With the West De Pere football team preparing to play Green Bay Notre Dame in the WIAA Division 2 state title game Friday, Nov. 21, it appears the team has moved on from an incident that occurred during the second half of the Phantoms’ comeback 35-34 semifinal win over Mequon Homestead at Neenah High School.
After Homestead scored a touchdown in the third quarter, West De Pere coach Chris Greisen had a physical altercation with two of his defensive players in plain view of the crowd, including shoving one of the players.
Greisen, who was hired by West De Pere in 2020 and has twice led the Phantoms to a state title game, acknowledged the incident Nov. 19, a few days before the team travels to Camp Randall Stadium in Madison to play the Tritons.
“I’ve gone over the situation with the administration, who was right there, and we have taken care of everything,” Greisen said. “It won’t be a distraction.”
Both West De Pere longtime principal Russ Gerke and athletic director Scott Eggert were seen on the team’s sideline during the game.
It is not clear if any disciplinary action was considered by the West De Pere administration.
Gerke was asked about the incident this week and if he was willing to speak about it. It appeared to those in the crowd that he engaged in a conversation with Greisen immediately after the altercation occurred.
“I don’t think there is anything to report based on my knowledge of the game,” Gerke said in an email exchange.
Gerke was told that others might say he wasn’t giving himself enough credit regarding his knowledge of the situation and again was asked if he would be willing to take a phone call to speak about it.
“No ‘it’ to talk about,” Gerke said.
West De Pere superintendent Dr. Jason Lau did not immediately respond to an email.
The Phantoms are 13-0 this season and have been one of the best teams in the area since Greisen was hired.
They have won each of the last two Fox River Classic Conference-North championships, twice beating a Bay Port team that won the D1 state title in 2024 and qualified for the championship round again this season.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: West De Pere football coach Chris Greisen says sideline altercation ‘won’t be a distraction’ in title game
Reporting by Scott Venci, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Green Bay Press-Gazette
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
