Playoffs End with Two More Wins for the Season
The football season ended with the record 6-3, with the final two wins in the playoffs against West Bend West and Oconomowoc, which was the best that they could have done because of the new structure to the postseason.
Although the season was not one that was expected, the players and coaches had to come together and make the best of it. With the new regulations and rules, they had to find a new way of playing and had to be accustomed to it.
“The WIAA, school administration, coaches, parents, and players all had to make sacrifices for this to happen,” coach Paul Shelsta said. “It shows how important any extracurricular activity is to the wellbeing of a student/athlete.”
The football season is especially important to the seniors, as for most will be their last time ever putting on a uniform.
“It’s my senior season, it’s a bunch of senior guys that I’ve been playing with since seventh grade,” senior Alex Bognar said. “Especially since the season got cut a little short, it means more every game because we do not know what snap will be our last.”
The team had taken a noticeable difference in motivation during their last conference game on Nov. 6 against the number two in the Northshore conference with a record of 5-2, Cedarburg.
“We came out and played with an attitude and an energy that we had not played with before,” Shelsta said. “I really believed that had we played like that all year, we would be undefeated right now.”
The season was not like any other before, but just like every team they have to fight through it. The teams had to avoid quarantines by going virtual so they had a chance of playing. Other than COVID-19, the entire football program has suffered through injuries and broken bones. Despite the ever changing environment, they have kept their tightly knit bonds.
“Our players and coaches put so much time and effort into this sport,” Shelsta said.
One of the biggest challenges this year is not being able to play for the state title. Instead the teams in Wisconsin were divided into little four team pools which gave two weeks of playoff games. Though thankful for a season it is still disappointing that there isn’t a shot at a trophy.
“We have proved with extreme adversity that we overcome it,” said head coach John Redders. “Every year adversity has a different face.”
The seniors did not waste any more time on their season and got right to work and earned a number one seed in the playoffs. With an ending conference record of 4-3, they continued their chins up and started the playoffs strong with a 40-0 victory over number four seed West Bend West on Nov. 13. The boys then went on to play number two seed, Oconomowoc on Nov. 19 and won with the final score of 21-6 making them pool champions.
The season could have been with better circumstances, but in the end the boys still had to play the game that for some have been playing for eight years because no one knew if there was going to be a next game, making each game more memorable.
