JEFFERSON -- Most of the primary tone-setters from Jefferson's 2023 playoff team have graduated.
What remains is a mix of experienced and inexperienced guys, including nine seniors, who are hungry to chase a Rock Valley Conference title and get back to the postseason, where the Eagles fell in Level 1 last season to conclude a 5-6 campaign.
"We graduated a lot of talent from last year, including two all-region performers in Drew Peterson and Gary Northup, along with several other first team all-conference players," third-year Jefferson football coach Scott Slotten said. "They say it takes three years to change and build a culture, which is where we are now as a coaching staff.
"We've been trying to change around the speed and strength program, so this is the first group that's had to buy into that and I'm excited to see what we can put out on the field."
Junior Bentley Wagner returns at quarterback to lead an offense that figures to be more balanced after leaning heavily on Peterson in the ground game last season.
"We have a strong quarterback room of four guys, led by Bentley," Slotten said. "He's gotten bigger and more mature. Last year there were a lot of growing pains. He's coming into his body and we are expecting more things out of him. He's already shown his maturity and leadership abilities."
Junior Connor Witucki slides into the starting running back role after being a backup last season.
"Connor caught our eye dating back to his freshman season with his athleticism," Slotten said. "He's packed on some weight and muscle and is excited to get into that lead role."
Senior Noah Copsey and sophomore Wyatt Strupp will contribute at the wing back position.
"Those guys are getting looks at slot receiver but also are going to help us in the run game," Slotten said. "Noah and Wyatt have busted their butt in the weight room and can contribute in the run and pass game."
Seniors Cale Schmidt and Chase Langholff figure to be the top two targets on the outside with seniors Trevor Tessman and Christian Crabtree also in the mix for snaps at wideout.
"Cale is in his second year of football ever and we're excited for what he can bring in the slot and on the outside," Slotten said. "He has some of the best speed on our team. Chase has a little more length and size as an outside wideout who can go up and get balls. He's been a starter on defense who is excited to show what he can do on offense."
Junior Tyler Altermatt returns at tight end, where senior Ryan Lohman figures to be a regular contributor too after missing all of last season with an injury.
"Those guys are kind of 1A and 1B right now," Slotten said. "Lohman played left guard as a sophomore, but at 6-foot-2 he's one of our fastest guys.
"Tyler had a good offseason, has matured and gotten stronger. It's nice to have two guys like that who can help in the run game blocking and also be a threat in the passing game."
The Eagles return only one starter on the offensive line in senior Tyler Steinke, who will play right guard.
"Tyler's started for roughly a season and a half," Slotten said. "He came into practice in 2022 as a quarterback and we asked him if he'd be willing to switch. He got thrown into the wolves in the Monroe game two seasons ago. He's shined ever since and is now the anchor and leader of the offensive line."
Sophomore Joey Ebel gets the nod at left tackle with junior Alex Unke getting the nod at right tackle, where he will replace his older brother, Sam. Senior Isaac Schoenherr will start at center with three players vying for snaps at left guard.
The Eagles will continue to use a 4-4 scheme defensively under coordinator Auston Salomaki, placing an emphasis on gang tackling and flying to the football.
"We lost a lot from our defense last season," Salomaki said. "Steinke will be anchoring the defense up there, along with Loman, who was a solid defensive lineman as a sophomore two years ago. We could see rotations at the tackle positions."
Salomaki is excited to have Schoenherr and Witucki, both returning second team all-conference linebackers, in the fold as part of a deep position group.
"Witucki will play kind of a hybrid position, which includes lining up at safety in our 4-3 packages," Salomaki said. "Both those guys have taken steps in practice to help the younger kids understand our concepts and how we want to play as a defense."
Langholff returns at cornerback and Strupp will be a regular at safety.
"Langholff has a lot of athleticism," Salomaki said. "There could be a rotation at the other corner spot depending on who is willing to stick their nose on the football and cover guys.
"Wyatt had a good track season and a good offseason in the weight room. He's been to a lot of camps and put in a lot of work."
Monroe is the three-time defending Rock Valley champ and the Cheesemakers, who haven't lost a conference game since joining the league in 2021, figure to be the odds-on favorite this season, with a deep host of other schools fighting to position themselves in the top rungs of the standings.
"Monroe is the favorite until someone knocks them off," Slotten said. "They had tragedy strike this offseason when head coach Toby Golembiewski passed away after battling cancer. That hit home for a lot of coaches in the conference who had gotten to know Toby, who was a great guy and great leader that every player looked up to.
"Edgerton returns the conference Offensive Player of the Year in Cole Langer and they have great receivers too. McFarland always has a solid team and Evansville is consistently putting out a great product. Our conference from top to bottom is improving and everyone is moving in a positive direction."
Slotten's goals for the Eagles this season are threefold: compete for a conference title, secure a playoff berth and continue molding positive character qualities off the field.
"We know we are young with a lot of new faces coming in," Slotten said. "This group has the talent to chase our first goal of a Rock Valley title. We have some guys who got a taste of the playoffs last year, when we gave No. 1 seed Platteville a battle. We are hungry for a playoff victory and in order to get one, we'll need to be playing our best football at the end of the year.
"Wins are great, but we want to make sure all these guys are getting good grades and becoming great young men in our community too."
2024 Eagles Schedule
Aug. 23 at Luther Prep
Aug. 30 Fort Atkinson
Sept. 6 Monroe
Sept. 13 at East Troy
Sept. 20 at Evansville
Sept. 27 Edgerton
Oct. 4 at Whitewater
Oct. 11 McFarland
Oct. 18 at Delavan-Darien
**All games start at 7 p.m.
Eagles Roster
Name Position Height Weight Grade
Tyler Altermatt TE/DL 6-0 190 JR
Landen Schmitt WR/LB 5-9 160 SO
Chase Langholff WR/CB 6-1 160 SR
Noah Copsey WR/LB 5-8 185 SR
Connor Witucki WR/SS 5-10 165 JR
Ryan Lohman TE/DL 6-3 210 SR
Bentley Wagner QB/DB 6-1 160 JR
Sam Steies K 6-2 190 SR
Christian Crabtree WR/DB 5-8 145 SR
Cayden Logan QB/DB 5-8 150 SO
Wyatt Strupp RB/DB 5-9 155 SO
Mike Skaradzinski RB/LB 5-8 160 SO
Thomas O'Brien TE/LB 5-9 160 JR
Trevor Bruhn WR/LB 5-7 134 SO
Parker Murphy QB/LB 5-10 160 FR
Kaden Wangsness TE/DL 5-6 165 SO
Owen Copsey RB/LB 5-8 155 FR
David Vazquez RB/LB 5-7 170 JR
Dylan Gallenberg DL 5-7 170 SR
Ronan O'Reilly OL/LB 5-10 175 JR
Tyler Steinke OL/LB 5-10 195 SR
Isaac Schoenherr OL/LB 5-8 168 SR
Eli Moyer OL/DL 5-11 190 SO
Tristen Meyer OL/DL 5-7 170 SO
Henry Meier OL/DL 6-0 170 JR
Joe Ebel OL/DL 6-0 195 SO
Mac Riemenschneider OL/DL 5-10 190 JR
Alex Unke OL/DL 6-4 200 JR
Hayden Niebler OL/DL 6-0 240 JR
Thomas Condon III OL/DL 5-8 205 SO
Danny Ellifson OL/DL 6-5 280 SO
Alex Gehrmann WR/DB 5-9 160 JR
Alex Doebereiner WR/DB 5-8 130 SO
Trevor Tessman WR/DB 6-0 135 SR
Cale Schmidt WR/DB 6-0 155 SR
Ben Kalmon WR/LB 5-10 185 SR
Braxton Thiede WR/DB 5-9 160 FR
Colby Krause TE/DB 5-10 170 FR
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