The
10th-ranked Stevens Point Area Senior High School (SPASH) football team (2-0)
will host ninth-ranked and reigning Valley Football Association (VFA) Southern
Division Champion Fond du Lac (1-1) in a key conference showdown at 7 p.m. Friday,
Sept. 2, at Community Stadium at Goerke Field.

Rosholt
(0-2) will be at home for the first time this season when it opens Central
Wisconsin Conference-10 (CWC-10) play against Tri-County (1-1) at 7 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 1, while Pacelli (1-1) will also be in action Thursday night
when it hosts Wild Rose (2-0) in a nonconference game at 7 p.m. at Community
Stadium at Goerke Field.

Fourth-ranked
Almond-Bancroft (2-0) will also open the CWC-10 season when it hosts
Tigerton/Marion (1-1) at 7 p.m. Friday, while top-ranked Amherst (1-1) will
look to bounce back from a loss last week when it kicks off CWC-8 play at home
against Shiocton (1-1) at 7 p.m. Friday.

Following
a 42-13 win at Wausau East last week, SPASH will be at home Friday night to
play Fond du Lac, which beat the Panthers 29-25 last season on its way to
winning the FVA Southern Division Title.

“They
climbed up last year to win the conference, and as the reigning Conference
Champion, they’re the ones to knock off right now,” said SPASH football head
coach Pete McAdams. “Our kids are fired up about playing a really good
opponent, and as a coaching staff, we almost want to not let them get too fired
up over it and focus on ourselves, because they might get caught up in the
opponent, and it’s really not about them.

“This
is a long season, and we have to continue to improve from week toweek, so we’re
playing our best football later on in the year,” he said.

Fond
du Lac opened the season with a 21-10 win over Appleton West and was ranked
fifth in Division 1 last week, when it dropped a 38-35 decision to third-ranked
Appleton North. The team is led by junior quarterback Jack Cole (40-of-61 for
439 yards, with four touchdowns and one interception), senior running back Keon
Jefferson (160 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 44 carries), junior running
back Colton Wasielieski (99 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 16 carries),
6-7 senior wide receiver Sam Fredrickson (six catches for 82 yards and one
touchdown) and senior tight end/linebacker Devon Krzanowski (three catches for
61 yards and one touchdown on offense, team-high 28 tackles on defense), a
Unanimous First Team All-FVA Southern Division selection and the FVA Southern
Division Linebacker of the Year last season.

“Defensively,
they have some really good speed back there, they’re aggressive up front,” said
McAdams. “The speed in which they get their 11 guys around that football is as
good as anyone right now.

“Offensively,
they run a very balanced attack,” he said. “They have a good offensive line,
their quarterback is definitely a very good field general, they can throw the
ball extremely well, in addition to their running game. So I think the balance
that they have on offense is going to be a big test for us.”

McAdams
said that his team will really have to play relentless on Friday, not hold
anything back and play their hearts out.

“And
we have to continue to play together,” said McAdams. “We’ve talked about that
all season long, and we’re still not, I don’t think, the team that we’re
capable of becoming.

“It’s
easy to be a good teammate when everything’s going your way, and so as the
season comes on, we’re going to be challenged more and more, and I think your
true colors show in times of adversity,” he said. “We’ll be dealing with more
adversity as the season goes here, and we have to respond to that in a positive
manner and stick together.”

After
back-to-back losses on the road, including a 71-0 loss at Division 6
fifth-ranked Iola-Scandinavia last week, Rosholt will play at home for the
first time this season when it hosts Tri-County in its CWC-10 opener Thursday
night.

“It’s
a good feeling to come home, and this is going to be a good matchup,” said
Rosholt football head coach Carl Rosenberg. “I know we’re ready for it.

“Coming
off that Iola game, we’re a little banged up physically, but mentally we are
ready to play this game,” he said.

Tri-County
beat Wonewoc/Weston 44-40 in Week 1, as senior Claude Cleerman rushed for 185
yards and three touchdowns on 22 carries, junior Dawson Knutson had 123 yards
rushing and two touchdowns on 18 carries, and junior Brandon Peckham added 98
yards rushing and one touchdown on 11 carries, before it lost to Bark
River-Harris (Mich.) 38-6 last week.

“The
last game they played, they had something like 17 kids total, so they’re
hurting for numbers this year,” said Rosenberg. “There’s some freshmen playing,
some sophomores that are starting, and they’re a little small on the outside,
but they look like they play pretty good ball up front.

“They
have an interchangeable quarterback system, which is kind of unique, so if one
kid gets hurt, or even if they have some different plays, they’re interchangeable,”
he said. “They’ve got one kid who can throw a deep ball and pretty accurately
too, so the threat there is definite.”

Rosholt
beat Tri-County 20-14 last season, and Rosenberg said his team needs to bring
some attitude Thursday night, both mentally and physically.

“We
need to see communication, a little bit of hooting and hollering on the
sidelines, and hooting and hollering in the stands,” said Rosenberg. “We’ve got
to bring our energy level up a whole other level.

“And
if we don’t, then we’re going to be in for a long night,” he said. “If the
energy level comes up, I think we’re going to be in a better position, and I
made some adjustments on my side to try to emphasize that a little bit more.”

After
playing last Saturday afternoon, Pacelli will be back home Thursday night, as
it takes on Wild Rose in its final nonconference game of the season.

“It’s
always great to be at home,” said Pacelli football head coach Drew Nelson.
“It’s a quick turn around this week, a lot of film study this weekend for the
coaches and then this week we’re taking it again easy on the players, getting
them a little bit more hungry for Thursday night.

“Obviously
letting their bodies heal up a little bit, and hopefully it carries through,
and we see a little bit more physicality on Thursday,” he said.

Wild
Rose is off to a 2-0 start following wins over Oshkosh Lourdes (31-0) and
Potosi (20-15) to open the season, and is led this season by the return of
Second Team All-CWC-10 junior quarterback Alec VanDeCastle, Honorable Mention
All-CWC-10 junior running back Tanner Deist and Second Team All-CWC-10 junior
tight end Tommy Friday.

“Watching
them on film, they bring it,” said Nelson. “They’re a very physical, very
aggressive team on both sides of the ball.

“We’re
going to have to play fundamentally sound, turnover wise and penalty wise, to
have a chance on Thursday,” he said.

The
Cardinals opened their season with a 21-20 win over Menasha St. Mary Catholic
and then lost on the road last week when La Crosse Aquinas scored a late
touchdown to seal a 33-21 win, and Nelson said his team is head and shoulders
above where he thought they’d be, as far as being ready and focused for game
day.

“Overall,
week in and week out, I’m proud of every single one of these guys that decided
to come out and play and put on the uniform,” said Nelson. “The guys that get
to play and the guys that help them get ready for game days, top to bottom,
freshman through senior, I’m proud of every single one of them and their effort
they give day in and day out.

“And
especially on game days,” he said. “It’s a credit to the kids for pushing and
staying focused and staying hungry.”

Almond
remained at No. 4 in Division 7 in the WisSports.net Coaches Poll this week
following a 34-0 nonconference win over Rio, and will be back at home this week
to start the CWC-10 season against Tigerton/Marion Friday night.

“We’ve
got two wins under our belt and learned some things, and
now we’re preparing for games that really matter,” said Almond-Bancroft
football head coach Andrew Bradley. “And we’re excited to get this conference
thing started and get into the games that really count.”

Tigerton/Marion
rebounded from a 35-0 loss at Dodgeland in its opener with a 43-6 win at
Gillett last week, after it lost to Gillett 34-6 last year and finished 1-8
overall.

Tigerton/Marion
is led this season by senior running back Alan Parrott (202 yards rushing and
two touchdowns on 25 carries), junior running back Conner Harris (86 yards
rushing and one touchdown on 14 carries, nine receptions for 147 yards and two
touchdowns) and senior quarterback Patrick Bailey (11-of-25 for 160 yards, with
two touchdowns and one interception).

“They
have most of their skill guys back from last year, and a team that likes to
spread it out and run the ball a little bit,” said Bradley. “It’s a little
different than what we saw the last couple of weeks, and it’s something that
we’re going to have to prepare for.”

The
Eagles won 61-0 last year over Tigerton/Marion on their way to winning the
CWC-10 Title, and Almond will look to its defense again after recording a
shutout against Rio.

“Defensively,
we need to continue to build off what we did last week,” said Bradley.
“Offensively, we made a few mistakes last week, and we talked about limiting
turnovers and controlling the penalties.

“And
I think if we do that, that will help us be successful this coming week,” he said.

Amherst
remained the top-ranked team in Division 5 following a 20-17 loss last week to
Fond du Lac Springs, the top-ranked team in Division 6, and will be at home
again this week for its CWC-8 opener against rival Shiocton.

“The
real season begins here,” said Amherst football head coach Mark Lusic.
“Nonconference is over, and you always want to start conference with a win,
start on a good foot and put yourself in control of your own destiny.

“But
we’re excited to play them, we’ve had some great games the last couple of years
going up against each other,” he said. “We’ll have our hands full on Friday
night, so hopefully we can come out and be on top.”

Shiocton
opened the season with a 28-0 loss to Fond du Lac Springs, beat Markesan 37-12
last week and is led by junior quarterback Brandon Spencer (5-of-14 for 106
yards, with three touchdowns and one interception, and 184 yards rushing and
two touchdowns on 36 carries), sophomore running back Reis Stingle (83 yards
rushing on 15 carries) and senior running back/defensive back Austin Duenas (76
yards rushing and one touchdown on 23 carries on offense, three interceptions
on defense).

“Their
quarterback makes them go,” said Lusic, whose team won 64-0 at Shiocton last
season. “He’s very elusive, he can run the ball, he can throw it, and he makes
plays with his legs and can extend plays.

“And
then (Duenas) is a very good running back and a receiver for them,” he said.
“So we’re going to have to bottle those two guys up and then go from there.”

Before
the loss to Springs, Amherst’s last regular-season loss was a 21-14 defeat in
2013 to eventual WIAA Division 6 State Champion Shiocton, and Lusic said his
team is going to have to be more consistent offensively Friday night.

“We
haven’t been very consistent for the last two games, and we’ve got to start
putting some points on the board,” said Lusic. “I’m not saying 70 points; I’m
saying score when we have opportunities.

“And
we gave up too many big plays defensively on Friday night,” he said. “We’ve got
to stop the big play and make the other team grind it out.”