“The quarterback is a big guy. He runs big. He runs downhill. He’s a handful to tackle,” Spack said. “He’s a different style runner than maybe what they’ve had in the past. He’s a little bit more of a power guy.”
Spack also raved about Bison fullback Hunter Luepke and wide receiver Christian Watson. The 6-foot-5, 208-pound Watson has 14 receptions for 362 yards and three touchdowns. Watson is averaging 25.9 yards per
catch.
“I don’t think there’s a better one in the league than him,” Spack said. “I think he’s the best receiver in the league and he’s a great kickoff returner.”
Odds and ends
► The Redbirds are celebrating their 100th homecoming Saturday against the Bison at Hancock Stadium. “I’ve never been at a place that does homecoming like this place does,” Spack said. “It’s awesome because if you’re an alum of the school you feel a lot of pride when you come back.”
► NDSU leads the FCS in red zone defense allowing two rushing touchdowns and one field in opponents’ seven trips inside the 20-yard line. Bison opponents have two turnovers on downs, one interception and one fumble in the red zone.
► The Bison have won 10 straight in the series, but the last two have been close. NDSU held on for a 21-13 win last spring at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome. The Bison won at ISU 37-3 in the 2019 regular season, but the rematch in the FCS playoffs in Fargo was a hard-fought 9-3 Bison win.
Youngstown State freshman QB among FCS Week 6 award winners
By Craig HaleyStats Perform
Southeastern Louisiana’s Cole Kelley, Columbia’s Cam Dillon, Saint Francis’ Josh McGrigg and Youngstown State’s Demeatric Crenshaw were selected this week as the Stats Perform FCS National Players of the Week for Week 6 games ending on Saturday.
In addition, Villanova earned FCS National Team of the Week.
The five honorees plus honorable mention selections:
NATIONAL OFFENSIVE
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Cole Kelley, Southeastern Louisiana, QB, Sr., 6-7, 260, Lafayette, Louisiana
The reigning Walter Payton Award winner set career bests with five touchdown passes and seven total touchdowns while fueling SLU’s Top 25 win (58-48) over Nicholls in the Southland Conference.
He completed 29 of 38 passes for 406 yards with one interception, and had 14 carries for 55 yards and two scores. He has accounted for 2,202 yards of total offense and 25 TDs in the Lions’ 4-1 start.
Honorable Mention: Nic Baker, QB, Southern Illinois; Davis Cheek, QB, Elon; Jake Chisholm, RB, Dayton; Malik Grant, RB, Sacred Heart; Ren Hefley, QB, Presbyterian; Peterson Kerlegrand, RB, Indiana State; Isaiah Malcome, RB, Penn; Parker McKinney, QB, Eastern Kentucky; Antoine Murray, WR, Howard; Xavier Shepherd, QB, Kennesaw State; Pierre Strong Jr., RB, South Dakota State; Mataio Talalemotu, WR, Portland State; Devin Wynn, RB, Furman
NATIONAL DEFENSIVE
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Cam Dillon, Columbia, LB,
Sr., 6-2, 235, Findlay, Ohio Dillon
shattered Columbia’s single-game record with 5.5 sacks, forced two fumbles and registered a safety in a 22-20 victory at Central Connecticut State. The Ivy League school’s previous sacks mark was three, and Dillon’s haul went for 47 yards in losses, also a program record. He finished with eight tackles (five solos), with his third-quarter sack of quarterback Romelo Williams in the CCSU end zone providing the Lions’ first safety since 2017.
Honorable Mention: Brevin Allen, DL, Campbell; Mike Arrington, LB, Marist; Jayden Dawson, CB, Idaho
State; Malik Feaster, CB, Jacksonville State; Tyrell Grayson, SS, Dixie State; James Houston, LB, Jackson State; Kam Jones, LB, Chattanooga; Isaiah Land, LB, Florida A&M; Marte Mapu, DB, Sacramento State; Brandon Mincey, ILB, Southeast Missouri; Inoke Moala, DE, Indiana State; Marco Olivas, LB, Lafayette; Forrest Rhyne, LB, Villanova; Tre Walker, LB, Idaho; Brennan Young, LB, Houston Baptist
NATIONAL SPECIAL TEAMS
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Josh McGrigg, Saint Francis, WR/RS, Grad, 5-8, 170, Meade, Maryland
After putting the Red Flash ahead for good with a 49-yard touchdown reception, McGrigg had even more of a signature on their 55-10 win over Long Island with both kickoff and punt returns for scores. Believed to be the first player in program history to do both in the same game, he opened the second half with a 94-yard kickoff return TD and later went 59 yards on a punt return TD. He finished with 211 all-purpose yards.
Honorable Mention: Matt Campbell, P, The Citadel; Jack Colquhoun, P, Southern Illinois; Ben Niesner, P, Valparaiso; Jerry Rice, PK, VMI; Jose Romo-Martinez,
PK/P, Florida A&M; Kevin Ryan, P, Idaho State
NATIONAL FRESHMAN
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Demeatric Crenshaw, Youngstown State, QB, R-Fr., 6-1, 220, Pickerington, Ohio Crenshaw rushed for 195 yards to set Youngstown State’s single-game record for a quarterback and accounted for three touchdowns in a 41-33 win over nationally ranked Missouri State in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. He carried the ball 22 times and basically put away the win with a 73-yard TD run with 40 seconds left. He completed 10 of 19 passes for 99 yards, including 28- and 8-yard TDs.
Honorable Mention: Zevi Eckhaus, QB, Bryant; Gage Larvadain, WR/KR, Southeastern Louisiana; Shedeur Sanders, QB, Jackson State; Jeffrey Sexton, PK, Princeton; Jalyn Witcher, WR, Presbyterian
NATIONAL TEAM OF THE WEEK
Villanova (28-27 win at James Madison)
The Wildcats ended then-No. 3 JMU’s 15-game winning streak against CAA opponents, in addition to a five-game slide against the Dukes. Quarterback Daniel Smith and wide receiver Rayjoun Pringle connected for a go-ahead, 57-yard touchdown pass with 2:54 left in the third quarter, then the defense held on to the 28-27 lead. Linebacker Forrest Rhyne posted a careerhigh 20 tackles. Honorable Mention: Dartmouth (2417 win over Yale); Texas Southern (35-31 win over Southern); UT Martin (4824 win over Murray State); Youngstown State (41-33 win over Missouri State)