Brillion and Manitowoc Lutheran Meet on the football field for the first time in more than a decade.
It was September 3rd, 2010, the last time Brillion and Manitowoc Lutheran met on the football field as Olympian Conference foes.
That 16-year drought comes to an end tonight as the Lancers host the Lions in their home opener on Coach Heiderich Field at Lancer Circle.
Both teams are coming off impressive wins in their season openers last week as Brillion defeated Sturgeon Bay 41-6 while Manitowoc Lutheran defeated cross-town rival Roncalli 36-0 in the annual battle for the “Holy War Trophy” at Rubick Field.
The Lions took care of business by running the football and showcasing their physicality defensively, led by senior Liam Meyer’s 9 total tackles, five of which were solo.
Brillion Head Coach Tanner Behnke tells seehafernews.com that’s the way he’d prefer to win every week.
“The ground game, as it has always, will continue to be our staple,” he noted. “The hope is to develop a solid play action pass game off that, and I thought we were able to do that effectively last Thursday night against Sturgeon Bay.”
Manitowoc Lutheran implements a similar philosophy, wanting to run the ball to shorten the game while swarming to the ball defensively and putting a hat on the opposing ball carrier.
The Lancers limited Roncalli to just 4 first downs and 49 yards of total offense last Friday night, and senior quarterback Isaiah Hockmuth ran for 100 yards and 2 scores.
Head Coach Ryan Hulse says that’s great, but he’d like to see improvement in the passing game.
“We can certainly improve in that area by cleaning poor protections and running precise routes to get open,” he explained. “I have no doubt we’ll continue to improve areas and become proficient in those areas as we have in years past.”
Both teams have enjoyed success since they last met 16 years ago and are arguably two of the best teams coming out of the gate in 2026.
Behnke is glad to have the Lancers back on schedule.
“They’ve (Manitowoc Lutheran) reloaded this year and have a very good football team,” he admitted. “Just watching them on film, they’re just solid in all phases of the game and are very well coached.”
Hulse concurs, adding it’ll be a special night at Coach Heiderich Field.
“It’ll be great for the kids and both communities to experience something like this that will last a lifetime,” he anticipated. “Cheering in the stands under the lights on a beautiful late summer night. It’s just awesome.”
Brillion leads the overall series 5 victories to 2.
The kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
