The 2025 high school football season kicked off for area schools Aug. 5 with the goal of reaching the WIAA state football finals at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison.
Three of those teams — Kaukauna, Kimberly and Neenah — tied for the Fox Valley Association championship last season with 6-1 records. The Post-Crescent paid a visit to each of the schools on the opening day of practice to get an outlook on their upcoming seasons.
Neenah Rockets offense in transition after departures
It’s hard to imagine the Rockets without ultra-talented Grant Dean, who is now a member of the Wisconsin Badgers after four years as a standout for Neenah.
The Rockets do return junior Ashton Van Beek, who performed well at quarterback as a freshman before switching to receiver last season. The 6-foot-1, 175-pound Van Beek is back at quarterback this season and has the capability of hurting a defense with his arm and his legs.
He’ll have help in the backfield with senior Brock Hoehne and junior Cooper Sieck getting carries, along with senior Jameson Oldenburg making the move from offensive line to “stink” back (fullback). Cole Schaefer, a senior, will start at tight end.
“I’m super excited and super excited for some of the young guys coming up,” Van Beek said. “We have some shoes to fill, but we got the guys and we’re ready to go.”
Senior tackle Chester Shaffer leads an offensive line that includes center Bryce Leneau, who is making the switch from guard.
The defensive front seven might be the barometer for the team. Three senior defensive linemen return: Nate Kramp, Henry St. Clair and Brayden Milbrodt. Seniors Jonah Rittner and Hunter Weinke return at linebacker, along with junior Connor Stuckel and senior Troy Kahler.
“We were a young group last year,” St. Clair said of the defenders on the line. “But I think that really helped us to come back as an older group. The d-line has a real opportunity to mess up plays and take over a game.”
Neenah won’t have much time to jell as its nonconference matchups are about as tough as it gets with a home date with Muskego on Friday, Aug. 22, before the team travels to Hartland in Week 2 to take on Arrowhead.
Coach Steve Jung likes his team to have that sort of challenge right away.
“No question about it,” he said. “And that’s our mindset every day when we come into practice. Be where your feet are. We do everything perfect, right from the get-go. Because we’re going to have to be perfect against Muskego. And then next week, we turn around and play Hartland Arrowhead.”
Kimberly Papermakers want to bounce back from early playoff exit
You get the feeling from state media, and perhaps even local football enthusiasts, that Kimberly might be in for a “down year.”
That’s relative, of course, because a down year for the Papermakers is usually a successful one for most programs. The team finished 8-2 overall last season with a second-round playoff exit after reaching the state semifinals in Division 1 in 2023.
Not that Kimberly head coach Chad Michalkiewicz cares about what outsiders think of his program, but he does believe his team can take on the role of the hunter rather than the hunted.
“First and foremost, we try not to get consumed by what other people think,” he said. “Rankings don’t mean much. But you know, we used the term hunt in the weight room this winter. I mean, we’ve been the hunted. Kimberly’s been hunted for 20 years and we have to go hunt a little bit this year. We won a share of the FVA, but we went home earlier than anyone would have expected, including us.
“I do think there’s that element. I don’t know that I would say we’re an underdog, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with kind of flipping your mentality to be a hunter instead of the hunted a little bit.”
Senior quarterback Cam Wong takes the reins and has some experience operating the offense.
“He’s a very efficient guy and he took avantage of his reps, particularly last year,” Michalkiewicz said. “So he’s a guy we have a lot of confidence in. He’s very fast. I think he might be the third-fastest kid on our team. And he throws a beautiful ball. So he’s one of those traditional Kimberly kids that just kind of waters it and knows the process and kind of waits until his opportunity senior year. We’re excited for him.”
Kimberly returns a solid 1-2 punch at running back with Kegan Pleau and Brady Bell. Alex Lom has all the makings of a premier receiver, with Ryan Buchanan expected to man the tight end position.
Eli Janssen, one of the top edge rushers in the state, should anchor the defense. He’s also getting reps at tight end.
“We have high standards,” Janssen said. “We have a lot of big players (on defense) that we’re going to have to try and replace and we have been working hard every day in the weight room.”
Kimberly travels to Sussex Hamilton on Friday, Aug. 22, before a Week 2 home game against defending Division 1 state champ Bay Port.
Run game a strength for Kaukauna Ghosts
There may be a question at quarterback for the Ghosts this season, but not at running back.
Kaukauna returns one of the elite rushers in the Fox Valley in Aiden Reardon, who ran for 1,451 yards and 15 touchdowns last season in helping the Ghosts reach the WIAA Division 2 state quarterfinals.
Don’t be surprised if the Ghosts call his number even more this season, especially with last year’s quarterback Bron Schaefer — a top baseball recruit — electing not to go out for football this season.
Reardon said he’s up for the challenge.
“Our run game has been pretty good the last few years, so we kind of try to set up the run game with the offensive line and get some good drives and that can set up the pass,” Reardon said. “We gotta be the guys to step up in those situations.”
Junior Chase Broderick and sophomore Ryan Carrel are set to battle it out for the starting quarterback spot. Whomever wins the starting job will have a solid receiving option in Kavanaugh Weyenberg.
Defensively, the Ghosts were hit heavy by graduation but do return Luke Tetzlaff, a second-team all-Fox Valley Association selection last season at safety.
“It’s really exciting” Tetzlaff said. “We have a lot of new faces because we had a lot of seniors last year. But I’m excited about seeing these young guys like the incoming juniors and incoming sophomores step up, come together and play.”
Kaukauna opens its season at home against defending Division 3 state champ Notre Dame on Thursday, Aug. 21, before traveling to rival West De Pere in Week 2.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: FVA football champions return with some holes to fill, but are optimistic about new season
Reporting by Ricardo Arguello, Appleton Post-Crescent / Appleton Post-Crescent
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
