This story is sponsored by: Wisconsin Homes of Marshfield
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
AUBURNDALE – Last season, the Auburndale football team won its first Marawood Conference championship in 20 years and won a WIAA playoff game for the fifth-straight season – excluding 2020 when it played an abbreviated 8-man schedule.
With all that success lends to the question: Can the Eagles keep it up?
An impressive senior class of athletes graduated from a team that finished 9-2 overall and reached Level 2 of the Division 6 playoffs. Veteran head coach Jay Anderson said he thinks this year’s squad is up to the challenge to continue the Eagles’ winning ways.
Kaden Anderson will move into the quarterback spot, replacing all-Marawood first-team pick Trayton Weber, a three-year starter. Anderson saw some time at running back a year ago. Evan Scholl returns at tailback after finishing second on the team behind Weber in rushing yards in 2022.
“We’ll make some adjustments within the system to highlight the strengths (of Anderson),” Jay Anderson said. “We kind of have to find out what best fits this group. I think we can have a nice team, but how many wins that puts us at, I don’t know. We have some nice players and we’ll compete.”
Many of the seniors that graduated played on both sides of the ball, including Marawood Lineman of the Year Adam Dorshorst, Weber, linebacker/guard Sloan Welch, tight end/defensive end Tim Schmitt, and Alex Willfahrt, a three-way first-team all-Marawood performer at wide receiver, defensive back and punter.
Blake Raab, Aden Cherney, Anderson and Scholl all return after contributing as starters to a stout defense a year ago.
That strong class led a program that won its first conference title since 2002 and earned three playoff wins the past two seasons. Jay Anderson said he is seeing the benefits of what a winning program can do.
“Our numbers have gone up a lot, they have a lot more energy and goals,” Jay Anderson said. “Our guys are coming out here with an expectation to compete. We always talk about wanting to leave the program better than when you started, and I think our guys want to uphold that.”
Anderson said Edgar is probably the team to beat in the Marawood this season, the last for the conference in football as realignment will dissolve the conference. Auburndale will move into the Central Wisconsin Conference Small Division, along with Edgar, Abbotsford and Pittsville. Marathon and Colby will be going into the CWC Large in 2024.
After the Wildcats, it is going to be pretty open as to what other teams qualify for the postseason, Anderson said.
“I think there is a lot of change, but the least amount of change is with Edgar,” Jay Anderson said. “That program is strong year in and year out, but everyone else is losing some really nice players. Abbotsford was real young last year and they have size. We lost a lot, Colby has, so it’s really hard to say how it’s going to go. I think it’s Edgar at the top and after that it’s going to be who can find a flow and get some confidence going.”
Auburndale opens its 2023 season at home Friday, Aug. 18, with a nonconference game against Milwaukee Hamilton.
Auburndale Football Schedule
Fri., Aug. 18 MILWAUKEE HAMILTON, 4 p.m.
Fri., Aug. 25 BIG FOOT, 5 p.m.
Fri., Sept. 1 LOYAL, 7 p.m.
Fri., Sept. 8 at Oconto Falls, 7 p.m.
Fri., Sept. 15 PITTSVILLE, 7 p.m.
Fri., Sept. 22 at Marathon, 7 p.m.
Fri., Sept. 29 ABBOTSFORD, 7 p.m.
Fri., Oct. 6 at Edgar, 7 p.m.
Fri., Oct. 13 COLBY, 7 p.m.
Home games in CAPS, at Auburndale High School