Seymour turns to familiar formula for success
SEYMOUR – Matt Molle knows he’ll have a lot of new faces in his varsity lineup Friday.
The Seymour football coach’s formula for success will remain the same.
“Sometimes we like to make the game as coaches pretty complicated,” said Molle, who is entering his 14th season. “But it’s basically can you block and tackle? If you can do that, no matter what your scheme is, you’re going to be solid.”
The Thunder will look to continue to do those things well to try and advance to the WIAA playoffs for a 10th straight year.
Seymour is coming off a 4-6 campaign, going 4-4 in the Bay Conference to secure a spot for the 12th time in 13 years of Molle’s tenure.
The Thunder sustained three of its conference losses by a combined nine points. It fell by one point to Appleton Xavier and Waupaca, while sustaining a seven-point loss to co-champion West De Pere.
The challenge this year it to find a way to pull out the close games with a revamped lineup.
“We’re going to be smaller up front on both the offensive and defensive lines,” Molle said. “We’ll have to see how things shake out for us. We have some decent guys up there.”
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Seymour has to replace a three-year starter at quarterback in Devin VerVoort, and a two-way all-conference conference choice in Josh Krause at receiver and defensive back.
Senior Hunter Clark will be charged with stepping up to fill the production left by Jamison Sassman, who rushed for 901 yards and seven touchdowns last year. Clark combined for 579 yards of offense and seven touchdowns last year.
“He can do some stuff out of our Wing-T and when we go pistol he can do some stuff out of pistol,” Molle said of Clark. “He plays a little quarterback and we can run a few read things with him. He’s a pretty good athlete, so we’re going to try to make use of his talents.”
Clark is joined by senior Tyler VanDeHei as a returning two-way starter.
VanDeHei was an absolute terror on defense last year, tallying a team-leading 139 tackles, seven tackles for loss and three forced fumbles to earn first team all-Bay Conference honors.
“He plays about basically anywhere we need him on offense,” Molle said of VanDeHei. “He’s a big, strong kid.”
The other returning starters include senior Cody Roskom (offensive line), senior receiver Peyton Dorn (receiver), senior Max Olsen (defensive line) and junior Owen Geurts (linebacker). Senior Jaron Valley also returns at kicker after going 17-for-21 on extra-point attempts.
While the cupboard isn’t completely empty for Seymour, replacing 19 seniors won’t be easy to do.
“We’re not sure how some of these guys are going to react,” Molle said about his first-year starters. “We have some guys who have some good speed, but we’ll see how it equates to the football field. Can you be physical enough up front?”
Seymour at a glance
Coach: Matt Molle, 14th season, 78-53
Last year: 4-6
All-conference players to replace:
Josh Krause, WR/DB, 1st team/2nd team
Cayden Waller, TE, 1st team
Noah Van Schyndel, DL, 1st team
Jamison Sassman, RB, 2nd team
Mason Hebb, OL, 2nd team
Ethan Taubel, DL, 2nd team
Devin VerVoort, QB, HM
Adam Smith, OL, HM
John Rydzewski, ILB, HM
All conference players returning:
Tyler VanDeHei, ILB, 1st team
2018 Schedule
Aug. 17 G.B. East
Aug. 24 at G.B. West
Aug. 31 Wrightstown (NC)
Sept. 7 at Appleton Xavier
Sept. 14 Shawano
Sept. 21 West De Pere
Sept. 28 at Waupaca
Oct. 5 New London
Oct. 12 at Menasha
Alums playing college football:
Jon Dietzen, University of Wisconsin
Josh Krause, St. Cloud State
Trenton LaCombe, UW-Oshkosh
Ryan Peterson, Upper Iowa University
Gunnar Roberge, University of Wisconsin
Will Rydzewski, UW-Oshkosh
Devin VerVoort, Carroll University