It’s been 15 years since the Manitowoc Lutheran football program could say that they’re now the “hunted” and not the “huntee” as they begin defense of their Big East Conference title tonight against Cedar Grove-Belgium at Coach Heidrich Field.
The Lancers are off to a 2-0 start, having defeated Roncalli (36-0) and Brillion (21-7) by a combined score of 57-7.
Head Coach Ryan Hulse tells seehafernews.com that the formula may be boring, but it’s been effective.
“They’re working hard and are very coachable kids,” he explained. “They’ve been very motivated and are using the gifts that God has given them to achieve great results on the field.”
A swarming defense with solid tackling has been their calling card thus far, having not allowed a touchdown through two games, but Brillion did score on a defensive touchdown last week.
The “Lancer D” has 92 total tackles through two games, with 64 being solo.
Junior linebackers Roman Di Marco and Evan Wagner have led the way, with Wagner recording 10 solo tackles and 6 tackles for loss, and Di Marco leads the Lancers with 13 solo tackles through two contests.
Hulse says a deep and talented defensive front has been instrumental to shutting down the opposition.
“We have seven defensive linemen that we can rotate in and out to keep everyone fresh,” he noted. “It allows us to wear down the opposition to where it allows Roman (Di Marco) and Evan (Wagner) to go and do what they do best. It’s a great combination to have, and they feed off one another to make great plays.”
Offensively, the Lancers have been run-heavy, having accumulated 420 yards on the ground, averaging nearly 6 yards per attempt.
Three players have over 100 yards each, led by senior quarterback Isiah Hochmuth, who has 149 yards and two touchdowns.
Senior Josiah Martin has 144 yards and a team-leading five touchdowns, and sophomore Ethan Brooks has 114 yards on the ground through two weeks.
This has allowed Manitowoc Lutheran to pass when they want to.
Hochmuth has 11 completions to seven different receivers, led by sophomore Ethan Brooks’ three receptions.
Cedar Grove/Belgium comes to town having split their first two games of 2026, and Hulse has a ton of respect for the Rockets.
“Their defense is still very good,” Hulce admitted. “Their offense is a bit different but still quite effective. They run the ball very well and play a physical brand of football, so my message to the boys is let’s just go play football. We’re very excited to play this game.”
The Lancers have defeated the Rockets three consecutive times, including twice last season, one of which was a 55-14 victory in Level Three of the Division Six playoffs.
The Lancer Head Coach says it’s taken them a long time to reach the mountain top and are well aware that all will be looking to knock them off their perch.
“That’s been the message all week. We need to be mentally focused to win this game against the team that’s been consistently the best in the Big East for many years,” he revealed. “We get to face the best right out of the gate, and we need to understand that nobody is overlooking us anymore.”
The kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Coach Heiderich Field at Lancer Circle.
