This story is sponsored by: Chili Implement
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
STRATFORD – The Stratford football team stands on the precipice of history heading into the 2024 season.
Stratford, coming off back-to-back WIAA Division 6 state championships, can become the 12th team in state history – dating back to the start of the WIAA postseason format in 1976 – to win three titles in a row and the first program to do it twice.
Stratford owns the longest state championship streak, taking six-straight Division 6 crowns between 2003-08. Kimberly won five in a row from 2013-17 and nine other programs have earned the three-peat, which was most recently accomplished last year as La Crosse Aquinas took its third-straight D-5 title.
Due to the new competitive balance rules recently put in place, Aquinas will both be moving up to Division 4, with Stratford going to Division 5 as it looks to fill the void.
Stratford will also compete in a new-look Central Wisconsin Conference Large Division in 2024, as Shiocton, Manawa and Nekoosa are replaced with Colby, Loyal/Greenwood and Marathon. Spencer/Columbus Catholic, Amherst, Wittenberg-Birnamwood and Weyauwega-Fremont also remain in the conference.
“We lost three teams and two of them were spread teams,” Stratford head coach Jason Tubbs said. “Now I think the new teams are more run-oriented and we usually do pretty well against run teams. Colby is a great program, Marathon is coming along, so I think it’s going to be different, but may adjust to us a little bit better.
“You still have Amherst, you still have Weyauwega-Fremont, which is bringing a bunch of kids back, and you still have Wittenberg-Birnamwood. And now we are up to Division 5, so we have to try to stay healthy through our season and our conference, and do the best we can once we hit the playoffs.”
Coach Tubbs welcomes back a number of key contributors from last year’s D-6 state championship and CWC Large title team that finished 13-1, including his son, Jack, at quarterback, after he was a second-team all-CWC Large selection in 2023, throwing for 1,510 yards and 25 touchdowns, and rushing for another 441 yards and five scores.
Carter Lueck was a first-team all-conference offensive and defensive lineman last season as a junior, and he is back along with fellow first-team all-CWC Large offensive lineman Walker Weis. Caleb Wrensch is back in the defensive backfield after being named second-team all-conference, and Jett Schoenherr returns after earning honorable mention status at both defensive back and wide receiver.
“The guys that played last year are definitely ready this year,” Jason Tubbs said. “You can tell with that 14-week season last year, and all the practice, these guys are ready to go. That being said, the guys that are coming in new are not up to game speed yet. That’s our job to get them ready to be full speed. Some kids’ heads are swimming and some kids are like ‘This is easy.’”
The Tigers will again start the season with a pair of nonconference games against quality opponents, taking on Mosinee at home on Friday, Aug. 23, and traveling to Edgar, last year’s Division 7 state champion, on Aug. 30. Edgar handed Stratford’s its only loss in 2023.
“We have to compete at a high-level right off the bat, and hopefully it pays dividends late in the season,” Jason Tubbs said. “Mosinee is a different team this year. They graduated some really good seniors, all-state type of kids, but they still have great coaching and good players across the field.”
Jack Tubbs said the Tigers have put in the work to make another run in 2024.
“The upper-classmen have been working really hard in the offseason to prepare,” Jack Tubbs said. “We moved up a division (for the playoffs) and we’ve worked harder. This group has really exceeded what we expected in the offseason.”
Two main cogs the Tigers will have to replace are running back Koehler Kilty, and do-everything back/receiver Gavin Leonhardt. Kilty ran for 1,919 yards and 20 touchdowns on a whopping 275 carries, while Leonhardt rushed for 607 yards, caught 29 passes for 628 yards, and scored a combined 20 touchdowns while adding two more on defense.
Senior Reid Miller and junior Brooks Vanderhoof will look to take over the two key backfield spots for Stratford.
“Reid, a senior, looks really good,” Jason Tubbs said. “He went to a lot of camps, he wants to play at the next level, he’s fast and a little more side-to-side type kid. When we needed a yard, Koehler would put his head down and get it for you, Reid might make the guy miss. Brooks is the same way. It might be a little different not having the big hammer, but overall, Reid has always done the job when he’s needed to.”
Jack Tubbs said he feels a lot more comfortable in his role as a returning starter, and is confident in his new mates in the backfield.
“It’s a lot better going into my second year at QB,” Jack Tubbs said. “I know who to look at, who to read, and what guys want to run certain routes. It’s been a lot easier.
“Reid is quicker than Koehler, so the O-line has to block a little quicker. We’ve got Alec Chapel replacing Gavin Leonhardt too, similar size, so it’s just getting used to the newer guys.”
Without that ‘Hammer’ that Coach Tubbs referred to in Kilty, the Tigers’ offense may look a little different.
“We’re definitely going to have to be more diverse,” Jason Tubbs said. “Jack is going to have to take on a bigger role running the ball and lean on the Coltan Breit and Jett Schoenherr, and the receiving corps. At any time, those guys could go 80 yards because of their speed. Coltan and Jett are state champions in the 4×100, and if we get a mismatch with them, we feel we can take advantage of that. The grind it out for 14 minutes might look different, but I think we still can spread teams out and run the ball.”
Stratford Tigers Football Schedule
Fri., Aug. 23 MOSINEE, 7 p.m.
Fri., Aug. 30 at Edgar, 7 p.m.
Fri., Sept. 6 at Spencer/Columbus Catholic, 7 p.m.
Fri., Sept. 13 WITTENBERG-BIRNAMWOOD, 7 p.m.
Fri., Sept. 20 WEYAUWEGA-FREMONT, 7 p.m.
Fri., Sept. 27 at Colby, 7 p.m.
Fri., Oct. 4 at Marathon, 7 p.m.
Fri., Oct. 11 AMHERST, 7 p.m.
Fri., Oct. 18 at Loyal/Greenwood, 7 p.m.
(Home games in CAPS, at Tiger Stadium, Stratford)
TEAMS TO WIN AT LEAST THREE-STRAIGHT WIAA FOOTBALL TITLES
*Two Rivers: Division 3 1980-82
*Manitowoc: Division 1 1984-96
*Monroe: Division 2 1990-92
*Lancaster: Division 4 2000-02
*Stratford: Division 6 2003-08
*Waunakee: Division 2 2009-11
*Kimberly: Division 2 2013, Division 1 2014-17
*Amherst: Division 5 2015-17
*Fond du Lac St. Mary’s Springs: Division 6 2017, Division 5 2018, Division 6 2019
*Waukesha Catholic Memorial: Division 3 2018, Division 4 2019 & 2021
*La Crosse Aquinas: Division 5 2021-23