This story is sponsored by Victory Apparel
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – Back in the early 2000s when the Marshfield football program was a perennial Wisconsin Valley Conference and state Division 1 title contender, the Tigers were keen on not having any two-way players, keeping their key performers fresh.
Times have changed, however, as numbers are down, forcing the Tigers to work their roster in an unfamiliar way for the program.
Marshfield head coach Denny Goettl said practice preparation has changed the most, as the team searches for not necessarily starters on both sides of the ball, but depth.
“We have 76 kids, sophomores to seniors, which is an ample amount of kids, but we used to have sometimes 120 back in the hey-day,” Goettl said. “I’m pretty happy with what we’ve got, but we have to find depth.
“The kids are being receptive to it. You learn your lessons from injuries. Our line coach said ‘We need 15 lineman, I don’t care, we need 15.’ So we have some defensive linemen taking some reps so they learn a couple of plays so we can get a series or two out of you. Those are things that we’ve never had happen. Injuries and a lot less kids. We’ll just work with what we have, that’s all you can do.”
Marshfield, coming off a 4-5 season, a 3-4 mark in the Valley Football Association South Division, and a second-straight year where it failed to make the WIAA playoffs, return nine letterwinners that saw significant playing time a year ago.
Seniors Brandon Bell, John Roherty and Sam Bauman return to the offensive line, and Jon Wittman and Neil Voros are back on the defensive line, giving the Tigers much needed experience up front.
Injuries riddled both lines for the Tigers a year ago. The running game didn’t suffer much, as Nick Hoheisel ran for more than 1,700 yards, but the injuries proved too much to overcome on defense.
Marshfield allowed more than 40 points three times in a mid-season four-game losing streak that pushed the Tigers out of playoff contention.
Along with the two linemen, senior Connor Peterson and junior Quinton Alexander are back at linebacker, and seniors Paul Maguire and Sawyer Lovestad return to the defensive backfield.
Junior A.J. Leonhart is also back on the defensive line after missing most of last season with an injury.
Junior Jared Johnsrud takes over at quarterback and will be flanked in the backfield by senior Braden Bohman, the top returning player on an offense that was dominated by seniors a year ago. Bohman had 158 yards rushing and 233 more receiving as he was mostly used as a slot receiver.
Sophomore Brant Bohman, Braden’s brother, and junior Andy Goettl will also see time running the ball and in the passing game.
“We’re happy with our quarterback, Jared Johnsrud,” Denny Goettl said. “He’s getting things, he’s a smart kid, and does what you ask of him. He makes good decisions most of the time.
“We’ve got a real nice offensive unit with our linemen. We’re hoping to get Connor Berry back in the middle of September as well, which will help.”
As the Tigers attempt to climb back into the postseason, Goettl is trying to keep things simple.
“I am hoping our offense and defense are going to do what we can do and get better every week,” said Goettl, who is entering his seventh season as the Tigers’ head coach. “We have to move the football with no turnovers, and you have to be able to stop people.”
This story, and much more, will appear in a special 2016 Football Preview section in this weekend’s Hub City Times, part of your Marshfield Area Buyer’s Guide.