Preble has big expectations

Ryan Possley. Jack Rentmeester. Marcus May. Paco Ponce. Cal Sebranek. Anthony Aziere. Lukas Henjum.

You were probably expecting to see a different name at the start of an article about Green Bay Preble heading into this season, right?

Henry Geil is sure to receive a lot of attention this year. After all, the Green Bay area doesn’t usually feature a future Big Ten tailback.

The 6-foot-1,215-pounder quickly became a coveted prospect by several NCAA Division I teams during a busy offseason before ultimately making a verbal commitment to the University of Iowa.

Geil feels strongly about his decision to become a Hawkeye, just like he did three years ago when he chose to become a Hornet.

The reason why he gravitated toward the latter is where he feels the spotlight should be this season when discussing his team.

“Literally, I’m here because of the line,” Geil said. “In all honesty, playing against those guys (in middle school), and seeing how tough it was to beat them, I could see the future that they had. These two (Possley and Rentmeester) were already like 6-2 in eighth grade.”

The Preble offensive line has grown larger and closer through the years.

The linemen listed above are all seniors, and they all started multiple games last season. A rare luxury few high school teams ever have coming into a season.

Possley (first team) and Rentmeester (honorable mention) received all-Fox River Classic Conference accolades a year ago. They both weigh in north of 285 pounds along with May and Sebranek.

“I played defense because I tried it out today,” Geil said. “I can’t stop those guys.”

Geil felt the same way when he played for the Allouez Buccaneers in middle school. Meanwhile, the collection of linemen came up through St. Phillips Falcons program.

“A lot of these guys have been playing together for a long time,” Preble football coach Tim Larsen said. “It’s really nice because they have those bonds that have stood the test of time. Now that they’re seniors, they get to showcase all the work that they have done.”

What the Hornets have done in recent years is consistently churn out a winning team. They’ve made the WIAA Division 1 playoffs six straight times.

Capturing the top spot in the Fox River Classic Conference has proven to be an elusive task, though. Preble’s last conference title came in 2005, two years before the FRCC was formed.

The Hornets went 5-4 in FRCC play last season before dropping a first-round playoff game to Stevens Point. All four of their conference losses were by seven points or less.

Most of the offense returns from that team, but quarterback Coy Wanner will have to be replaced. Senior Casey Roeser and junior Jack Dessart are competing to fill the void left by Wanner, who became a preferred walk-on at Wisconsin.

“Both guys just exude confidence,” Larsen said. “They have a quarterback’s personality, where they are calm, cool and collected.”

Senior Gavin Buergi could be utilized at multiple spots on offense. The speedster earned first-team all-FRCC honors as a returner last year and is coming off a second WIAA state track and field appearance in the 100-meter dash.

Defensively, there will be more new faces in the lineup following the graduation losses of four players that were either first- or second-team all-conference choices.

Senior defensive lineman Nic Dahlke anchors the unit and is receiving college interest from DI-AA and DII programs.

Preble is hoping this will be the year it takes the next step with its program.

“We’re all ready for it,” Geil said. “I think I can speak for all these guys that the bigger the challenge the better the reward.”

Help support PrepsAgenda.com