By John Kemmeter

When the 2017 season began in August, Amherst High School football head coach Mark Lusic didn’t think his squad was a State Championship-caliber team.

The 2017 Amherst High School football team finished 13-1 and won the WIAA Division 5 State Championship, for the program’s third State Title in a row.
(John Kemmeter photo)

The Falcons lost 11 starters from the 2016 team that won the program’s second WIAA Division 5 State Title in a row, and had a number of holes to fill in key positions on both offense and defense.

By the time the playoffs rolled around, Amherst had transformed itself into a juggernaut, and with a 28-21 win over Lake Country Lutheran in the State Championship Game Thursday, Nov. 16, capped its season with a third consecutive State Title.

“We just came together as a team,” said Amherst senior linebacker/tight end Thomas Anderson. “Just kept going, grinding at practice, and we came together.”

“My first speech in August was, ‘I think there are a lot of individuals on this team, but we’re not a team yet,’” said Lusic. “And we came together slowly.

Senior running back Chandler Benn (2) takes in the moment as the Amherst High School football team celebrates following its 28-21 win over Lake Country Lutheran in the WIAA Division 5 State Championship Game at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison Thursday, Nov. 16.
(John Kemmeter photo)

“But we started coming,” he said. “And in the playoffs, we really started to take off.”

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