De Pere tackling growing pains

Sam Hafner is seemingly playing everywhere on defense for the De Pere football team.

The 6-foot, 215-pounder has made starts on the line, inside linebacker and outside linebacker.

The sophomore has been effective in all those roles, racking up a team-high 38 tackles, including 25 solo stops and six tackles for losses.

“He is reading, shooting, getting downhill and finishing plays,” said De Pere coach Chad Michalkiewicz of Hafner, who is pictured above. “We call him ‘The Tourniquet’ because wherever we need him he stops the bleeding.”

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The Redbirds are looking to turn around their season following an injury-filled start, which has featured a steady stream of changes in what was a rather young lineup to begin with entering the year.

“It’s a tough year. It’s a challenging year. But we know the gains we see on a daily basis,” Michalkiewicz said. “Everybody is sticking to the program, and we know things will work themselves out.”

De Pere will attempt to end a three-game losing streak Friday when it plays at Sheboygan North.

Despite the rough patches it has been through, the Redbirds have shown flashes of playing up to their potential and showcasing what the future could hold with four sophomores in the starting lineup.

Still, the injury bug hasn’t been kind.

Sophomore linebacker Daniel Youngquist earned a starting spot entering the season and was showcasing his talent and natural instincts before going down with a season-ending injury in Week 3.

Then there are players like junior Max DeMille, whose unselfish play has seen him transition from the defensive line to tight end to left guard through the first three weeks. DeMille, however, missed last week’s game with a viral infection.

“He’s willing to play wherever to help the team,” Michalkiewicz said. “He had No. 6, which he thought was really cool, and he had to swap that off for the nice and ugly No. 57.”

Michalkiewicz hopes the experience many of his players are getting will pay off in the second half of the season and even further down the road.

Hafner, for example, played last season at the freshman level as an offensive lineman before making the step up to being an impact player on the varsity defense this year.

“He was a frustrated kid last year at the freshman level because we needed him to play offensive line,” Michalkiewicz said. “But we knew what we had in him. We knew his future was going to be as an impact player on the defensive side of the ball.

“He went and bodied up (Green Bay Southwest’s) Josh Komis for a tackle for loss. That’s not a common thing to do to him, so Sam’s going to be a beast.”

De Pere is probably going to have to bring down one of the Fox River Classic Conference leaders down the stretch to avoid missing out on the playoffs for a second straight year. It finishes up the regular season against Bay Port and Green Bay Notre Dame.

Sophomore Christian Bocik will attempt to lead the team back to the win column in the upcoming weeks against Sheboygan North, Pulaski and Sheboygan South. He was thrust into the starting quarterback spot after junior Landon Kirby sustained an ACL tear in the Redbirds’ preseason scrimmage.

Bocik has benefited from being surrounded by explosive playmakers in senior running back Nate Baranek and senior receiver Gavin Knott. Baranek is averaging 5.0 yards per carry and ranks sixth in the FRCC with 421 rushing yards, while Knott is second in the conference with 320 receiving yards on 17 catches

“We’re going to have to string a couple here in a row in order to have a chance to qualify for the playoffs,” Michalkiewicz said.

“We have enough playmakers, and enough senior presence on our team, that know what we’re capable of, but we just have to continue to develop and bring those young guys along.”