Daily Citizen Prep Football Preview 2016 by Madison.com

BEAVER DAM DAILY CITIZEN PREP FOOTBALL PREVIEW | THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 2016 | B1

KICKOFF 2 016 Top storylines for each team in the area on the eve of the new season MARK MCMULLEN & DAN LARSON Daily Citizen

orry Willie Nelson, but it’s time to turn on the lights. The Friday Night Lights, that is. The party’s not over – it’s just getting started. While it’s true that most football fans go craziest for college football and NFL football, prep football is the first one to take the stage. So with the season ready to get underway Friday, here’s a look at 11 storylines to keep an eye on this fall – one for each team in the area. Three seasons ago, Beaver Dam was six wins away from the 500-win mark – a mark achieved by only seven other programs in state history. But, BD won only two games in 2014 and two more in 2015, leaving them at 498 wins entering this season. The Golden Beavers believe this is the year they’ll enter that exclusive halfway-to-one thousand club . Like always, they expect to have a strong defense – which has a good mix of returning players and talented newcomers. And on offense, they’re got an athletic quarterback in Carmelo Rosado, a powerful running back in Brandon Rosado and a fast-as-lightning running back in Ryan Sanders to build around. Waupun High School is loaded with talented athletes – a fact supported by last year’s Division 3 state championship in boys basketball, D3 sectional finals appearance in girls basketball, and sectional finals appearance in boys hockey, and D2 sectional semifinals appearance in baseball. Waupun head football coach Nate Brieske said there’s a lot of three-sport athletes on the team, so the gridiron Warriors are hoping for some windfall from the other sports’ successes. That, and Waupun figures on benefiting from the continuity of this being the fourth consecutive year in the same offense. Columbus was a heartbreaking 15-14 loss away from making the Division 4 state semifinals last year. So with the memory of just how close they were to having the chance to play for the program’s first state championship game appearance since 1996 – when the Cards’ won at Camp Randall – you can bet this year’s returning players will be hungry. And now with knowing exactly how small the margin for error is the deeper into the playoffs it gets, the emphasis this season has been on the finer points – and eliminating even the smallest of mistakes. The Cardinals are confident in their abilities and their trust among one another figures on fueling another highly-successful fall in southeast Columbia County. Cambria-Friesland is left to replace 13 seniors who graduated from teams that won back-toback Trailways Small Conference championships and advanced to the D7 state quarterfinals both years. Fortunately for the Toppers, though, they have six very talented seniors back and all six have the kind of athleticism and experience to help lead the Toppers back into the conference-title picture and playoff hunt. C-F will also have to contend with a pair of new teams this year, as Oshkosh Lourdes and Deerfield come over from the Trailways Large and Horicon and Hustisford – which didn’t field a varsity team last year – have joined forces and heads to the Large as a result. Also joining the Large are Palmyra-Eagle and Orfordville Parkview.

2 3

Please see Teams, Page B2

DAN LARSON, DAILY CITIZEN

TEAM PREVIEWS INSIDE Beaver Dam Pages B12,B2,B3 Dodgeland ........Pages B4, B8 Horicon/Husty .Pages B4, B8 Fall River ..................Page B5 Columbus .................Page B6

Waupun .....................................Page B7 Randolph ..................................Page B8 Mayville.....................................Page B9 Markesan ................................Page B10 Cambria-Friesland..................Page B11

EDITOR’S NOTE: The preview stories for Beaver Dam begin on B12 (the back page of the section).

Columbus quarterback Peyton Henry makes a throw during a recent practice. MARK MCMULLEN, DAILY CITIZEN

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KICKOFF 2016

| THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 2016

BEAVER DAM DAILY CITIZEN PREP FOOTBALL PREVIEW

Teams From Page B1

Things could be interesting in Randolph this year, that’s for sure. For one thing, former head coach Pete Woreck got a new job in the Beaver Dam school system and resigned from his post in charge of the Rockets, which put Randy Herpel as the new head coach. And for another thing, the Rockets’ roster is numerically challenged – with just less than 20 players out for the team. But Herpel knows his team will be competitive in every game and as long as the team has a family mentality, he believes the Rockets can come away with a few wins this season. Mayville is another team with a new coach heading into the 2016 season. And the Cardinals have a good one in former Hartford head coach Tom Noennig. There’s always familiarity with the two as before Noennig became the head coach at Hartford, he was the Cardinals’ head coach from 2005-’08. He wants to bring stability to the program and give the seniors a year of football they can enjoy before they leave Mayville. Look to see if he can do just that. Numbers are up and morale is deﬁnitely up from a season ago, so things look promising. Markesan head coach Travis Winkers and his Hornets have a bad taste in their mouths after last season’s 33-0 blowout loss in the opening round of the Division 6 playoffs. But with a number of really talented players back and enough of them that Markesan won’t have to have many two-way starters, Winkers believes this could be the season his Hornets make a deep playoff run. The Hornets also have a very talented backﬁeld tandem in quarterback Carson Clark and running back Drew Bernhagen. Horicon struggled mightily last year while not winning a game, and Hustisford had to cancel its varsity season before it even got off and running due to injuries and not enough upperclassmen. Now, they’re joining forces. And there’s a lot of talented players between the two sides that the co-op – which chose not to pick a mascot/nickname and instead will go by simply Horicon/Husty – enters this year as a real wild card. Will the program take a bit

MARK MCMULLEN, DAILY CITIZEN

Beaver Dam’s Jason Lange (left) makes an extraordinary catch over teammate Davis Braker (right) during a recent practice.

FIREWORKS IN THE FALL? With plenty of weapons at his disposal, QB Carmelo Rosado and the Golden Beavers are hoping to put on a show this season MARK MCMULLEN Daily Citizen

This will be the first year under center as the starting quarterback for senior Carmelo Rosado, and he couldn’t be more excited. Why? Well, he’s got a ton of options to pick from when his Beaver Dam prep football team takes the field on Friday against Milwaukee Lutheran. “I’m looking forward to both of my running backs,” Rosado said about sharing the backfield with his twin brother Brandon Rosado and Ryan Sanders, who both are senior running backs “I feel all three of us, as a group, can make plays. I’m excited to have (senior) Noah Burchardt to be able to make some plays (at tight end), (and senior wide receiver) Davis Braker – both of those guys should be nice tar-

Burchardt From B12

he’s getting the opportunity to play a position that will let him use his abilities more effectively. “Noah’s always been a pretty prototypical tight end type, and based off our personnel last year he did a pretty selfless thing last year and moved to the line to just block 100 percent of the time,” Linde said about his new weapon on offense. “I think his natural position is tight end. I think we’ve got some underclassmen that can fit in to his departure on the offensive line fairly well. “I think he feels more comfortable playing tight end and I think it’s a better fit for what we’re going to ask him to do schematically.” After all, Burchardt is also a basketball player for the Golden Beavers varsity basketball team and his skills on the hardwood translate onto the gridiron very well. “Basketball is very similar in going up and getting rebounds, using your body to get position, the physicality of playing down on the block, they really help out

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gets to make some plays.” In fact, BD head coach Steve Kuenzi said there’s two things he hates accounting for as a defensive coach: An athletic quarterback and a tight end who can make the tough catches and block when needed to. And wouldn’t you know it, with Carmelo taking the reins under center and Burchardt moving from left tackle to tight end this season, the Golden Beavers have both of them. Carmelo feels as though this senior class on offense can become a strong one because of the camaraderie they have as a unit. “This is going to be a great season,” he said. “I feel from middle school, us as a senior class went undefeated, so we really have that unity as a senior class. We’re really close to each other. “I feel like we can bring

each other,” Burchardt said of how he uses his basketball skills as a tight end for the football program. He has the size (6-foot-3 and 210 pounds) and speed to go up and compete for long passes, and since he has a year under his belt at left tackle, his blocking skills have really improved to the point that he’s an asset in the running game as well. “He did it for a year and it’s really prepared him to be a blocking tight end when we need him to be a blocking tight end,” Linde said. “He’s taken a year to learn the art of blocking and it’s paid off for him as a tight end when we need him to block. “His athleticism is what we’re looking for out of a tight end as well. He can cover the ﬁeld both ways.” And Kuenzi has had the best seat in the house when Burchardt plays basketball for the Beavers in the winter, as he’s the book keeper. “I had the pleasure of watching him play basketball as a sophomore during the JV year,” Kuenzi said. “I was really impressed with how he used his body, his hands and how physical he was. We knew he could al-

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proach to the way they look at this season. “Our biggest goal isn’t a number or we’re going to win this many games or whatever,” he said. “We’re not really thinking about a final number like we’re going to win six games to make the playoffs. To me, our goal on offense, defense, and special teams – everywhere – is to commit to themselves to excellence. “We’re going to do every drill the best we can do it. We’re going to run every play the best we can play it. We’re going to do everything to the best of our abilities. If we do that, I really think everything like winning will take care of itself. “Winning will be a byproduct of doing things the right way every time. Not just one time, but every time. Like making that full-scaled commitment to do the best they can.”

that up with the juniors. We can do great things this season.” The thing is, Carmelo and Brandon already have a bond that most of the other teammates probably don’t have because they’re twins. Then you throw in Sanders, who as a sophomore lit it up on the offensive side as a running back, and BD’s option-style offense should be a scary challenge for opposing defenses to try and stop. “I think the fact that we’ve done track together, we’re on football together, we’re in group chats, we’ve always had a couple classes in a year together,” Sanders said. “We’re in the same grade so we’ve always had something in common.” While playoffs are one of the goals for the Beavers, Kuenzi said his team will have a different ap-

ways catch the ball.” Burchardt doesn’t just count on his athleticism, though – he played quarterback on the freshmen team his ﬁrst year in high school, so he has pretty good understanding of the Xs and Os. “It helps because you have to get a general feel for the offense,” Burchardt said. “You’ve got to know where everyone is going. As a quarterback you’ve got to know where the receivers are going. You’ve got to know how the linemen are blocking. You’ve got to know the routes. They all work together as a unit. “If you know where everything is going, it helps out. Playing quarterback helped me become a leader

and help the offense.” Sacriﬁcing his opportunity to be a tight end last year and instead doing what he needed to do in order to be a lineman also showed how much the senior has grown as a leader. In fact during summer camp a week before BD started practice earlier this month, Burchardt noticed that his team was low in numbers at linebacker. So he went over to the coaching staff and asked if he could make the switch from defensive end to linebacker to give the team some depth. And you know what, “He’s emerging as one of our better linebacker types,” Kuenzi said. “There’s a lot of versatility that we can use with him.”

BD has a high tradition of having great linebackers on defense. Guys like Anthony Schumann and Nick Klavekoske in recent years had major roles on the defense. And Burchardt knows that. “I want to try to use my athleticism to try and ﬂy around a little bit more,” he said. “In years past, we’ve had some great linebackers. I’m just trying to ﬂy around and make plays. This year we don’t have a lot of depth as in years past and I noticed that, I wanted to see if I could help the team. “We have a lot of good defensive linemen. I’m trying to help out to be a wellrounded defense.”

of time to gain momentum? Or will gluing the two programs together as one produce instant results? Dodgeland has a lot of talent coming back and at a lot of key positions to boot. So if the Trojans can ﬁll in the gaps around talented running backs Andrew Mountin and Matt Moynihan on offense and returning ﬁrst team all-conference linebacker Cody Kutcher – the team’s defensive MVP a year ago – back on defense, the Trojans might not skip a beat. They also are battle-tested in that they suffered a gut-wrenching 4140 loss to Mineral Point in the opening round of last year’s D6 playoffs, so if the wounds from that loss can spawn a more mature, savvy bunch in the waning moments, Dodgeland could really be onto something good. Like Horicon/ Husty, Fall River could be a sleeping giant. The Pirates were an anonymous 2-7 last year but were so young and inexperienced at many positions that anything better probably would have been a surprise. Now with so many of those same players back and with a lot better grasp of the playbook, the Pirates could compete for a postseason berth. And even if they don’t, many of the players on this year’s team are still either freshmen, sophomores, or juniors – so at worst, it’s another year of growing and learning and building toward 2017. Wayland struggled mightily playing 8-man football last year but nonetheless is transitioning to traditional 11-man football this fall. Given the differences in the two styles and the fact that roster depth plays such a big factor in the 11-man game, it’s hard to know what to expect out of Wayland this year. But it’ll sure be fun to follow along and watch the Big Red try and gain their footing. After all, everybody loves the underdog – and the Big Red have all the ingredients to make for a good underdog story. They’ll compete as one of two independents in the state – so they don’t belong to a conference – and they open their six-game schedule on Friday, Sept. 9, at Fall River. The last of those six games, against Maranatha Baptist on Saturday, Oct. 22, will be an 8-man game.

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BEAVER DAM DAILY CITIZEN PREP FOOTBALL PREVIEW

BEAVER DAM GOLDEN BEAVERS

THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 2016 |

CARMELO ROSADO Beaver Dam Sr. QB/DB

MARK MCMULLEN, DAILY CITIZEN

Beaver Dam’s Ricky Ruel (left) blocks a defender during a recent practice.

Golden Beavers should be good on defense, again “Normally, we have a lot of very good, quality linebackers,” Kuenzi said. The Beaver Dam prep var“This year we have some, sity football team has always but we’re not as deep as had a loaded defense. And that’s not about to we normally are. He asked change. if we could try it and I said lets try it.” “We will be no different Burchardt will be joining this year, if not better than past years,” starting cortwo juniors in Joel Riehnerback Carmelo Rosado bradt and Mitch Graff at said with a grin. “We all inside linebackers. While love hitting and love playing Burchardt and Riehbradt are defense. We all have love for two big kids – both standing defense and just love footat least 6-foot – Graff is on ball.” the shorter end at 5-foot-9, And that defense will but Kuenzi sees a lot of upMARK MCMULLEN, DAILY CITIZEN side this season. be in full force when the Golden Beavers open the Beaver Dam’s Wyatt Wells (right) blocks Hunter Ward during “He packs a lot of punch 2016 campaign on Friday a recent practice. in his body,” Kuenzi said of against Milwaukee LuGraff. “He’ll be a solid performer.” theran. The Beavers will have a Ryan Sanders and Margroup of seniors taking up shall Goodrich will be the many positions. Brandon outside linebackers for BD. Rosado will keep his spot at Sanders made his name free safety, Noah Burchardt on defense last season as a junior who was trying to will move from defensive end to linebacker, and both break in the starting lineup Ricky Ruel and Wyatt Wells on both sides of the ball. will be anchors on the de“There’s nothing better fensive line. than that,” Sanders said of Burchardt is an intereststarting both ways. “I think it’s senior year, you have to ing story. At the beginning – Beaver Dam head coach Steve Kuenzi of the summer camp, about cherish every moment. You a week before football prac- backer was thin. So, he went from defensive end in the have to cherish everything. tices began, the senior no- to head coach Kuenzi to see 3-3 defense to an outside I’m just taking it one day at a ticed that the depth at line- if he could make the switch linebacker. time, one step at a time and one game at a time.” Ruel and Wells will have a chance to start on both the offensive and defensive lines for the Beavers. And Kuenzi is excited about what they bring to his defense. Kuenzi has always had the philosophy of if you’re an offensive lineman, he would prefer them to stay on offense, come off the ﬁeld to talk to the offensive coordinator and rest. But with Ruel and Wells both emerging as strong defensive tackles, he would rather use them on the defensive side as well. So, players to help if these two need rest are senior Nate Schneider, junior Skyler Woods, junior Adam Firari and junior Mathew Piekarski. “That can change if we come out on offense with a 13-play drive,” Kuenzi said about a scenario where Ruel and Wells wouldn’t automatically come out on deThe BDCH Orthopedics & Sports Medicine team knows what it’s like fense. “We’ll bring in those to deal with the pain and frustration of an injury. Whether you’re other two guys (Woods and Firari). We’ll rotate them trying to get back to work or back out on the gridiron, we want to through.” support your every jump, throw and step. While the defensive line We wish all our local teams a winning and safe season, and you can will be strong, the secondary will be that much stronalways count on us to help get you, or the athlete in your life, back ger especially with the Roin the game. Call 920-219-4009 today. sado twins. “Carmelo – who two years ago was an all-conference outside linebacker – now he’s playing corner,” Kuenzi said. “He’s ranks as one of, if not the best, corners I’ve ever coached. “He and Brandon are both brothers, they’re very alike, they’re both offensive weapons for us. But there’s Excellence. Delivered. You have our word on it. no doubt that defense is their forte. Carmelo can cover anybody as good as MARK MCMULLEN Daily Citizen

“Defense has been a strength of ours over the last several years. Obviously calling (the plays), I take it personal. It’s my baby. We’re excited about what we have.”

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Please see Defense, Page B8

YEAR IN SCHOOL: Senior. GREATEST GOAL FOR UPCOMING SEASON: Make Playoffs. FAVORITE POSITION? Defensive Back because I love hitting and defense wins championships. FAVORITE SUBJECT/CLASS: Human Anatomy. PLANS FOR AFTER HIGH SCHOOL: Attend a four year college and get my degree. THIS SUMMER YOU …. Attended football camps, hung out with friends, and prepared for this upcoming season. GAMEDAY SUPERSTITIONS: Can’t wear opposing teams colors. BRETT FAVRE OR AARON RODG ERS: Brett Favre. WHAT WILL BE THE PACKERS’ RECORD THIS YEAR: Not a Packers fan. SUPER BOWL PREDICTION: Seahawks, Panthers. NFL TEAM WITH THE BEST LOGO: New York Giants. COLLEGE FOOTBALL TEAM WITH THE BEST LOGO: Miami, The U. FAVORITE PRO OR COLLEGE PLAYER: Ray Lewis. FAVORITE NON-PACKERS TEAM: New York Giants. FAVORITE FOOD? Lasagna. FAVORITE RESTAURANT? Olive Garden. FAVORITE CANDY? Twix. FAVORITE T.V. SHOW? “Game of Thrones.” FAVORITE MOVIE? “Man of Steel.” MOST PLAYED SONG ON YOUR IPOD AT THE MOMENT? “No Days Off,” by Fetty Wap. YOU CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT? Football. PERSON YOU’D MOST LIKE TO MEET?? Deion Sanders because he is one of the best defensive back to play football. DREAM VACATION? Puerto Rico. DREAM CAR? Aston Martin. OREOS OR CHIPS AHOY? Chips Ahoy. EARLY BIRD OR NIGHT OWL? Early Bird. WOULD YOU RATHER: BE THE BEST RACQUETBALL PLAYER IN THE WORLD, OR FIND $65 ON THE STREET? Racquetball player, because it’s more of an achievement. WOULD YOU RATHER: BE ABLE TO RUN 100 MPH OR FLY 10 MPH? WHY? Run 100 mph, because speed kills. WOULD YOU RATHER: SPEAK ANY LANGUAGE FLUENTLY, OR BE ABLE TO TALK TO ANIMALS? WHY? Speak any language ﬂuently because then you can communicate with anybody. WORDS TO LIVE BY? Everything happens for a reason.

BRANDON ROSADO Beaver Dam Sr. RB/DB

MARK MCMULLEN, DAILY CITIZEN

YEAR IN SCHOOL: Senior. GREATEST GOAL FOR UPCOMING SEASON: Make the playoffs. FAVORITE POSITION? Safety, because you’re able to see the play develop and put yourself in a better position to make plays. FAVORITE SUBJECT/CLASS: Human Science.. PLANS FOR AFTER HIGH SCHOOL: Attend a four-year college and play college football. THIS SUMMER YOU … prepared myself for my senior year of football. GAMEDAY SUPERSTITIONS: I only strap my gloves up on game days. HOBBIES: Work out, and spend time with friends and family. BRETT FAVRE OR AARON RODGERS: Aaron Rodgers. NFL TEAM WITH THE BEST LOGO: New York Giants. COLLEGE FOOTBALL TEAM WITH THE BEST LOGO: Michigan State. FAVORITE PRO OR COLLEGE PLAYER: Cam Newton. FAVORITE NON-PACKERS TEAM: New York Giants FAVORITE FOOD? Brats. FAVORITE RESTAURANT? Olive Garden. FAVORITE CANDY? Swedish Fish. FAVORITE T.V. SHOW? “Game of Thrones.” FAVORITE MOVIE? “Avengers.” FAVORITE ACTOR? Denzel Washington. MOST PLAYED SONG ON YOUR IPOD AT THE MOMENT? “WDYW” by Carnage. FAVORITE SONG OF ALL TIME? “Love Yourz” by J. Cole. YOU CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT? Sports. PERSON YOU’D MOST LIKE TO MEET? Ray Lewis because he is a great inspiration and a great football player. DREAM VACATION? A trip to Puerto Rico. DREAM CAR? Corvette. THREE FAMOUS PEOPLE YOU’D PICK TO BE IN YOUR GOLF FOURSOME? Ray Lewis, Odell Beckham Jr., Eli Manning. OREOS OR CHIPS AHOY? Oreos. EARLY BIRD OR NIGHT OWL? Night Owl. WOULD YOU RATHER: BE THE BEST RACQUETBALL PLAYER IN THE WORLD, OR FIND $65 ON THE STREET? Find $65 on the street because I wouldn’t enjoy playing racquetball. WOULD YOU RATHER: BE ABLE TO RUN 100 MPH OR FLY 10 MPH? Run 100 mph because it would make it a lot easier to make touchdowns. WOULD YOU RATHER: SPEAK ANY LANGUAGE FLUENTLY, OR BE ABLE TO TALK TO ANIMALS? Speak any language so that I would be able to communicate with any person. WORDS TO LIVE BY? Never give up.

HORICON/HUSTY & DODGELAND TROJANS

| THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 2016

BEAVER DAM DAILY CITIZEN PREP FOOTBALL PREVIEW

JOINING FORCES Horicon and Hustiford have high hopes that merger will bear fruit HORICON/HUSTISFORD 2016 SCHEDULE

all-conference.

Aug. 19

at Lomira

Aug. 26

NORTH FOND DU LAC

Sept. 2 at Northland Pines Sept. 9

PALMYRA-EAGLE

Sept. 16 at Montello/ Princeton/Green Lake Sept. 23

MARKESAN

Sept. 30

at Orfordville Parkview

Oct. 7

PARDEEVILLE

Oct. 14

at Dodgeland

- Home games in BOLD CAPS - Games are at 7 p.m. HORICON/HUSTY AT A GLANCE Coach: Shannon Mueller, 4th year* (2-16). Mueller was head coach at Husty from 2013-15 but the Falcons were forced to forfeit their varsity season last year. On offense: Speed will arguably be Horicon/Husty’s greatest asset this season, with running backs Easton Hess, CJ Brooks, and Justin Kuehl all capable of ripping off a big play at a moment’s notice. And Tyler Schmidt is back at WR two years removed from a year in which he had nearly 500 yards receiving and made ﬁrst team

On defense: D-Ends Alex Sawyer and Collin Grudzinski and D-Tackles Troy Beauprey and Seth Spoerl make a formidable front in Horicon/ Husty’s 4-4 scheme and if they can be disruptive at the line of scrimmage that should allow for the linebackers and secondary to round out an effective unit. Connor Drews is only a sophomore but already has a second team all-conference spot on his resume. And senior Kordel Kuehl, who didn’t get a chance to showcase his skills last year because of Hustisford’s lost season but was a second team all-conference inside linebacker in 2014. The bottom line: There’s no telling. Both of these programs have struggled mightily in the last handful of years, but a big part of the reason why has been lack of depth. Now with players from both schools to pick from, the roster isn’t as short. And that could mean Horicon/ Husty ends up as one of the darlings of the 2016 season. BY THE NUMBERS

Combined number of years since Horicon or Hustisford last made the postseason; Horicon last went in 2006 and Husty last went in 2009.

READY FOR BATTLE DODGELAND 2016 SCHEDULE Aug. 19TIGERTON/MARION Aug. 26at Cambria-Friesland Sept. 2

at Palmyra-Eagle

Sept. 9

at Markesan

Sept. 16

PLAINFIELD TRI-COUNTY

Sept. 23

ORFORDVILLE PARKVIEW

Sept. 30

PARDEEVILLE

Oct. 7 at Montello/Princeton/ Green Lake Oct. 14

HORICON/ HUSTISFORD

- Home games in BOLD CAPS - Games are at 7 p.m. THE TROJANS AT A GLANCE Coach: Doug Miller, 3rd year at Dodgeland (10-10), 36th overall (236-107) On offense: They ran it a bunch last year – to the tune of 2,674 yards and the Trojans will run it a bunch again this year. Andrew Mountin returns after piling up 631 yards on 91 carries and 7 TDs last season and Matt Moynihan moves to RB after putting up 12.2 yards per carry with 3 TDs last year. On defense: Linebacker Cody Kutcher was the team’s MVP on defense and a second team all-conference selection in 2015, and he’s back again this year. Also back are full-time starters Andrew Mountin (LB), Tristan Miller (DB), and Matt Moynihan (DB) as well as part-time starters Zach Yuenger (DB) and Dan Moynihan (LB). The bottom line: The Trojans are good. How good remains to be seen, but contending for the Trailways Large championship and making a little noise in the playoffs are realistic goals. BY THE NUMBERS

17.7

Difference between the number of points per game the Trojans averaged last year (32.9) and points per game they allowed (15.2).

Motivated by last year’s close losses and with plenty of talent on the squad, Dodgeland Trojans are poised for another successful campaign DAN LARSON Daily Citizen

Some of them are gone. But for the members of Dodgeland’s prep football program who are back, they have plenty of fuel to keep the fire burning. Like the 15-10 loss to Markesan in Week 6 – when the Hornets struck for an 81-yard TD pass in the final minutes to come from behind – that cost the Trojans the Trailways Large Conference championship. Or the 41-40 loss to Mineral Point in the opening round of the Division 6 playoffs, when the Pointers rallied for the final TD in a crazy back and forth game. Combustion shouldn’t be a problem in Juneau this fall! “We got a piece of the cake – now we want the whole thing,” senior offensive lineman Austyn Huebner said of the fire that burns within as a result of those close losses – especially the loss in the playoffs. “It’s a big motivator,” he added. The Trojans have enough returning starters – four on offense and four on defense – to translate that motivation into results on the field, too. Leading the way will be a pair of third-year starting running backs – senior Andrew Mountin and junior Matt Moynihan. But they couldn’t be any more different when it comes to running style – Moynihan is a 5-foot4, 155-pound elusive back who was a second team all-conference WR a year ago, while Mountin is a 5-9, 210-pound bulldozer. “So they will complement each other,” Dodgeland head coach Doug Miller said. Please see Dodgeland, Page B8

DAN LARSON Daily Citizen

Just down the Rock River from Horicon, on the southern shores of Lake Sinnissippi, is Hustisford. Maybe the two schools should go in on a boat together? Maybe they will – but one thing they already have gone in on together is football. After a year in which Horicon struggled mightily to compete and Hustisford had to cancel its varsity football season before it even got started due to injuries and a roster short on depth, the two programs have merged into one. And both sides are pretty darn excited about the possibilities. “Yeah absolutely,” Horicon/Husty head coach Shannon Mueller said. “Both squads are completely stoked to play.” And actually, a lot of the players from each side have played together – or against each other – over the years in youth football. “So these kids know each other well,” Mueller said. “Now all of our talents are equaled out. It’s a great merger together – and it’s a great blend.” Quarterbacking the ball club will be 5-foot11, 145-pound sophomore Hunter Nehls, who was the starting signal caller last year as a freshman as well. “Hunter did a nice job last

DAN LARSON, DAILY CITIZEN

Horicon/Hustisford sophomore running back Justin Kuehl carries the ball up the middle during practice last week. year,” Mueller said of Nehls, who competed 59.7 percent of his passes in 2015. “We watched a lot of ﬁlm this summer, and Hunter did all the right things in the summer – went to Jeff Tricky Quarterback Camp; did the offseason conditioning as we asked him; came to all our 7-on-7s; came to all our camp stuff. He’s proven and shown that by coming to everything, he’s stepping up as a good leader.”

Meantime, Nehls will have a bevy of backs to hand the ball off to. “We actually have a three-headed monster at running back – (freshman) Easton Hess, (sophomore) CJ Brooks, and (sophomore) Justin Kuehl,” Mueller said. “Those three – they can take it to the house on any given play.” Also at running back are back-ups Calvin Grudzinski – a 6-1, 150-pound junior –

and Austin Wagner – a 5-11, 170-pound senior. Hess and Brooks – who was a second team all-Trailways Large special teams player last year – will both also return kicks. “Either one of those two can just ﬂy. They’re so elusive,” Mueller said. And at wide receiver, 6-foot, 154-pound senior Tyler Schmidt returns Please see Merger, Page B8

ZACHARY FORDON Dodgeland Sr. K/P FAVORITE SUBJECT/ CLASS: Science. PLANS FOR AFTER HIGH SCHOOL: College for sure, but not exactly sure what I want to major in yet. THIS SUMMER YOU … had a great summer. GAMEDAY SUPERSTITIONS: None. HOBBIES: Soccer, video games, and biking. BRETT FAVRE OR AARON RODGERS: Brett Favre. WHAT WILL BE THE PACKERS’ RECORD THIS YEAR: 16-0. SUPER BOWL PREDICTION: Packers vs Browns. NFL TEAM WITH THE BEST LOGO: Buccaneers. COLLEGE FOOTBALL TEAM WITH THE BEST LOGO: Wisconsin Badgers. FAVORITE PRO OR COLLEGE PLAYER: Pat McAfee. FAVORITE NON-PACKERS TEAM: Buccaneers. FAVORITE FOOD? Pizza. FAVORITE RESTAURANT? Culver’s. FAVORITE CANDY? Warheads.

FAVORITE T.V. SHOW? “White Collar” or “Seinfeld.” FAVORITE MOVIE? “Oceans 11” (original 1960 version). FAVORITE ACTOR? Matt Bomer. FAVORITE ACTRESS? Emma Stone. MOST PLAYED SONG ON YOUR IPOD AT THE MOMENT? “Nasty” by Logic. FAVORITE SONG OF ALL TIME? “The Spotlight” by Logic. PERSON YOU’D MOST LIKE TO MEET? AND WHY? Would like to meet Logic because he is my favorite rapper and I love his music. DREAM VACATION? A month in New York City. DREAM CAR? 2016 Prius. DREAM DATE? A nice long walk on the beach with a piece of pizza in my hand. THREE FAMOUS PEOPLE YOU’D PICK TO BE IN YOUR GOLF FOURSOME? Logic, Pat McAfee, and Michael Phelps. OREOS OR CHIPS AHOY? Chips Ahoy. EARLY BIRD OR NIGHT

DAN LARSON, DAILY CITIZEN

Dodgeland senior Zachary Fordon was a ﬁrst team allTrailways Large Conference kicker a year ago and has spent so much time working on kicking and punting in the offseason that Trojans’ head coach Doug Miller thinks it could be a special 2016 season for the specialist. OWL? Night owl. WOULD YOU RATHER: BE THE BEST RACQUETBALL PLAYER IN THE WORLD, OR FIND $65 ON THE STREET? Best Racquetball player in the world because I would be the best in the world at one of the world’s most exciting sports. WOULD YOU RATHER: BE ABLE TO RUN 100 MPH OR FLY 10 MPH? Fly 10 mph be-

cause no one can ﬂy. Anyone can run. WOULD YOU RATHER: SPEAK ANY LANGUAGE FLUENTLY, OR BE ABLE TO TALK TO ANIMALS? Speak any language ﬂuently because then I could go to any country and hear if they talk bad about me. WORDS TO LIVE BY? Mindset equals everything.

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BEAVER DAM DAILY CITIZEN PREP FOOTBALL PREVIEW

FALL RIVER PIRATES

PIRATES PROGRESSING

THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 2016 |

Youth still runs rampant on Fall River’s roster, but now they have a year of experience to lean on

DAN LARSON Daily Citizen

Real growth rarely comes without growing pains, which means that the road from Point A to Point B is generally littered with bumps and pot holes and possibly a few detours as well. But Fall River’s prep football team is hoping it’s finally in the clear. Translation: The Pirates were extremely young and inexperienced last season, which resulted in a 2-7 record and missing out on the playoffs for the first time in four seasons. But they return 22 letter-winners this season and are optimistic that they’re at least out of the woods as they try and make their way back to being Trailways Small Conference title contenders. “Everybody’s got a better grasp of the playbook (and) there’s not as many questions asked about this or that,” said junior Chandler Firari, a returning second team all-conference offensive lineman. “Last year, every play we’d break down and we’d have to talk about something. … (This year), everybody’s ready to go.” It’s true that Fall River spent a good deal of time on learning the playbook last year in training camp. So having a better grasp on that end of things and being able to hone in on the finer points of execution a little more frequently is definitely a step in the right direction. “We’re very comfortable – practices are running a lot smoother,” Firary said. “We’re just jelling more,” added Pirates’ head coach Joe Zander. “It almost seems like we just picked up from last year, from toward the end of the year when we were just hitting our stride. … It seems like now we can just say our terms and the kids pick up on it. “So we’re going to go into Week 1 a lot more prepared (than a year ago).” A lot more experienced, too. The key position in Fall River’s veer option offense is the quarterback, who’s tasked with having to make a lot of decisions on the fly. And that role will be filled by Luke Figol, who didn’t enter last year as the starter but did take over midway through when the coaching staff decided he was a better fit for the position and then-QB Colton Roberts – who’s back as one of the lone seniors this year – was better suited for a more versatile role as wide receiver/ wing back. “And he’s taken (the role) and shined ever since,” Zander said of Figol, an elusive

FALL RIVER

2016 SCHEDULE Aug. 19

ALMONDBANCROFT

Aug. 26

at Wauzeka/ Seneca

Sept. 2 LOURDES

OSHKOSH

Sept. 9

WAYLAND

Sept. 16

at Randolph

Sept. 23 at Johnson Creek Sept. 30

DEERFIELD

Oct. 7

CAMBRIAFRIESLAND

Oct. 14

at Rio

- Home games in BOLD CAPS - Games are at 7 p.m. THE PIRATES AT A GLANCE Coach: Joe Zander, 2nd year (2-7).

DAN LARSON, DAILY CITIZEN

Fall River junior offensive lineman Chandler Firary is back this year after making second team all-Trailways Small Conference last year as a sophomore.

DAN LARSON, DAILY CITIZEN

Fall River sophomore running backs Tanner Liebenthal (pictured at practice early last week), Sam Nelson, and Davyn Braker are expected to form a three-headed monster at DAN LARSON, DAILY CITIZEN running back this season, according to Pirates’ head coach Fall River sophomore Luke Figol took over as starting Joe Zander (pictured back left). quarterback midway through last season and will continue 5-foot-9, 160-pound soph- back or wing back,” Zan- in that role this season for a Pirates’ team that returns 22 omore. der said. “All three of those letter-winners and is confident they’ll be much improved Other than Roberts and three – the backfield – from last year’s 2-7 campaign. Figol – who combined for they’ve really worked hard.” And Fall River is hoping Berndt said gained about 20 leading in that four of the 327 yards rushing on 92 carries (3.6 yards per carry) their efforts pay dividends pounds since last year and losses – a 32-18 defeat to a year ago – Zander said as the Pirates managed a is “going to be a lot better” Rio, a 28-14 defeat to Ranthat sophomores Sam Nel- paltry 9.4 points per game – will play alongside each dolph, a 22-19 defeat to Wilson, Tanner Liebenthal, and on offense a year ago. other at middle linebacker, liams Bay, and a 22-6 defeat Davyn Braker will shoulder They weren’t much better with Braker – who was one to Johnson Creek – during the bulk of the load in the on defense either – allow- of the top sack-masters in a season-ending six-game ground game. ing a generous 28.2 points the conference last year losing streak were by a com“They’re all going to see per game. with 7.5 sacks – at one of the bined 47 points (11.25 points plenty of reps at running But Zander and his staff outside linebacker spots. per game). have made a switch they Up front, the catalyst will And that fact combined hope will stop the bleed- be Firari – who’s listed at with the fact the Pirates are ing – deciding to stick with 5-11, 237 and is making the a year older and without their base 4-4 defense 100 move from defensive end to many holes to fill on the rospercent of the time instead defensive tackle. ter suggests they could be a of alternating between the “He’s one of those kids dark horse in the conference 4-3, 4-4, and 5-3 like they that will just move wher- race this year. did last season. ever to help the team – he’s “I think it’s definitely “It’s making it more sim- a great team player,” Zander going to be a good year for ple for the kids,” Zander said said. us,” Zander said. “We’re still of the reason why Fall River In the secondary will be young … but other than that, is going to go exclusively Roberts (2 interceptions last I’m liking what we’re seeing with the 4-4. year), junior Parker Morton and what they’re putting out The strength of that 4-4 (1), and junior Cole Maloney. there. Great effort from our scheme figures on being at Figol, who had 2 INTs last team – I hope it continues linebacker, where leading year – also will be in the mix for the rest of the season.” tackler Jeremy Berndt is in the secondary – “But with Braker agrees. back as a senior after lead- him being the quarterback, “The effort is a lot higher, ing the team in tackles (76) we don’t want to put him expectations are a lot higher, and Nelson is also back af- always out there,” Zander and if we keep this up, I think ter sharing the team lead in said. “But if we need to, we we’re going (to have a good tackles with Braker (both need to.” season),” he said. with 64). Fall River’s 2-7 record Still, the Pirates aren’t 1515 Park Avenue, Columbus, WI 53925 Berndt and Nelson – who from last year is a little mis- getting ahead of them920-623-2200 • 800-549-7511 selves. For as much as they’d like columbuscommunityhospital.org to make the playoffs and to all area teams! hopefully even contend for the conference title, they know that can’t be done an instant. So the goal is simple: “Just win,” Firari said. “Win the day, win the week, 671 S. MAIN STREET, FALL RIVER (920)484-3700 win the play – win.”

Wishing all of our local teams a healthy and successful season.

Good Luck

On offense: Being better in the passing game is one of the Pirates’ top priorities this season. And if they’re able to accomplish that, it should make their running game in what is already a complex scheme to defend – the veer option –that much more effective. Luke Figol returns at QB, and he has plenty of returning starters around him at pretty much every position group. So Fall River is counting on a more dynamic, well-oiled offense this season compared to the one that posted a paltry 10.6 points per game a year ago. On defense: The Pirates are simplifying things – going back to a base 4-4 against all personnel groups and on all downs instead of mixing between the 4-4, 4-3, and 5-3 – in order to try and yield better results. Their hoping less is more in that regard. But when it comes to who’s returning from last year, they have plenty – especially at linebacker, where Jeremy Berndt (leading tackler last season), Sam Nelson (second-leading tackler), and Davyn Braker (who was near the top in the conference with 7.5 sacks) are all back. The Pirates were pretty good on defense last year – allowing only 22.0 points per game in the ﬁve games where they weren’t overmatched by far better teams – and they expect to be good again this year. The bottom line: Fall River has 22 returning letter-winners, including a bevy of returning starters. So while a lot of them are still only sophomores and the roster is short on seniors, the Pirates are conﬁdent that their experience last year will translate into more wins this year. BY THE NUMBERS

11.75

Average margin of defeat in four of the Pirates’ six losses during a season-ending six game losing streak. Translation: Their 2-7 record is a little misleading in that a few breaks here and there and they might have won another win or two.

Good Luck Area Teams!

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COLUMBUS CARDINALS

| THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 2016

BEAVER DAM DAILY CITIZEN PREP FOOTBALL PREVIEW

CARDS HOPING TO SOAR TO GREATER HEIGHTS They’re focusing on the little things as well as team chemistry in order to try and advance deeper in the playoffs

COLUMBUS

2016 SCHEDULE Aug. 19

RIPON

Aug. 26

at Platteville

Sept. 2

at Belleville

Sept. 9

WAUTOMA

Sept. 16

at Poynette

Sept. 23

at Lakeside Lutheran

Sept. 30

LODI

Oct. 7

at Lake Mills

Oct. 14

WATERTOWN LUTHER PREP

MARK MCMULLEN Daily Citizen

There are a lot of team sports nowadays. There’s basketball, soccer, hockey or even baseball. But these sports don’t quite have the same team aspect as football does. In all four of those sports, anyone on the team can dominate a game and their team might win. In the 2015-’16 NBA Finals series between Cleveland and Golden State, superstar Lebron James took control of the last three games for the Cavs. What the Cavaliers do? They won two games in Golden State and one home game to bring a championship to Cleveland in more than 50-plus years. Without James, the Cavs might not have won that game. But in football, there has to be a sense of unity and trust amongst all the players. One missed block, one dropped catch, one fumble, one 15-yard penalty can make or break a play, a game or even a season. Football is a true team sport and the chemistry on the Columbus prep football varsity team has grown over the last few years to where they feel they’re ready to take that next step. “We all are just meshing together,” senior defensive back and wide receiver Noah Coughlin said. “We all are confident in the guy next to us. We have that trust that most other teams can’t honestly say they have. “I think that’s huge in the first couple of weeks because you don’t have to try and spend that time trying to get that team confidence together.” It helps with team chemistry when the Cardinals have eight offensive starters and nine defensive starters returning from last season. It means that there won’t be many open spots the team will be trying to fill once the Cardinals open their season at home against Ripon on Friday. “Based off of team chemistry, we’ve got a lot of returning seniors who have been playing together since youth football,” said senior Peyton Henry, who will be entering his third year as the team’s starting quarterback. “We’ve been working together for a long time and we’re just getting out here and working together again. We’re picking up from where we started.” Once a team has the trust and team chemistry down, like the Cardinals do, the group can start to build confidence as the season goes on.

- Home games in BOLD CAPS - Games are at 7 p.m.

THE CARDINALS AT A GLANCE Head Coach: Scott Hilber, 4th year at Columbus (24-9). On offense: Jake Smith ran for 1,232 yards and Peyton Henry threw for 841 yards while completing 42.1 percent of his passes. Henry also rushed for 602 yards. Anchored by those two and having an offensive weapon in Noah Coughlin, who caught 28 passes for 459 yards, should give the Cardinals a balanced attack on offense. On defense: Columbus will build around several players in Josh Seltzner – who is an all-state candidate at defensive lineman – Coughlin, Bryce Hilber, and Connor Manthey, just to name a few. Hilber led the team in tackles last year with 100 and Manthey was right behind him with 87. Seltzner led the Cards with 18 tackles for loss to go with his five sacks. The bottom line: There’s a lot of experience and depth on offense and defense to be able to compete for not just a conference championship but a state championship game appearance as well. BY THE NUMBERS

The number of all-conference players returning on defense for the Cardinals.

MARK MCMULLEN, DAILY CITIZEN

Columbus’ Josh Seltzner (right) battles with Noah Black (left) during a recent team defense portion of a practice.

JAKE SMITH Columbus Sr. RB/LB YEAR IN SCHOOL: Senior. GREATEST GOAL FOR UPCOMING SEASON: Camp Randall. FAVORITE POSITION? WHY? Running Back. Why not! FAVORITE SUBJECT/CLASS: Human Anatomy. PLANS FOR AFTER HIGH SCHOOL: Go to college and get a job helping people. THIS SUMMER YOU … worked out, worked, fished and fished some more. GAMEDAY SUPERSTITIONS: Take a nap and eat Doritos. HOBBIES: Hunting, fishing and being with friends. BRETT FAVRE OR AARON RODGERS: Brett Favre. WHAT WILL BE THE PACKERS’ RECORD THIS YEAR: 16-0. SUPER BOWL PREDICTION: Packers. NFL TEAM WITH THE BEST LOGO: Packers. COLLEGE FOOTBALL TEAM WITH THE BEST LOGO: Badgers. FAVORITE PRO OR COLLEGE PLAYER: Eddie Lacy. FAVORITE NON-PACKERS TEAM: Columbus Cardinals. FAVORITE FOOD? Brats. FAVORITE RESTAURANT? Black Kettle in Columbus. FAVORITE CANDY? Kit Kat. FAVORITE T.V. SHOW? “Golden Girls” and “Fast n’ Loud.” FAVORITE MOVIE? “Suicide Squad” and “My All American.” FAVORITE ACTOR? Will Smith. FAVORITE ACTRESS? Margot Robbie. MOST PLAYED SONG ON YOUR IPOD AT THE MOMENT? “Timmy Turner” by Desiigner. FAVORITE SONG OF ALL TIME? “Downtown” by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis before games. YOU CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT?

Family, Friends and Lucy. DREAM VACATION? Cruise. DREAM CAR? Bugatti Chiron. DREAM DATE? Blake Lively. THREE FAMOUS PEOPLE YOU’D PICK TO BE IN YOUR GOLF FOURSOME? The Googan Squad—John B., Alex Peric and Andrew Flare. OREOS OR CHIPS AHOY? Oreos. EARLY BIRD OR NIGHT OWL? Early Bird. WOULD YOU RATHER: BE THE BEST RACQUETBALL PLAYER IN THE WORLD, OR FIND $65 ON THE STREET? Racquetball player because you would make a lot more than $65. WOULD YOU RATHER: BE ABLE TO RUN 100 MPH OR FLY 10 MPH? WHY? Fly because no one has ever flown before. WOULD YOU RATHER: SPEAK ANY LANGUAGE FLUENTLY, OR BE ABLE TO TALK TO ANIMALS? WHY? Talk to animals so I can talk to Teddy to find out why he is so mean. WORDS TO LIVE BY? Win the Day.

And again, it’s a category the Cardinals don’t fall short on. Columbus ﬁnished 10-2 last season and was one point away – the Cards suffered a 15-14 loss to Lodi on a last-second ﬁeld goal – from

advancing to the Division 4 state semiﬁnals. “Our focus as a team has always been about getting better and how to be more competitive,” Cardinals’ head coach Scott Hilber said.

MARK MCMULLEN, DAILY CITIZEN

“Now our focus is: How do we beat the best team?” he added of wanting to avenge its only two losses from last year, which were both to Lodi. “How do you beat the teams that you can’t overpower or you can’t run around? If a team matches you size for size, speed for speed, strength for strength, what are the small details you’re going to need to do in order to beat the team? That’s been our focus this offseason.” Hilber felt that although his team had a great week of practice leading up to the ﬁrst game against Lodi in the last week of the regular season – with the Capitol North Conference championship on the line – the Cardinals might not have been mentally ready to play in a game of that magnitude. “We got caught in the moment and just didn’t focus on the minute details on things to win a football game,” Hilber said. “The second time around, as a coaching staff, we really did a good job of giving them speciﬁc goals like holding the tailback under so many yards, holding the tight end to only so many catches. The defense played well. We took advantage on defense a couple times, but turned the ball over too much. “That’s the difference between us and a team like

Lodi. Lodi has been there at the big games before. When they needed it the most, they came through with the winning drive, came away with the winning kick and they beat us.” Now, the main focus has been on the small things each individual game might bring. “We learned a lot from (the two Lodi games),” Hilber said. “That’s kind of been our focus the whole year was that the small details really matter. You’ve got to pay attention to the small details every single day. That’s really been sticking in the kids’ minds and we’re ready to go.” And the team will agree with its head coach. “In some of our first team meetings this summer our coach brought up the amount of plays that were successful – like incomplete passes, fumbles, lost yardage plays were (only) about 25 percent of our plays,” Henry said. “That’s a big number for an option team. We had a good run last year with 75 percent of our plays working last year, so I think if we can really limit the mistakes and the mishaps on offense that will really take a lot of pressure off our defense to help us get to our goal.” And what’s the goal this year? “Camp Randall is definitely the milestone we’re reaching for, but at this point that’s in the back of our minds as we take these first couple of weeks into account,” Coughlin said. “We need to get all the teamwork stuff done and take it one week at a time.” That’s going to be a point of emphasis this year is to relish the moment each week as the season goes on for the Cards. “We have a lot of things we can concentrate on every single day,” Hilber said. “And I guarantee you, we’re not looking past anyone or any practice or any day. We are completely focused on being the absolute best team we can be. “We’re not good enough today – we’re good enough to compete with anybody, but we’re not good enough to overlook anyone. And we know that.”

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WAUPUN WARRIORS

BEAVER DAM DAILY CITIZEN PREP FOOTBALL PREVIEW

THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 2016 |

ROOKIES NO MORE

WAUPUN

Warriors leaning on bevy of experience in hopes of fruitful year GARRIT LEVEY

DAN LARSON Daily Citizen

Every prep football team enters training camp at a different point along the learning curve. Beginner. Intermediate. Advanced. So where along the curve is Waupun? You be the judge – but they’re not using training wheels, that’s for sure. “This will be the fourth year in this offense for these players, so the comfort level is there with this group,” Warriors’ fourth-year head coach Nate Brieske said of having eight returning starters back to run the team’s spread attack. And actually, it’s more like nine returning starters since sophomore Reece Homan started the last game at QB a year ago and also played quite a bit off the bench for one reason or another. He completed 47.7percent of his passes for 444 yards, 7 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions. But the strength of the offense ﬁgures on being up front, where the Warriors return four offensive linemen – guards Koy Strak and Jake Trauernicht and tackles Robert Woock and Garrit Levey, who was honorable mention all-East Central Conference last year – to block for a unit that has plenty of talent in the running and passing games. “With a veteran offensive line, we can kick off things a little bit faster this year – we don’t really have to train as many people as we did the past few years,” Levey said of hitting the ground running. “We have a lot of camaraderie already coming in – we know how each other works – and we’re hopefully going to build off of that and get some wins.” Brieske agrees that the continuity along the O-Line will pay dividends. “Yeah absolutely,” he said. “Especially in zone blocking, getting your calls and your combos – it takes a lot of time to build that relationship with the guy next to you for the

whole season.” In the backfield, Homan has Caleb Sauer to hand it off to – which will be a bit of a role reversal for Sauer since he was the QB most of the time last year. Sauer did run for 578 yards (4.9 yards per attempt) and scored 8 TDs, though. “They’re both very good athletes and Caleb is a guy that has a little more physical with his legs and has good vision to see holes, and Reece has a very strong arm and has more of that quarterback height,” Brieske said of the reason for the switch. Meantime, the Warriors return a trio of pass-catching options – wide receiver Jak Lenz and slot receivers Nate Brown and Colin Holz – who combined for 67 catches, 705 yards, and 5 TDs last season. “So their routes are a lot cleaner … (and) those little things matter quite a bit,” Brieske said of the benefit of experience. “They all three bring the skill set of speed and pretty solid hands to the table,” he added. “As long as they continue to grow in their (desire) to block on the perimeter, it could be a very explosive wide receiving corps for us.” In fact, it could be a pretty explosive offense if everything goes as planned. “We should have our most balanced offense in a long time, which will be important to keep defenses guessing,” Brieske said. The defense isn’t quite as experience as the offense – but the Warriors do have back five returning starters. And Carter Veleke, who played starter reps at outside linebacker last year, is also back. The strength of the unit figures on being in the secondary, where cornerbacks Blakely Wiesman and Holz and safeties Lenz and Sauer all are back. “They’re all quick and fast – and I think that’ll really help to put the umbrella over our defense and prevent those big plays,” Brieske said

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of those four being key cogs for a defense that will try and dramatically lower the 38.1 points per game that it allowed a year ago. “Those guys have their keys and their reads down, and they can play fast and they can play physical,” Brieske added of the four juniors. “They got a lot of quality experience last year that will pay off this year.” Alongside Veleke at outside linebacker will be returning starter Cole Kamphuis at inside linebacker – and both are strong leaders, Brieske said. And in front of them at nose tackle will be Austin Krause, who Brieske said “has had a great first three weeks of practice and had a great scrimmage.” But perhaps the position group with the most potential on the defense – the whole team, maybe – are the defensive ends. Brieske said that Straks, Trauernicht, Woock, Eric Warnke, Hunter Riter, and Noah Bille will all be in the mix seeing snaps on an every-game basis. “We have guys that bring more speed and guys that can bring more power and then we have guys who are tall and get their hands in passing lanes as well,” Brieske said of the depth at D-End. “So I think we are very versatile along the defensive line.” Also expected to contribute on Fridays this fall is Drew Behling, who is practicing and watching film with the team but will miss the first three weeks because he’s on a traveling baseball team that competes on the weekends. “When we start to get some of those bumps and bruises and injuries that add up, he’ll be a nice piece to bring in fresh,” Brieske said of Behling, who’s listed at wide receiver and outside linebacker. The three sophomores that Brieske said he expects to contribute this season are Homan, Jaden Collien at wide receiver, and Bennett Veleke at running back and safety. “Bennett brings a great deal of speed and Jaden brings height,” Brieske said of their short-term assets. There’s no doubt that the Warriors are excited about the season – but there’s also hopeful to get out to a good start in terms of wins and losses, so as not to be treading uphill all year long. Case in point: They lost their first six games last year but went 2-1 down the stretch, continuing a trend that has seen them go a com-

2016 SCHEDULE Aug. 19

bined 5-4 in the ﬁnal three games of the year over the last three years. So they’re getting better as the year goes on – but it’s not having much consequence in the standings or the playoff picture. “It’s going to be a very important – not only in the conference season but the non-conference season – to

at Kiel

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Waupun Sr. OL/DL YEAR IN SCHOOL: Sophomore. FAVORITE SUBJECT/CLASS: History. PLANS FOR AFTER HIGH SCHOOL: Military Reserves while going to college at UWGB or UWO. THIS SUMMER YOU … worked out and slept in! GAMEDAY SUPERSTITIONS: I’ve worn the same shirt every game day since my sophomore year. HOBBIES: Weightlifting, PS4, backpacking, exploring new places, football, wrestling. BRETT FAVRE OR AARON RODGERS: Aaron Rodgers. WHAT WILL BE THE PACKERS’ RECORD THIS YEAR: 11-5. SUPER BOWL PREDICTION: Seattle Seahawks and New England. NFL TEAM WITH THE BEST LOGO: The Packers. COLLEGE FOOTBALL TEAM WITH THE BEST LOGO: The Badgers, FAVORITE PRO OR COLLEGE PLAYER: Donald Driver FAVORITE NON-PACKERS TEAM: I have none. FAVORITE FOOD? Sicilian skillet. FAVORITE RESTAURANT? Red Robin. FAVORITE CANDY? Reeses’s Pieces. FAVORITE T.V. SHOW? “Breaking Bad.” FAVORITE MOVIE? “Suicide Squad.” FAVORITE ACTOR? Mel Gibson or Vin Diesel. FAVORITE ACTRESS? Cara Delevingne. MOST PLAYED SONG ON YOUR IPOD AT THE MOMENT? “Purple Lamborghini” by Rick Ross. FAVORITE SONG OF ALL TIME? “Shepard of Fire” by Avenged Sevenfold YOU CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT? Football. DREAM VACATION? I would love to go to Alaska or Europe. DREAM CAR? 1968 Pontiac

Sept. 9

at Berlin

Sept. 16

at Kewaskum

Sept. 23

RIPON

Sept. 30 at Winneconne Oct. 7 CAMPBELLSPORT Oct. 14

at Plymouth

- Home games in BOLD CAPS - Games are at 7 p.m. THE WARRIORS AT A GLANCE Coach: Nate Brieske, 4th year (7-20).

DAN LARSON, DAILY CITIZEN

Waupun offensive lineman Garrit Levey returns after earning honorable mention all-East Central Conference last season. GTO. DREAM DATE? Tough Mudder. THREE FAMOUS PEOPLE YOU’D PICK TO BE IN YOUR GOLF FOURSOME? Ice Cube, Kevin Hart, and Connan O Brian. OREOS OR CHIPS AHOY? Oreos. EARLY BIRD OR NIGHT OWL? Night Owl. WOULD YOU RATHER: BE THE BEST RACQUETBALL PLAYER IN THE WORLD, OR FIND $65 ON THE STREET? Best racquetball player because think of all of the opportunities it would allow me to experience. WOULD YOU RATHER: BE ABLE TO RUN 100 MPH OR FLY 10 MPH? Run 100 mph because I would save on gas. WOULD YOU RATHER: SPEAK ANY LANGUAGE FLUENTLY, OR BE ABLE TO TALK TO ANIMALS? Talk to animals because I could explain to my dog that barking at a glass door does nothing. WORDS TO LIVE BY? “Life’s too short, make the most of it” by Syndicate.

start out well and be competitive,” Brieske said of wanting to establish momentum in the early weeks. “So that we’re not just grinding away and learning as we go.” Regardless, the Warriors feel like they can surprise some people this year as they ﬂy under the radar a bit following last season’s 2-7 mark. “Yeah,” Levey said. “Deﬁnitely.”

Wishing the Area Football Teams a Successful 2016 Season!

On offense: Balance. Balance. Balance. Say it again one more time along with me – balance! The Warriors have returning starters at running back and quarterback and three returning starters at wide receiver, so they’re planning on having an effective – and efficient – passing game to go along with a good ground game. And they have back four starters on the offense line as well. So the offense is deﬁnitely counting on and putting bigger numbers up on the scoreboard than the 15.2 points per game they averaged last season. On defense: Big plays were the Warriors downfall last year, according to Brieske. So the emphasis in the secondary has been making sure not to get beat deep – a plan that is plenty realistic considering Waupun has back both starters at cornerback and both at safety. Two returning starters at linebacker and a bevy of versatile defensive ends that can get after the passer and disrupt the other team’s passing game should allow the secondary to really ﬂourish. The bottom line: Waupun isn’t shying away from the fact that with so many returning starters across the board, they expect to win some games this fall. Now the proof will be in the pudding. BY THE NUMBERS

Number of defensive ends, all with different strengths, that Brieske said will rotate in and out depending on the circumstances of the game. It is perhaps the Warriors’ most talented position group.

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RANDOLPH ROCKETS

| THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 2016

BEAVER DAM DAILY CITIZEN PREP FOOTBALL PREVIEW

TURBULENT FLIGHT AHEAD? Rockets challenged by low numbers, youth. But coach is positive team will respond to adversity MARK MCMULLEN Daily Citizen

RANDOLPH

2016 SCHEDULE Aug. 19 at North Fond du Lac Aug. 26 PARDEEVILLE Sept. 2 RIO Sept. 9 at Deerﬁeld Sept. 16 FALL RIVER Sept. 23 at Oshkosh Lourdes Academy 8:15 p.m. Sept. 30 JOHNSON CREEK Oct. 8 at Wayland 1 p.m. Oct. 14 at Cambria-Friesland - Home games in BOLD CAPS - Games are at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. THE ROCKETS AT A GLANCE Coach: Randy Herpel, 1st year. On offense and defense: With low numbers, everyone on the team including underclassmen will get playing time. Conditioning will be a test for the Rockets as everyone on the team will have to be in shape to play all four quarters of football. The bottom line: If the Rockets plan on enjoying any measure of success this year, they have to believe in what Herpel is teaching them. Fundamentals are key as they won’t be able to scrimmage like a team with higher numbers. BY THE NUMBERS

Number of games former head coach Pete Woreck won in four seasons as head coach, including three during a run to the D7 state semiﬁnals in 2012. Woreck resigned for work reasons in the offseason, giving way to Herpel.

Dodgeland From B4

“(And) they both are really good receivers out of the backfield. It’ll be a nice group.” Also in the fold will be wingback Zach Yuenger, a 6-3, 155-pound sophomore with good hands. He “gives us a taller target,” Miller said. “And he’s fast. … He’s a good athlete.” The other two returning starters on offense are Huebner (an athletic 5-11, 170-pound tackle with good leverage skills thanks largely to being a talented wrestler) and 6-4, 200-pound senior tackle Tyler Krause. In fact, not only is Huebner a talented returning starter – he’s also one of the team’s best leaders. He’s “the kid that our kids look at as far as the most dedicated in the weight room,” Miller said. “He tied Moynihan for the fastest 40(-yard dash) and during the spring he benched 300. … He’s just a weight room warrior and really looks the part right now.” The rest of the offensive line is starting to take shape as well, at least as far as settling on starters. “Two of the three positions up front in the center-guard positions I’m real comfortable with right now,” Miller said. At quarterback, 5-7, 155-pound senior Cody Kutcher and 6-3, 160-pound junior Cody

This season is looking like it isn’t going to be an easy one for the Randolph prep football team. The Rockets are low in numbers with fewer than 20 players participating, and there also will be a new head football coach in Randy Herpel leading the way. “I guess the question is whether they can dig it out having to play all sides of the ball and whether they can maintain four quarters worth of hard play,” Herpel said. “That’s going to be up to them.” But he has all the conﬁdence in the world in the receivers, defensive backs, quarterbacks, running backs and linebackers. “They’re a phenomenal group of athletes,” Herpel said. “It’s probably the best skill set we’ve ever had here at Randolph as a unit. We’ve had tremendous athletes, but the overall group of athletes of six or seven guys that are just tremendous athletes. “If we can get these young linemen and some of the undersized linemen to perform, I think we can win quite a few football games. We can be competitive in all football games, I know that.” In fact, in any other season, Herpel said Allen Rowley would be a running back for the Rockets. But because of the low numbers, he’s going to be a left guard for the team. “He’s undersized for the position, but he’s got a lot of tenacity,” Herpel said. “Actually, the biggest challenge for him this year is that he’s all ﬁght and when he’s coming off the line of scrimmage both feet are off the ground trying to hit somebody as hard as he can.” The fact that Rowley is giving it his all during practice is going to help when it comes to being competitive during the season. And be competing hard in every game this season, Herpel thinks it will teach the Rockets many valuable life lessons as the season progresses. “Being the head coach is as much of being an Xs and Os kind of guy as it is being a salesman,” he said. “You’ve got to sell to all these kids. We talked about it as a staff, this year and the future

Nehls were competing in camp for the starting job. Nehls has the slight edge in throwing ability – “But he runs pretty well,” Miller said – while Kutcher is more of the option-type – “But he went to camp and his throwing has improved,” Miller said. “We like them both – they both have the ability to play on offense,” Miller added. Miller said that he didn’t want to go with a platoon at QB so he was hoping to have a decision made by this week in time to prep for Friday night’s Week 1 game at home against Tigerton/Marion. The defense figures on again being led by Kutcher, an outside linebacker who was the Trojans’ team MVP on that side of the ball as well a first team all-conference player. And the other three returning starters on defense are Mountin (LB), Tristan Miller (DB), and Moynihan (DB). Those four will be joined by a group of players who all are experiencing the windfall of last season’s successful 7-3 record. In other words, the momentum from last season has spilled into this season. “Yeah,” Miller said. “And I think we saw it last winter (too) – the kids took the weight room real serious.” “We spend very little time live tackling, but our tackling has gotten so much better because we have confident kids,” he

Defense From B3

anybody else. Brandon does a good job at the free safety position. He reads things very well. He’s actually a very good inside linebacker. That’s where he played the ﬁrst couple of years. Last year, we had a need for a free safety. Sam (Wiersma) was our

MARK MCMULLEN, DAILY CITIZEN

Randolph’s Mitch Miller (left) makes a run up the middle during a recent practice. of the program, we are a brotherhood and a family. It’s about respect for the team ﬁrst and caring about the individuals on the team. That’s the main focus this year. “They’re starting to buy in and believe they can actually do it. It’s about family and brotherhood is central theme of this team.” But it’s also going to be a tough challenge for the players and Herpel said the coaching staff has been straightforward with the players in the early going of the season. “We told them this year is go-

ing to be one to remember the rest of your lives. But it’s also going to be the hardest ﬁght you’ve ever been in,” Herpel said. “They all understand that, but they’re ready for it.” And they have three seniors in Xander Herpel (who is a threetime all-conference receiver), Austin Syvertson (the new quarterback for the team) and Gage Rataczak who are going to be the captains for this young Rockets team. “We’re going to end up with 11 leaders on the ﬁeld,” Randy Herpel said. “That’s the most im-

portant part to me. These guys are committed so much that I know this is the leadership I need to help bring that youth program along with them. They’re actually really stepping up this year. I hate to lose those three seniors next year, but I think they’re setting the bar high for leadership next year. “I’m hoping this is a group of leaders that even when they get punched in the mouth are going to keep ﬁghting right to the very end. I know this group of kids and I think that’s how they’re going to react.”

Merger From B4

DAN LARSON, DAILY CITIZEN

Dodgeland junior running back Matt Moynihan, who was a ﬁrst team all-Trailways Large Conference wide receiver last year, carries the ball during practice last week. added. Dodgeland should be good on special teams this fall as well, with Kutcher returning as a first team all-conference special teams player and senior Zachary Fordon returning as a first team all-conference kicker. Fordon also will do the punting for the Trojans this season. He “spent as much time as anybody – probably more than anybody – at refining his skills,” Miller said. “Big credit to him and his family that they dedicated big blocks of time to go places (for camps) and to learn. “He was a good kicker

free safety last year, but with him at quarterback we had to be a little more cautious with him.” But there will be others with them, like Bayne Johnson, who will be the other corner opposite of Carmelo. Guys like Max Wiersma, Blaize Firari, Dillon Livingston, and Jason Lange would be guys that Kuenzi feels comfortable with placing in the secondary if the Rosados need a

last year – he’s really a good kicker now,” Miller added. All in all, Dodgeland has a good combination of talent in all three phases of the game and experience at key positions in order to indeed build on last season and put together another successful campaign. “We left the season with a good feeling,” Miller said of nine months ago and the way that mood helped get the Trojans to where they’re at now. “It may take us a little bit to get used to playing at varsity speed with some of these kids,” he added, “but it’s something that we plan on being able to do.”

breather from offense. With the talent that BD has this season, it gives the Beavers a lot of options in their 3-3 scheme. “Like the versatile it gives us,” Kuenzi said. “Defense has been a strength of ours over the last several years. Obviously calling (the plays), I take it personal. It’s my baby. “We’re excited about what we have.”

after a so-so junior year but a sophomore year that saw him catch 30 balls for 412 yards and 2 touchdowns en route to be named ﬁrst team all-Trailways Large Conference. Schmidt will also punt for Horicon/Husty. Junior Hunter Rahn – a basketball player by trade who’s listed at 6-2, 156 – also will play wide receiver. All told, Horicon/Husty has “good talent at receiver and great, great depth at running back,” Mueller said. The offensive line will be anchored by 6-1, 283-pound senior Troy Beauprey and 5-11, 205-pound senior Kordel Kuehl – with 5-10, 174-pound sophomore Keegan Panetti, 5-11, 210-pound sophomore Logan Nicholls, 6-1, 155-pound junior Collin Grudzinski, 6-foot, 205-pound junior Seth Spoerl, and 6-foot, 177-pound senior Alex Sawyer all also in the mix. “It’s great to see – the battles are what’s going to make us better,” Mueller said of good depth on the O-Line. Defensively, “It’ll start with our front line,” Mueller said. That includes Collin Grudzinksi and Sawyer at defensive end and Beauprey and Spoerl at D-Tackle. At inside linebacker is returning all-conference player Connor Drews, who is a 6-3, 157-pound sophomore. And alongside him on the inside will be Kuehl, who was a second team all-Trail-

“If they believe in each other, they will be right in the middle of the pack (in the conference) or higher.” Horicon/Hustisford head coach Shannon Mueller

ways Small player in 2014 as a sophomore. Hess and Rahn will play cornerback, with Schmidt at safety. And the other positions on defense were still up for grabs in camp. On special teams, Horicon/Husty is still trying to figure out what it’s going to do at kicker. “We might be going for two a lot,” Mueller said. This much is certain though: For a program that is comprised of players who either come from a team that has lost 26 straight games in which it has had to take the field (Horicon did notch a forfeit win over Husty last year) or a team that didn’t take the field for a varsity game once last year – the new co-op has high hopes for this fall. Horicon/Husty sees itself as a dangerous team lurking in the weeds. “We have gone through that every day with the kids – telling them that if they believe in each other, they will be right in the middle of the pack (in the conference) or higher,” Mueller said. “We believe we’ll be right there.”

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MAYVILLE CARDINALS

BEAVER DAM DAILY CITIZEN PREP FOOTBALL PREVIEW

THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 2016 |

“I want these seniors to look back at their high school football and smile about it, be happy about it. I think by us competing and winning some football games is going to be huge for them. That’s what I want for them. Competing for them is my expectation.” — Mayville head coach Tom Noennig

MARK MCMULLEN, DAILY CITIZEN

AUSTEN STEGER Mayville Sr. OL/DE

MARK MCMULLEN, DAILY CITIZEN

Mayville’s new football coach Tom Noennig (middle) talks to his new team during a recent practice. This season will be the second stint Noennig will have with Mayville has he was the head coach of the Cardinals from 2005-2008 before jumping ship and heading for Hartford until last season.

FAMILIAR FACE IS BACK Tom Noennig returns as head coach, is trying hard to re-establish a positive, winning culture MAYVILLE

MARK MCMULLEN Daily Citizen

Football is all about conﬁdence. Each player should have that positive mentality when he shows up to practice or even a game. And it’s about having fun. Well, the players on the Mayville prep football program will tell you that playing for the Cardinals wasn’t much fun in recent years. The team needed an attitude adjustment. And the players and even members of the new coaching staff believe that new head coach Tom Noennig brings the positive, winning attitude every team needs. “You could feel a different vibe in the weight room,” senior Jared Feucht said about the atmosphere in the weightlifting program that saw well over 70 kids participate during the offseason. “It was much different. It was a winning attitude in the weight room compared to other years. “It has been a much better attitude change this year. It was a happier vibe. Kids wanted to be there and wanted to play, wanting to get stronger for the next season.” Noennig is coming over from a Hartford team – where he was head coach from 2009-’15’ – that went 4-5 overall a year ago and 3-4 in the Little Ten Con-

2016 SCHEDULE

THE CARDINALS AT A GLANCE Coach: Tom Noennig, 5th year (27-15).

Aug. 19

at Campbellsport On offense and defense: While the numbers are up Aug. 26 DELAVAN- this year from a season DARIEN ago, Noennig knows there’s Sept. 2 at Omro still a lot of inexperience to the Cardinals. Add in a Sept. 9 LOMIRA new head coach with a new system on both sides of the Sept. 16 NORTH ball, there’s going to be a lot FOND DU LAC of growing pains early one. Sept. 23 at Oostburg The bottom line: Once the Sept. 30 LACONIA Cardinals are comfortable and conﬁdent in themOct. 7 WINNEBAGO selves, they could sneak LUTHERAN away with some victories this season as Noennig has Oct. 13 at St. Mary’s a proven track record in Springs winning not just at Hartford, but also Mayville. - Home games in BOLD CAPS BY THE NUMBERS - Games are at 7 p.m.

ference. But he is familiar with the Cardinals since he coached them from 2005’08. In fact, since his years in charge in Mayville, Noennig has followed how Flyway Conference rivals Fond du Lac St. Mary’s Springs

60+ – Number of players on Mayville compared to much lower numbers in recent years – a byproduct most involved are attributing to new head coach Tom Noennig’s inﬂuence. and Omro did each year and invited Omro to Harford’s preseason scrimmage every August. That’s one of many reasons he came back to Mayville. Now that he’s back, Noennig said his biggest goal for this season is to make

sure the senior class will “have a great experience.” “I think they had four head coaches last year. I want to bring some stability to the program,” he added. “I want these seniors to look back at their high school football and smile about it, be happy about it. I think by us competing and winning some football games is going to be huge for them. That’s what I want for them. Competing for them is my expectation.” Senior Austen Steger has taken notice to how much fun the senior class is having even during the weight room schedule before practice started in early August. “The whole team, the seniors, during camp about two weeks before practice started everyone was like, ‘It’s so much fun,’” he said. “Then we got one or two more seniors back out after we said that.” Getting the numbers up, having a better attitude and getting the players to want to play again has happened in large part due to what Noennig has brought with him from Hartford. The players have seemed to buy into what he’s saying in advance of the season opener on Friday against Campbellsport. “It brings a lot of conﬁdence into all the players,” Feucht said. “He knows what he’s talking about. The fact that we have a

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YEAR IN SCHOOL: Senior. GREATEST GOAL FOR UPCOMING SEASON: Winning the Milk Can tropy back from Lomira and making it to playoffs for the first time in almost 10 years. FAVORITE POSITION? Defensive end because that is where I can be physical and pulverize people, especially the QB for a sack. FAVORITE SUBJECT/CLASS: Math, I am very good at it (taking AP calculus). PLANS FOR AFTER HIGH SCHOOL: Going to college to play football and to study mechanical engineering. THIS SUMMER YOU … maintained having two jobs while lifting every morning before work. I worked on a farm unloading hay and straw bales, and I also help with milking and field work. The other job I had was a tree and lawn care business in which I mowed lawn and put in 30ish hours Friday-Sunday. When I was not working or lifting I was hanging out with my friends from going to fires, to pool parties, to going out for wings or just hanging out at a movie. HOBBIES: Hunting, fishing, snowmobiling, motorcycling, boating. BRETT FAVRE OR AARON RODGERS: Aaron Rodgers. WHAT WILL BE THE PACKERS’ RECORD THIS YEAR: 12-4. SUPER BOWL PREDICTION: Packers. NFL TEAM WITH THE BEST LOGO: Packers. COLLEGE FOOTBALL TEAM WITH THE BEST LOGO: Badgers. FAVORITE PRO OR COLLEGE PLAYER: J.J. Watt. FAVORITE NON-PACKERS TEAM: Seahawks. FAVORITE FOOD? Pizza. FAVORITE RESTAURANT? Old Country Buffet. FAVORITE CANDY? Twix. FAVORITE T.V. SHOW? I don’t watch a lot of TV (so none). FAVORITE MOVIE? “American Sniper.” MOST PLAYED SONG ON YOUR IPOD AT THE MOMENT? “A Little More Summertime” by Jason Aldean. FAVORITE SONG OF ALL TIME? “One in Every Crowd” by Montgomery Gentry. YOU CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT? Football, family, friends, and music PERSON YOU’D MOST LIKE TO MEET? J.J. Watt because he is a big role model for me. He grew up in Wisconsin, he’s the best defensive player in my mind (definitely the best defensive end, no doubt) and he has worked unbelievably hard to get to where he is today. DREAM VACATION? Trip to Alaska to do all the hobbies I listed above. OREOS OR CHIPS AHOY? Oreos. EARLY BIRD OR NIGHT OWL? Both. WOULD YOU RATHER: BE THE BEST RACQUETBALL PLAYER IN THE WORLD, OR FIND $65 ON THE STREET? Best racquetball player because it doesn’t take talent to pick up $65 off the street. WOULD YOU RATHER: BE ABLE TO RUN 100 MPH OR FLY 10 MPH? Fly 10 mph because everyone can run and not many people can say they can fly, but I think it would give me a state of mind that I’m free if I’m ever in a bad mood. WOULD YOU RATHER: SPEAK ANY LANGUAGE FLUENTLY, OR BE ABLE TO TALK TO ANIMALS? Speak any language fluently because animals and humans are able to have bonds in which they didn’t need to talk to each other. WORDS TO LIVE BY? “Success isn’t owned, it’s leased. And rent is due every day” by J.J. Watt. coach that knows, believes and has proven what he does actually works. It works really well.” However the season goes for Mayville, one thing Noennig does not want to do is tell his players they’re rebuilding. “That’s another thing that’s completely different from ’05,” Noennig said. “Those kids expected to win. They expected to work hard in the weight room. The expectation was there, and football was cool. Since then, I don’t know if they forgot the tradition, but whatever it’s been, a lot of kids weren’t coming out. I’m trying to rekindle that,” Noennig said of hoping to get Mayville – which with 516 all-time wins is one of only seven football programs in the state with more than 500 wins – back on solid ground. “For me, I’m a history teacher by trade, so the tradition, I think it’s awesome. One of the mantras we’re talking about all the time is to protect the tradition,” he added. The easiest way to protecting the tradition? Win some games. “(In) the non-conference (portion of the schedule), we’re going to go af-

ter both Campbellsport and Delavan-Darien and we’re going to try and beat them both,” Noennig said. “But it is a non-conference game and they really don’t mean anything as far as the playoffs are concerned. I want to win both of them. I want to play to win and we’re going to try and do that. “Those games are going to be games that we’re going to grow as a team and we’re going to continue to learn how to play. When we get into the Flyway, hopefully, we’ll be clicking on most of our cylinders rather than half of them.” And the players are optimistic that can happen. “Last year, we knew we could win, but we didn’t have our minds set on winning,” sophomore Wes Weiglein said. “I think that’s going to help a lot when the conference schedule rolls around. Once we get going with Omro and the big-named schools in the Flyway, (that winning mindset) is going to become a lot of help. “It brings our attitude up and that just makes the whole atmosphere more positive than what everything has been in the past.”

B10

MARKESAN HORNETS

| THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 2016

BEAVER DAM DAILY CITIZEN PREP FOOTBALL PREVIEW

CARSON CLARK Markesan Jr. QB

MARK MCMULLEN, DAILY CITIZEN

Markesan’s Connor Hunter (bottom) is tackling Carson Clark during a tackling drill at a recent practice.

NOT BROKEN? DON’T FIX IT MARKESAN

2016 SCHEDULE Aug. 19 CAMBRIA-FRIESLAND Aug. 26

at Shiocton

Sept. 2 MONTELLO/ PRINCETON/GREEN LAKE Sept. 9

DODGELAND

Sept. 16

at Parkview

Sept. 23

at Horicon/ Hustisford

Sept. 30 PALMYRA-EAGLE Oct. 7

ALGOMA

Oct. 14 at Pardeeville - Home games in BOLD CAPS - Games are at 7 p.m. THE HORNETS AT A GLANCE Coach: Travis Winkers, 4th year (19-10). On offense: They have two big offensive weapons in Carson Clark at quarterback and Drew Bernhagen at running back. This will be Clark’s third year on varsity, so the experience should help the Hornets. Bernhagen snuck up on some teams last year, but this year teams will be gunning for him. It should be exciting to see what he’s able to do with teams focusing more on him than they did as a junior. On defense: The Hornets had 70 sacks, 62 tackles for loss, 14 fumble recoveries and 12 interceptions last season. And with another year of trying to avoid having many two-way players, not many guys will see both sides of the ball. So the fresh legs should produce similar success on defense. The bottom line: The Hornets are trying to have as many players focused on just one side of the ball as possible, and while Winkers said there will still be some who play both ways, as long as everyone does their job on their side of the ball the Hornets have the talent to go deep in the playoffs. BY THE NUMBERS

Number of consecutive playoff appearances the Hornets are trying to achieve after only four total playoff appearances from 2001-2013.

Markesan’s mantra of limiting number of twoway players is working MARK MCMULLEN Daily Citizen

Last year, the Markesan prep football team went with a philosophy of not wanting many two-way players, which meant that if you specialized on offense, then you didn’t play on defense and vice versa. It worked for the most part as the Hornets went 8-1 during the regular season, won the Trailways Large Conference title and made it to the Division 6 postseason for the second year in a row. During the 2016 season, head coach Travis Winkers plans to keep it the same. “They practice offense or defense ... two or three days a week compared to only one day a week in our old system because they have to practice the (other side) the next night,” Winkers said. “Their knowledge of our system and the more comfortable, conﬁdence they have from platooning is huge. “It keeps more kids invested in our program.” It means more kids will play and have fun playing for the Hornets instead of some players riding the bench and not getting a chance to go out on the ﬁeld. Markesan is a D6 team where numbers often aren’t the highest, meaning it’s hard to have a lot of players who only play on one side of the ball. So where did Markesan get the idea to have so few two-way players? “We took that from Lancaster from the southwest part of the state,” Winkers said. “They’ve been to the state playoffs (23 times in a row) and they platoon.

MARK MCMULLEN, DAILY CITIZEN

Markesan’s Zac Triggs (left) is running with the ball during a tackling drill at a recent practice. They’ve had some guys, they have about 285 kids in their high school, that have gone to the (Wisconsin) Badgers, and they’ve only played one way at a small school.” Having mostly one-way players at a small program like Markesan does have its beneﬁts though. “It obviously helps because they don’t have to worry so much know about the other side,” senior lineman Trevor Geerdts said. “They can worry about their position and be more skilled in that. “Plus it keeps them fresher if they’re only going one side. They can work harder and longer.” But like any school, the Hornets do have some amazing athletes that could potentially play both ways – like Drew Bernhagen, who is returning as a junior. “At times, our best players will go both ways,” Winkers said. “We will have some that will do that. But we will really try to do that on the offensive and defensive line because of the freshness factor that helps us in the fourth quarter.” Bernhagen snuck up on some teams last season as a sophomore. It wasn’t until near the end of the season

that Winkers said opponents started focusing their game plans around him. “They’re deﬁnitely going to have to worry about him more,” Winkers said. “I expect any time you put him anywhere on the ﬁeld, they’re going to know exactly where he is and they’re going to have a game plan to make sure they stop him. “But I think he’s done everything he can do right to duplicate if not have a better season than last year. We’re expecting big things out of him.” And Bernhagen is expecting his teammates to step up because he said, “(Teams are) going to be gunning for me. I’m really looking on other teammates to really step up when they’re double teaming me or I open up holes for them in the offense.” And there’s going to be some new faces not just on the team but in the conference as well. Markesan lost 12 seniors from last season, but Winkers said they have some great juniors and sophomores coming up to replace them. But since the Hornets believed in the philosophy of so few twoway players last season, they have nine starters returning

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YEAR IN SCHOOL: Junior. GREATEST GOAL FOR UPCOMING SEASON: Win conference. FAVORITE POSITION? WHY? Quarterback because there is a lot of action at that position and I am involved in every play. FAVORITE SUBJECT/CLASS: Tech Ed. PLANS FOR AFTER HIGH SCHOOL: Play a college sport. THIS SUMMER YOU … Played a lot of summer basketball. GAMEDAY SUPERSTITIONS: Walk the halls before game. HOBBIES: Hunting, Fishing. BRETT FAVRE OR AARON RODGERS: Aaron Rodgers. WHAT WILL BE THE PACKERS’ RECORD THIS YEAR: 14-2. SUPER BOWL PREDICTION: Packers. NFL TEAM WITH THE BEST LOGO: Raiders. COLLEGE FOOTBALL TEAM WITH THE BEST LOGO: Miami. FAVORITE PRO OR COLLEGE PLAYER: Aaron Rodgers. FAVORITE NON-PACKERS TEAM: None. FAVORITE FOOD? Steak. FAVORITE RESTAURANT? Golden Corral. FAVORITE CANDY? Skittles. FAVORITE T.V. SHOW? “The League.” FAVORITE MOVIE? All the “Star Wars” Movies FAVORITE ACTOR? Will Ferrell. FAVORITE ACTRESS? Megan Fox. MOST PLAYED SONG ON YOUR IPOD AT THE MOMENT? “Record Year” by Eric Church. FAVORITE SONG OF ALL TIME? “All the Small Things” by Blink182. PERSON YOU’D MOST LIKE TO MEET? Kobe Bryant because he’s my favorite basketball player. DREAM VACATION? Hawaii. DREAM CAR? Corvette. THREE FAMOUS PEOPLE YOU’D PICK TO BE IN YOUR GOLF FOURSOME? Aaron Rodgers, J.J. Watt,Clay Matthews. OREOS OR CHIPS AHOY? Oreos . EARLY BIRD OR NIGHT OWL? Night Owl. WOULD YOU RATHER: BE ABLE TO RUN 100 MPH OR FLY 10 MPH? Fly 10 mph because flying is way better than running. WORDS TO LIVE BY? If you ain’t first, you’re last. from last season. “Hopefully, that experience pays off going into this year,” Winkers said. “Each year that I’m their head coach, they’re in the system a little bit more, we all develop different wrinkles or get a little better within our program where it’s the offseason or practice time.” Now the Hornets will have two new teams joiniing the Trailways in Palmyra-Eagle – a team Markesan beat in the Division 3 prep baseball sectional final – and Parkview. “Obviously we don’t have a ton of film on them, but what I could find, they come from a lot bigger conference,” Winkers said. “We’re predominantly D-6 and occasionally D-5 teams, we have the (Montello/Princeton/Green Lake tri-op with three schools who’s a D-4. But their individual schools are D-5 and D-6, but they’ve been playing D-4 teams like McFarland, Big Foot, Beloit Turner. “They play a lot bigger schools on a consistent ba-

sis. And they had close games with those schools. Their records might have been 3-6 or 1-8 but I think the drop-down to the Trailways is going to help them tremendously.” It will also help Markesan and the rest of the conference because since both of the new teams were facing bigger schools and better competition, that in and of itself sets a new bar for the Trailways. And Winkers is excited about it. “I love that they came in,” Winkers said. “I love that Doug Miller became the head coach at Dodgeland. They instantly become better. That’s going to help us better in the playoffs. “The Trailways does not have a great reputation in the postseason and unfortunately we didn’t help that out last season. But the better competition we can get, that’s why we schedule Shiocton, we’ve got St. Mary’s Springs next season. We try to schedule as good as we can because it helps going to the playoffs.”

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00 1

CAMBRIA-FRIESLAND HILLTOPPERS

BEAVER DAM DAILY CITIZEN PREP FOOTBALL PREVIEW

THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 2016 |

B11

HOPES REMAIN HIGH FOR HILLTOPPERS Left to replace a baker’s dozen seniors, they don’t see themselves rebuilding – they feel they’ve reloaded

CAMBRIA-FRIESLAND

2016 SCHEDULE

MARK MCMULLEN Daily Citizen

Prep football is almost like playing Jenga. Depending on how a coaching staff fills positions with different athletes, it can make or break the upcoming season. Take Cambria-Friesland for example. They lost 13 seniors from last year and now they’re experiencing something they haven’t in some time: A loss of depth. “We’ll be replacing a lot of starters with juniors and sophomores,” Toppers’ head coach Jim Bylsma said. “I have to temper when I say that because five of our seniors are three-year starters. We have some game experience, but we still have some question marks as to where to fit in the younger guys. “We have to develop them.” C-F has six seniors in Tyler Zacho, Kaden Graham, Grant DeJager, Lee Dunahee, Damian Hernandez, and Jordan Senf. Bylsma isn’t worried about the low number of seniors and he’s happy that he has the quality of talent that the six bring who are returning do bring to the table. “We have a great senior group,” he said. “There’s good leadership. They’re a very determined group. Some of these guys spent the whole summer going to camps, working out and working on other sports because they’re multi-sport athletes. “Anything that makes you an athlete helps you in football.” Zacho has the daunting task of replacing former quarterback Bennett Koopmans – who graduated – at the quarterback position. Bylsma is confident in Zacho’s athleticism to perform well in the wing-T offense because the scheme is adaptable to talent he has. For example, Koopmans was more of a drop back passer. So the Hilltoppers created schemes that would utilize his throwing ability. Zacho is a little bit different as he has the quickness for the play action pass that the wing-T mostly utilizes. “Tyler has got quick feet with the way he goes,”

Aug. 19

at Markesan

Aug. 26

DODGELAND

Sept. 2

at Lake Holcombe/Cornell

Sept. 9 at Johnson Creek Sept. 16

DEERFIELD

Sept. 23

at Rio

Sept. 30 OSHKOSH LOURDES ACADEMY Oct. 7

at Fall River

Oct. 14

RANDOLPH

- Home games in BOLD CAPS - Games are at 7 p.m. THE HILLTOPPERS AT A GLANCE Coach: Jim Bylsma, 34th year (231-103).

MARK MCMULLEN, DAILY CITIZEN

Both of Cambria-Friesland’s Tyler Zacho (front) and Max Papp (back) watch the ball come in before Zacho taps the ball away during a recent football practice.

MARK MCMULLEN, DAILY CITIZEN

Cambria-Friesland’s Kaden Graham hits the blocking sled during a recent football practice to prepare for the start of regular season games. The offensive and defensive lines are fairly young for the upcoming season and Graham is expected to be one of the leaders as he’s the senior of the group. Bylsma said. “Now we’re adapting our play action passing package and some of our run game to the fact that he’s got quick feet. But he doesn’t set his feet when he throws. “That’s not his forte. It’s not to say we won’t develop that, but right now the package we’re developing takes advantage of the fact that he’s got quick feet and he’s going to get (out of Dodge).” Whatever C-F throws his way, Zacho likely will be

ready for it. “The expectations are the same as last year,” Zacho said. “I’ve been taking quarterback reps since my sophomore year. It’s nothing new really. I’ve practiced for this.” Hernandez is the new running back – replacing Logan DeBoer – and will also start at middle linebacker as he did last year. The rest of the senior class agreed that their new running back is a bull. Even to go as far as the way Kaden

Graham described him: “I’m embarrassed to say it, but he hits harder than me,” Graham said. And Graham isn’t a slouch on either side of the ball. Not only does he have the most experience on both the offensive and defensive line, Bylsma said he’s the leader of both groups. “Kaden Graham is just a very, very solid offensive and defensive lineman,” Bylsma said. “He’s much stronger than he was last year. He’s changed his diet. He’s much more defined this year.” Graham is ready to lead the group. “Everyone is brand new,” he said. “So we’re trying to get used to each other. So far, everything has gone pretty well.” Graham isn’t the only senior on the offensive line as Jordan Senf – after three years of backing up both guard positions and the center position – will finally get his time to start at center. “We’re just trying to figure out where to place him so that a young guy can develop somewhere in a very efficient manner,” Bylsma said. “Right now he’s playing center for us and he calls the blocking schemes. “But again, he’s a senior

and we expect seniors to recognize defenses. He’s going to play both ways. Where? It depends on how we put the puzzle together.” Speaking of placing together the puzzle for the Hilltoppers, Bylsma is glad to have a player like Dunahee, who could play many positions. But for now Bylsma has him playing running back and switching to defensive end from linebacker. “Lee Dunahee is an anomaly because he can play so many positions,” Bylsma said. “He could be a tight end. He could be a running back. He would make a heck of an offensive lineman.” What is special about this group of seniors is that they’ve been a part of teams that have won two straight Trailways Small Conference championships and have made the Division 7 playoffs both years. Now that these six players enter as seniors, all of them agreed there’s more pressure on them to lead and to have the same expectations as the seasons prior. “We want to compete for another conference championship,” Zacho said. In Bylsma’s mind there’s more to just a conference championship. “We expect to be among

On offense: The Toppers have a new quarterback in Tyler Zacho, whose athletic ability they plan to use as his abilities suit the wing-T offense very well. That and Damian Hernandez is slotted to carry the load in the running game, replacing Logan DeBoer. On defense: The Hilltoppers are returning ﬁve starters from last season and three of them are ﬁrst team all-Trailways Small. The bottom line: The Toppers might not have the quantity of seniors but they do have quality in the six that are coming back. Bylsma expects them to be great leaders on the team and help C-F return to the playoffs for another try at a deep run. BY THE NUMBERS

The number of home playoff games C-F had last season before getting throttled by Burlington Catholic Central in the Division 7 semiﬁnals.

the top, if not the top team in the conference depending on how we put the pieces (of the puzzle) together,” he said. “Obviously we want to go to the playoffs. The past couple of years, it hasn’t been enough going to the playoffs. It’s about advancing in the playoffs. “That’s what our goals are for this year: Challenge for a conference title and make a playoff run.”

LEE DUNAHEE Cambria-Friesland, Sr. RB/DE YEAR IN SCHOOL: Senior. GREATEST GOAL FOR UPCOMING SEASON: Winning the conference for football and wrestling. FAVORITE POSITION? WHY? Defensive end because you have to be aggressive and you can blind side a QB. FAVORITE SUBJECT/ CLASS: Cooking. I love to cook and make new things. PLANS FOR AFTER HIGH SCHOOL: I want to go to medical school. I love to help people and plus I have been in and out of the hospital. THIS SUMMER YOU … This summer has been a hard summer. I had knee surgery and I had to push myself to make it better. GAMEDAY SUPERSTITIONS: I have to take a shower before every football game if I can. It helps me relax and calms me down. HOBBIES: I love playing

sports, and hunting and fishing. BRETT FAVRE OR AARON RODGERS: None of them because I don’t really like the Packers. But if I had to pick it would be Favre. WHAT WILL BE THE PACKERS’ RECORD THIS YEAR: 0-16. SUPER BOWL PREDICTION: The Eagles will win. NFL TEAM WITH THE BEST LOGO: The Eagles. COLLEGE FOOTBALL TEAM WITH THE BEST LOGO: Penn State or Missouri. FAVORITE PRO OR COLLEGE PLAYER: J.J. Watt. FAVORITE NON-PACKERS TEAM: The Eagles. FAVORITE FOOD? Steak with cheesy potatoes. FAVORITE RESTAURANT? Samba FAVORITE CANDY? Airheads.

FAVORITE T.V. SHOW? “The Walking Dead.” FAVORITE MOVIE? “We are Marshall.” FAVORITE ACTOR? “Mark Wahlberg.” FAVORITE ACTRESS? None. MOST PLAYED SONG ON YOUR IPOD AT THE MOMENT? “Hell’s Bells.” FAVORITE SONG OF ALL TIME? I don’t dance. YOU CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT? Food!!!! PERSON YOU’D MOST LIKE TO MEET? AND WHY? (Former Pardeeville High School athlete) Mark Bortz because he grew up in a small town and made it to the NFL. (Bortz is a Super Bowl champion as a member of the Chicago Bears 1985 team.) DREAM VACATION? Ireland. DREAM CAR? Ford F-350 with a 3-inch lift and black

rims and smoke stacks. DREAM DATE? Hunting in a tree stand with my girlfriend. THREE FAMOUS PEOPLE YOU’D PICK TO BE IN YOUR GOLF FOURSOME? Kevin Hart, Ryan Brune, J.J. Watt. OREOS OR CHIPS AHOY? Oreos. EARLY BIRD OR NIGHT OWL? Early Bird. WOULD YOU RATHER: BE THE BEST RACQUETBALL PLAYER IN THE WORLD, OR FIND $65 ON THE STREET? $65 because who watches racquetball? WOULD YOU RATHER: BE ABLE TO RUN 100 MPH OR FLY 10 MPH? Run 100 mph because you can get around faster. WOULD YOU RATHER: SPEAK ANY LANGUAGE MARK MCMULLEN, DAILY CITIZEN FLUENTLY, OR BE ABLE TO TALK TO ANIMALS? I would languages but you can’t learn is too short, make it yours, love to speak to an animal be- how to speak to animals. live it to the fullest and be a cause you can learn different WORDS TO LIVE BY? Life little reckless.

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B12

BEAVER DAM GOLDEN BEAVERS

| THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 2016

BEAVER DAM DAILY CITIZEN PREP FOOTBALL PREVIEW

“I think it speaks to his leadership as a quality teammate when it’s whatever we need, he’s always willing to help out with. Whether it’s O-Line or tight end or backup quarterback, he’s just excited to play the game.” Assistant coach Brock Linde

JACK OF ALL TRADES BD senior Noah Burchardt is trying his hand at TE this year after playing O-Line last year and QB two years before that MARK MCMULLEN Daily Citizen

Beaver Dam’s Noah Burchardt has been all over on the offensive side of the ball. He started out as a quarterback as a freshman, moved to left tackle as a junior and will play tight end as a senior. MARK MCMULLEN, DAILY CITIZEN

BEAVER DAM

2016 SCHEDULE Aug. 19 at Milwaukee Lutheran

BD’s new uniforms are classically simple, sharp

BROOKFIELD EAST

MARK MCMULLEN Daily Citizen

Sept. 2

at West Bend East

Sept. 9

SLINGER

When the Beaver Dam prep football team takes the field this season, you will notice a drastic change to their attire. Instead of the green helmets, green jerseys with gold numbers and green and gold pants, the Golden Beavers will storm into the season on Friday against Milwaukee Lutheran with old gold helmets with grey face-masks, dark green jerseys with white numbers outlined in gold, and gold pants. “It looks good,” head coach Steve Kuenzi said of the new-look Golden Beavers. “The whole adage of if you look good, you play good – I like how we look. It seems like we’re playing a little bit better. “The kids are pretty stoked about our uniforms. We’re getting excited to wear those for the first time next Friday when we go on the road.” And it’s an interesting story as to how it all came about for this season. There’s a rotation of the athletic programs getting new uniforms and it happened that this year it was the football program’s turn. “When you do things like uniforms, you’ve got to incorporate the kids,” Kuenzi said of how things got started. “I pulled in a number of the kids and asked, ‘What do you guys think?’ We pulled out some of the catalogs we got. There’s an Under Armour catalog, Adidas and others, and when you opened up the UA catalog, your first page is Notre Dame.” And after some time, the players reported back to the head coach to express that they wanted to go with the Notre Dame look – with a slight tweak to the color scheme, of course, because the Fighting Irish play dress in an old, gold helmet, blue jerseys, and gold pants. In Kuenzi’s case, he was pleased about the players’ decision to go with the look because he’s a traditionalist. “I’m a plain guy,” Kuenzi said. “I like the classic uniforms. I’m not all about the flash and show like coach (Tim) White was about picking out the stripes. Give me plain pants, give me a plain jersey with a number on it. Then I’m good to go.” During the ordering process with months before the start of

at Oconomowoc

Sept. 23

WEST BEND WEST

Sept. 30

at Hartford

Oct. 7 Oct. 14

WATERTOWN at Wisconsin Lutheran

- Home games in BOLD CAPS - Games are at 7 p.m.

THE GOLDEN BEAVERS AT A GLANCE Head coach: Steve Kuenzi, 3rd year (4-14). On offense: Golden Beavers will be running an option-styled system with Carmelo Rosado taking over for Sam Wiersma. He’s fast, very athletic and can throw the ball to a multitude of options like Davis Braker or Noah Burchardt. Oh and don’t forget about the two running backs the Beavers will have in Brandon Rosado and Ryan Sanders. Both are seniors, so they have all the experience needed to play well in the system that offensive coordinator Brock Linde will be running. On defense: Steve Keunzi will continue to call the plays for his 3-3 defensive scheme. And boy, does he have a lot of talent to choose from. The Rosado twins will be moving from their linebacker spots – Brandon will be the team’s free safety while Carmelo will be one of the starting cornerbacks to go along with Bayne Johnson. The bottom line: If the Beavers can stay healthy and buy in to what their coaches are telling them, not only will they tie and break the 500 win mark, they can easily make the playoffs. BY THE NUMBERS

Number of seasons the Beavers have left in the Little Ten Conference, as they’re headed to the Badger North next year. So you can bet BD will be wanting to go out with a bang with good showings against old rivals Wisconsin Lutheran, Watertown, Hartford, West Bend East, West Bend West, and Oconomowoc.

Please see Burchardt, Page B2

OLD FASHIONED

Aug. 26

Sept. 16

The Beaver Dam prep football team had a big need at left tackle in 2015 since the Golden Beavers had lost four of the five starters to graduation. So as the season was approaching, BD head coach Steve Kuenzi said the coaching staff asked then-junior Noah Burchardt if he would step in, even though he was slated to play tight end. It might not have been his first option to play left tackle, but “we didn’t have a lot of depth on the offensive line – and they needed someone,” Burchardt said. “It was a challenge I was willing to take to help out our team.” His coaches sure took notice of the selfless act one of their players was going to make in order to not just get on the field to play, but to help the team try to win games. “I think it speaks to his leadership as a quality teammate when it’s whatever we need, he’s always willing to help out with,” assistant coach Brock Linde said. “Whether it’s O-Line or tight end or backup quarterback, he’s just excited to

play the game. “I think that’s what we’re most excited to see is guys that want to play football no matter where it is.” And this year, Burchardt is entering his senior season and ready to take on the challenge of catching some passes from new quarterback Carmelo Rosado and blocking when needed as a tight end. “As far as this year, we have a lot of great guys coming up to compete for that offensive line and I’m able to split out and try to make plays,” Burchardt said. “Certainly a year on the offensive line helped me with blocking.” With Burchardt moving to tight end, BD will have two open spots on the O-Line. And early on, Mitch Klug will look to take the center position – a position that Wyatt Wells has taken up the last three seasons before this season moving to left guard opposite Ricky Ruel at right guard. The other spots are up for the taking. But for his part, Burchardt is more excited than he’s ever been now that

MARK MCMULLEN, DAILY CITIZEN

Beaver Dam’s Brandon Rosado (left) and Carmelo Rosado (right) model the new uniforms the Golden Beavers will be wearing this season.

“He said there’s a brand new paint job out there that’s called South Bend Gold. And I’m like cool. He sent me a sample, the kids liked it. I said lets do it.” Head Coach Steve Kuenzi practice, Kuenzi ordered exactly what the kids wanted. But early on, Kuenzi wasn’t ordering a gold helmet. He had the old helmets repainted to look more like the color of Michigan State’s green helmets. But when the helmets returned, the paint job wasn’t to their liking and Kuenzi also had the dilemma

of the gold face-masks. “In the back of my mind it would be cool to change the color of our helmets too, but we’re stuck with the yellow/gold facemasks,” Kuenzi said. “What are you going to really wear with it? I wasn’t about to buy whole new face-masks. The helmet guy came in and said sometimes teams will want to go to a different facemask. What we can do is do a three way- or four way-trade. I said if you ever hear of something we’ll take white, green or gray or something neutral like that. A week later he calls back and said there’s a three way trade with one team that has black that wants to go gold, another team that has gray that wants to go black and then we have gold and want to go gray. Do you guys want to make a three-way trade and I said heck yeah, lets do it. Now we’re getting gray face-masks.” When Kuenzi made the decision to go with grey face-masks, the green helmets hadn’t gone back for repainting. So he asked the company who did the paint

job what they could do about a new color for the helmets. “He said there’s a brand new paint job out there that’s called South Bend Gold,” Kuenzi said. “And I’m like cool. He sent me a sample, the kids liked it. I said lets do it.” Now that the Beavers have the new uniforms, that means the JV and freshmen teams will also be getting the new uniforms – well, somewhat new. They will be getting the attire worn by the varsity team last year. And both teams needed an upgrade, too. Kuenzi said the ones the freshmen were wearing were worn by the varsity team back in 2000-’01 which would make them about 15 or 16 years old. Then the JV have been wearing uniforms from the ’03-’04-’05 seasons. “We felt that we can satisfy our needs be passing down our current varsity set down to our JV and our freshmen,” Kuenzi said. “We have enough there that can dress both teams. Then we get new uni00 forms at the varsity level.” 1