West De Pere wants to be above the line
Live above the line.
It’s an expression West De Pere football coach Jack Batten is using a lot with his players this year.
“It’s expectations for our program and the kids on the field, in the locker room, in the classroom and out in the community,” Batten said. “There are some things we want them to accomplish and some expectations we have for them, not just in terms of being a football player, but in terms of being a good person.”
The Phantoms seem to have the talent capable of doing some good things in the Bay Conference this year as well.
That’s pretty obvious when you look at their lines.
Junior Jake Karchinski and senior James Daanen return after earning first- and second-team all-Bay Conference honors, respectively, as defensive ends.
Meanwhile, senior Sam Marshalek will anchor the offensive line at left tackle after being a second-team all-conference defensive tackle a year ago.
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“We have a little bit more experience on the defensive side of the football,” Batten said. “We’ll be big on our offensive line. Inexperienced, but big.”
The experience of seeing more spreads looks has West De Pere rethinking how it using its personnel up front.
When a bulk of the teams in the Bay ran Wing-T offenses a few years ago, Batten would have probably left a lineman like Marshalek (6-foot-3, 280 pounds) as an anchor in the middle of the defense.
That’s not the case anymore.
“You definitely have to try to get as much speed on the field as you can,” Batten said. “The days of those big defensive lineman that chew up two gaps doesn’t do you any good against a (spread) team like Xavier if they don’t give you any pass rush.
“Offensively, we’re not trending like everybody else. We still want to be able to run the football between the tackles. We like to have some size on our offensive line. We’re trying to put our fast-twitch kids on the defensive side and use some of our big mauling linemen on the offensive side.”
Senior Clayton Ott will be transitioning from being a guard on offense to the defensive line to try and generate more pressure from the interior to pair with Karshinski and Daanen on the outside.
The linebacker corps is relatively inexperienced with senior Tristan Jindra as the only returning starter.
The secondary returns junior Garrett Kempen at cornerback, but will have to replace Matthew McNabb.
McNabb was a two-way all-conference performer last year, rushing for 1,167 yards and 21 touchdowns from the quarterback spot.
“Obviously, it’s going to be tough to replace an athlete like that,” Marshalek said. “But we have a coaching staff and players that support guys stepping up. We expect them to replace what he’s done around here. We expect nothing less.”
Senior Austin Beaumeier will be asked to carry a bulk of the load on offense after rushing for 1,176 yards and 19 touchdowns last season.
Senior Blake Kuehl returns at fullback, while the Phantoms have a pair of tall sophomore tight ends to turn to in Billy Wyatt and Kerry Kodanko.
Junior Cameron Reese is back at center and will be snapping to either John Edinger or freshman Josh Blount. Edinger’s older sister, Liz, was a captain on the West De Pere girls basketball team, while Blount’s older sister, Daphne, was a previous captain on the school’s volleyball team.
West De Pere went 9-2 last season, placing second behind Menasha in the Bay Conference and falling to Luxemburg-Casco in the second round of the WIAA Division 3 playoffs.
The Phantoms will be aiming to qualifying for the postseason for a 14th straight year and contend for its first conference title since 2012.
“Football is a big tradition around here, so we really hold ourselves to high expectations,” Kuehl said.