Desire is there for Denmark

Chris Haese couldn’t help but smile Thursday when he looked back at the field.

The Denmark football coach waived off conditioning at the end of practice, which served as his team’s final tune up before a scrimmage against Two Rivers and Mishicot.

That didn’t stop senior Brandon Wavrunek and junior Huntter Kittell from sticking around a little bit longer to put in some extra work pulling a weighted sled.

“I think that’s a great thing right now,” Haese said.

It was a prime example of Denmark’s desire to obtain a better finish this year following a couple of three-win seasons.

“Desire,” Haese said. “That’s the word the seniors chose this year for the team. They’re going to have to fight until they can’t fight anymore.”

The Vikings don’t need to be reminded that they’re one of the smallest schools in the North Eastern Conference. They know conditioning will be of the utmost importance when going up against squads that may have more depth.

“As a small team, we just really have to be athletic and work together because if we can do that we can be a strong force against them,” Denmark senior Kendall Vanden Langenberg said.

Although it may sound counterintuitive, Denmark is actually focusing on putting in less time on the practice field to help ensure it can stay up to speed when crunch time rolls around in the fourth quarter.

As pleased as Haese was to see Wavrunek and Kittell put in some extra repetitions, the seventh-year coach wants to see his players get through practices a lot quicker by keeping the tempo up and moving from drill to drill with a purpose.

It’s why Haese made the move to cut out an hour from preseason practices.

Instead of doing drills, taking a break and going back to drills, the Vikings will watch film at the start of practice and then spend less time coaching on the field with a fast-paced practice session.

“It’s a different style, but I think it’s efficient,” Haese said.

“I think the kids like it more. There is no standing around out there, minimal anyways. I get upset if there is standing around.”

The Vikings possess an offensive line that has been around the block with four starters returning, including Josh Frerk, Bradyn Polomis, Grant Vakselis and T.J. Weidman.

Frerk is a four-year varsity player and a state-qualifying wrestler.

“He’s awesome to have,” Haese said. “He’s stepping up and being more of a leader. We’ve had some great linemen go through here, and he’s trying to continue that tradition.”

Haese feels his team has several options in the backfield to tote the rock in his option offense, including senior Brady Krueger and Vanden Langenberg. Meanwhile, junior Jack Satori will take over at quarterback.

Krueger received honorable mention all-NEC recognition as a defensive back last year.

Wyatt Gezella returns at safety and is coming off a fifth-place finish in the 400-meter run at the WIAA Division 2 state track and field meet last June.

Gezella could also see a bigger role on offense, where receiver Brady Jens garnered honorable mention all-NEC accolades as a sophomore last season.

“It’s going to take a lot of hustle, a lot of heart,” Frerk said. “Everybody needs to know what they’re doing, and we just all have to play together.”