Wrightstown possesses impressive depth
WRIGHTSTOWN – Football is often a numbers game.
Wrightstown has plenty of them to choose from this season.
“I really like our depth,” Klister said. “It’s maybe as much depth as we’ve had since the 2011 season.
“We have nine or 10 guys on the offensive line that we could put out there, so we’re hoping to not have to play a lot of guys two-ways this year. It’s the same thing probably in the backfield. We have probably six real solid running backs that could definitely contribute.”
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This year’s version of the Tigers have a long way to go in order to match the 2011 squad, which won the WIAA Division 4 state championship.
Still, Klister’s comparison in terms of depth is a solid indicator of what Wrightstown could be capable of this season.
The Tigers have their sights set on extending the Green Bay area’s longest WIAA playoff streak to 25 consecutive seasons.
Wrightstown is also a favorite to win the North Eastern Conference title after finishing tied for second last season behind Little Chute, which it lost to in the D4 state quarterfinals.
Since its formation in 2015, the NEC has seen a different team win the conference football title, including Wrightstown in 2017.
Despite being one of the smallest schools in the NEC, the Tigers have gone 24-7 in conference play.
“When we first started in this conference that was our battle cry,” Klister said. “We’re the small team, and we want to show that we can compete against bigger schools. We knew going in that we would really have to work hard to compete, and I think our program has done that.”
Although it won’t matter to their conference title hopes, the Tigers will also have the opportunity to test itself in Week 8 against West De Pere, last year’s D3 state runner-up.
The Tigers hopes of making a deep postseason run of their own this year are due senior running backs Ben Jaeger and Jeremy Van Zeeland.
Jaeger (730 yards) and Van Zeeland (636 yards) finished second and third, respectively, on the team in rushing yards last year on the way to earning all-conference honors on both sides of the ball.
Van Zeeland recorded a team-high 106 tackles and will be a three-year starter for the Wrightstown defense, which returns seven players with significant varsity experience.
Junior Quincy Klister and senior Andrew Lamers also will be versatile assets on offense and defense.
However, Klister is happy he won’t have to ask many players to go both ways.
“We’re fortunate to have numbers throughout,” Klister said. “I think we have about 80 players, roughly about 20 guys per class. I really think that’s key.”
Wrightstown at a glance
Coach: Steve Klister, 20th season, 162-50
Last year: 9-3
All-conference players to replace:
Douglas Klister, QB, HM
Andrew Pelishek, RB, 1st team
Evan Guns, TE, 2nd team
Hyden Meulemans, OL, 1st team
Kyle Peters, OL, HM
Ethan Witcpalek, DL, 1st team
Peyton Just, OL/DE, 2nd team
Walker Vande Hey, ILB, HM
All-conference players returning:
Jeremy Van Zeeland, RB/DB, 1st team
Ben Jaeger, RB/OLB, 2nd team/HM
Trevor Golden, K, HM
2019 Schedule
Aug. 23 Clintonville
Aug. 30 Denmark
Sept. 6 at Fox Valley Lutheran
Sept. 13 Oconto Falls
Sept. 20 at Freedom
Sept. 27 at Little Chute
Oct. 4 at Marinette
Oct. 11 West De Pere (NC)
Oct. 18 Luxemburg-Casco