Conley Publishing - Special Sections
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KETTLE MORAINE/MUSKEGO The FREEMAN & ENTERPRISE 6 • PREP FOOTBALL PREVIEW 2016 By Tom Badger Freeman Correspondent WALES — Justin Gumm hasn't been the Kettle Moraine football coach for even two months, yet he's already given people the ax. Sort of, that is. "'Chop the wood' is our slogan this year, which stands for consistent habits of precision (CHOP)," said Gumm, the first-year KM coach, who took over the program in June after the surprise resignation of Dave Pfeiffer. "Out in the community, you'll see a lot of chop-the-wood stuff. There are members in the communi- ty that I gave an ax to — essentially a keychain — that they carry at all times. It's a reminder that we're all chopping together." Despite the late start, Gumm said the transition has been smooth. "We had maybe 80 football players in the weight room on my first day," said Gumm, a self-described 'big energy guy.' Gumm, who left the defensive coor- dinator spot at Madison West, retained six coaches from last year's 3-6 KM team and brings four more along, including defensive coordina- tor Marcus McLin. Gumm, who will run the offense, inherits 22 seniors. Battling for the quarterback posi- tion are senior Max Duchow (6-foot-3, 183 pounds) and junior Max Herro (6- 1, 170). Senior running Tanner Smith (6-1, 190) will carry the load on the ground while senior Sam DeLany (6-1, 190) leads a talented and tall corps of wide receivers, including Ben Psicihulis (6-3, 175), Emmett Galles (6-5, 180) and Noah Dehli (6-5, 185). Delany quarterbacked the team last season. The offensive line boasts three returning starters, including senior center Jacob Brevard (6-3, 275), jun- ior left tackle Nick Weddig (6-4, 275) and senior right tackle Christian Ishag (6-3, 255). Senior Alan Stresing (5-10, 185) and junior Evan Schneider (6-2, 198) will chip in at tight end. On defense, senior safeties Nate Tyley (5-9, 160) and Jordan Schmid (5- 10, 182) will solidify the secondary, as will Duchow at cornerback. Projected linebackers are seniors Noah Gerencir and Collin Morgan (5- 11, 195) and juniors Mike Timm (6-0, 215) and Trevor Fulton (6-2, 207). The three-man front will be anchored by juniors Logan Ries (6-5, 215) and Judah Gulrud (6-2, 204). "We just want to compete every sin- gle play and get after it on a day by day basis," Gumm said. "We'd like to be a playoff team and we have the ability to do that, especially if we're healthy. Playing only seven confer- ence games, you have to win every one that counts to try to get four wins. We need our 'A' game every week." Kettle Moraine has only three home games this season. The Lasers will open the season Friday at Oconomowoc before visiting Water- town on Aug. 26. The Lasers' Classic 8 Conference season will be at home against Catholic Memorial on Sept. 2. Duchow, Herro in QB battle Lasers 'CHOP' motto infectious around community Kettle Moraine Coach: Justin Gumm first year 2015: 3-6 overall, 2-5 Classic 8 Key returning players: senior RB Tanner Smith, senior WR Sam Delany, senior S Nate Tyley Key graduation losses: WR Edward Con- nell, DL Dan Graf Promising newcomers: senior QB/DB Max Duchow, senior S Jordan Schmid By Daniel Mike Freeman Correspondent MUSKEGO — The bar has been set fairly high for the Muskego football team. The Warriors, coming off back-to-back shares of the Classic 8 Conference title, have made quite a name for themselves in one of the state's toughest conferences. "The culture of our pro- gram, in my nine years here, it is at our all-time highest," Muskego coach Ken Krause said. "The kids buy into what's going on. They believe. They've worked their butts off all offseason. "We've had a great offsea- son." That great offseason is a direct response to the previ- ous two seasons. The War- riors finished in a four-way tie for the Classic 8 title in 2014, and last year they shared the league title with Arrowhead. "The bar's been set higher because of last year's success and the success of the last six years," Krause said of the team going 42-21 during that Warriors seeking third straight Classic 8 title Muskego has new faces, looks for same results Mary Catanese/Special to The Freeman Kettle Moraine senior Sam DeLany moves to wide receiver after playing quarter- back for the Lasers last year. 2016 Schedule (all games 7 p.m.) Aug. 19: at Oconomowoc Aug. 26: at Watertown Sept. 2: Catholic Memorial Sept. 9: at Waukesha North Sept. 16: at Waukesha South Sept. 23: Muskego Sept. 30: at Arrowhead Oct. 7: Waukesha West Oct. 14: at Mukwonago See MUSKEGO, PAGE 7 Muskego Coach: Ken Krause, ninth season 2015: 10-2 overall, 6-1 Classic 8 (shared conference title with Arrow- head) Key returning players: senior tight end Alex Kalisnig, senior defensive lineman Jorin McGuire, senior line- backer Mitch Suderland, junior line- backer A.J. Spychala and senior Bryce Schure (an all-conference defensive back who will compete for the starting quarterback job Promising newcomers: senior linebackers Shane Dombrowski and Kyle Hammitt, junior linebacker Brady Bloomer, senior defensive back John Ciepluch, junior defen- sive backs Rob Zolecki and Sam Scholz, senior running back Michael Madia, junior running backs Justin Kotarak and Cody Krause, junior tight end Matt Faust, junior lineman Sam Kurth and sen- ior lineman Joe Meyer Key graduation losses: The War- riors lost 15 all-conference players to graduation including first-team picks Brett Finke (running back), Sam White (defensive line) and Austin Lambrecht (linebacker) 2016 Schedule (all games 7 p.m.) Aug. 19: Racine Park at Racine Horlick Aug. 26: Milwaukee Bradley Tech Sept. 1: Waukesha West Sept. 9: at Mukwonago Sept. 16: Catholic Memorial Sept. 23: at Kettle Moraine Sept. 30: Waukesha South Oct. 7: Waukesha North Oct. 14: at Arrowhead Matt Cohen/Freeman Staff Muskego lines up over the ball during a preseason practice.