Photo Credit - Manitowoc Lutheran High School
The Manitowoc Lutheran football team has certainly come a long way in eight short years, from nearly losing its program to being one win away from playing for a state title.
The Lancers travel to Waukesha West Friday night to meet perennial small school power Darlington in a WIAA Division Six state semifinal.
Both teams are undefeated (13-0), having for the most part dominated their competition.
Manitowoc Lutheran rolled Big East Conference foe Cedar Grove-Belgium 55 to 14 in the sectional final last week, while the Redbirds disposed of Southwest Wisconsin Activities League rival Bellevue 49 to 21 to advance.
Lancers Head Coach Ryan Hulse says these last three months have truly been a blessing.
” Each day, I count my blessings because I get to hang out with these boys. It’s awesome. I never take it for granted because we know it’ll end sometime, hopefully not this week. We love being together, working out, and doing what they like to do, and that’s playing football.”
Hulse tells Seehafer News.com that these boys have been playing with a significant sense of urgency.
” They don’t want it to end. They’re driven and hungry. Each week, they prepare and come out playing with confidence.” He continues—
“I think that’s a big difference between us and some other teams. Each week, they show up, and we’re going to play our game.”
Manitowoc Lutheran has a balanced offense led by senior quarterback Jaymen Ott. He’s accounted for nearly 2,000 yards from scrimmage and 25 total touchdowns.
Senior running back Issac Wagner has rushed for 924 yards and 16 touchdowns to go with five touchdown receptions.
At the same time, Isiah Muchka, Trenton Schuettpelz, Josiah Martin, Noah Dillion, and Wesley Hecker are very reliable and productive offensive players.
Defensively, they’ve pitched three shutouts and jumped out to 21- 0 leads in their first three playoff games. Hulse says it certainly has been key in this playoff run.
” If you can get leads, and with the way our defense is playing, it makes it difficult for teams to back into it. If you’re down 21 (points) right away, it takes them out of their game and makes them (opposing teams) uncomfortable. It’s a significant benefit for us when we’re able to do that.”
Darlington is very similar in its offensive approach. Junior quarterback Zeke Zuberbuhler has had an outstanding season.
He’s accounted for over 2,200 yards from scrimmage and 31 touchdowns. Hulse on what impresses him about the Redbirds quarterback.
” Just how hard he plays and how athletic he is. He is an outstanding basketball player, too. He has real good athleticism and is very smart.” Hulse adds—
“He throws the ball with precision, putting it exactly where his guys need it. He controls the offense, and his teammates follow and trust him.”
You put all the facts and figures together, and it’s a recipe for what should be an outstanding high school playoff football game.
The one big difference between these teams is playoff experience. Darlington seems to punch its playoff ticket every fall, while this is the furthest the Lancers have ever advanced in the WIAA football postseason.
Hulse on whether his team can benefit from being the underdog.
” I think a lot of people expect Darlington to win. They’ve been good for years, and we’re just showing up. I think the pressure is off our shoulders, per se, to win, so let’s go out there and play football and show them what we’re made of.”
Coverage begins at 6:45 p.m. on AM 980 WCUB and cubradio.com.
