WHITEWATER -- In year two at the helm, it's about laying another level of foundation for Sam Bartlett while preaching the 'ACE' philosophy the head coach wants to permeate throughout the program.
'A' is for attitude, 'C' is for character and 'E' is for effort.
"The biggest thing is we're going to compete and I'm going to ask our kids for their best effort every day," Bartlett said. "We're all going to make mistakes, but we want to compete on every snap, both in practice and in games.
"Our program philosophy is being an ace. Attitude is how you respond to situations in life. Then it's do you have great character, do you have integrity and do you show up? Effort is passion and action for the goals you have.
"From a football standpoint, offensively the big thing is holding onto the football and controlling the clock. Defensively we want to force takeaways and rally to the football. I always say there's three Ts to help us win football games: win the tackle battle, turnover battle and third-down battle."
Whitewater, which returns 12 starters including seven on offense, went 3-7 last season and hasn't made the playoffs since 2009. Ten seniors will help lead the charge for the Whippets in 2024.
"These guys like to have fun together," Bartlett said. "We are going to work hard and fight for everything. But these are high school kids at the end of the day, and for some of these seniors, this could be their last rodeo from a football standpoint so we want to place an emphasis on fun and having energy at practice. This is a group that cares about each other and that wants to play for each other."
There's a two-horse race for the quarterback starting duties between junior Matthew Carollo, the team's backup last season, and sophomore Ty Bucholtz.
"Both of those guys are extremely talented, work extremely hard and can throw the football effectively," Bartlett said. "At the end of the day, the race will come down to who executes better and more consistently and shows they can rally our troops from under center."
Whitewater is shifting to a more Wing-T focused offense this year in an effort to get its three-headed monster of tailbacks on the field with more regularity.
"Last year, we ran Wing-T sets also, but we were in the shotgun," Bartlett said. "This gives us more flexibility with motion. Not to say we'll never be in the gun, but we are aiming to ground and pound it and control the clock."
Senior Connor Friend has seen regular play time as a Whippet and will log heavy snaps at the tailback spot, along with senior Traysen Thomason, who possesses high-end track speed, and junior Christian Minett.
On the outside, senior Ty Hagedorn and junior Kevin Gonzalez give the Whippets capable pass catchers who are long and have breakaway speed. Casey Lyon, a junior, returns as the team's starting tight end.
"I'm excited to get all our skill position players the ball either between the tackles or in space," Bartlett said. "Casey is a strong athletic kid who fits the tight end position well with his build."
Up front, senior Payton Bunger figures to get the nod at center, with senior Bradyn Schoenbeck at tackle and senior Marcus Seaver once again at guard. The other two spots are up for grabs.
Defensively, Bartlett pointed to Bunger as a main anchor on the defensive line in the team's base 3-4 scheme while Seaver figures to start at one of the linebacker spots.
"Last year, we were in a four-down front," Bartlett said. "The big motivation for switching to a 3-4 is getting more athletes on the field. We're blessed with quality skill players. We want to use those athletes for different looks. We can still line more kids up on the line of scrimmage and create four to five-man fronts from time to time if needed.
"We are trying to play fast and aggressive and want guys who can play in space and run after the ball."
Senior cornerback Mi'Shaun Harris, a second team all-conference pick in the Rock Valley in 2023, returns to give the Whippets an athletic secondary guy who likes to play physically.
"Mi'Shaun did a good job in 7-on-7s all summer," Bartlett said. "He likes to come up and tackle, something illustrated by him being top five on our team last year in tackles as a corner.
"This year we are also moving Connor from linebacker to safety to let him play downhill and in space."
Monroe, which has ruled the roost in the Rock Valley since 2021 en route to winning the league in unbeaten fashion the past three years, figures to again be the odds-on favorite for the title.
Bartlett pointed to the conference's depth and quality across the board as something that stands out headed into the season.
"It's all about who executes the best and Monroe is a class in execution in all three phases, which allows them to be as successful as they are," Bartlett said. "Monroe's coach last season, Toby Golembiewski, passed away in June and was a big help to me last year as a first-year coach.
"It was sad to see him go. The Monroe community was certainly thankful to have him as their varsity coach for eight years, including a state title in 2022."
2024 Whippets Schedule
Aug. 23 at Big Foot
Aug. 30 Clinton
Sept. 6 McFarland
Sept. 13 at Delavan-Darien
Sept. 20 Monroe
Sept. 27 at East Troy
Oct. 4 Jefferson
Oct. 11 at Edgerton
Oct. 18 Evansville
**All games start at 7 p.m.
2024 Whippets Roster
Name Height Weight Positions Grad. Year
Braydn Schoenbeck 6'3" 250 OL/DL 2025
Carson Pettit 5'9'' 170 RB/DB 2025
Connor Friend 5'9'' 140 RB/DB 2025
JR Soto 5'11'' 240 OL/DL 2025
Johnny Rodriguez 5'10'' 200 OL/DL 2025
Marcus Seaver 5'11'' 200 OL/LB 2025
Mi'shaun Harris 5'11'' 160 RB/DB 2025
Payton Bunger 6' 225 OL/DL 2025
Ty Hagedorn 6'3'' 185 WR/DB 2025
Traysen Thomason 5'10'' 160 RB/DB 2025
Casey Lyon 6' 210 TE/LB 2026
Christian Minett 5'10 165 RB/LB 2026
Clark Zamora 6' 170 TE/DL 2026
Deavion Olson 6'2'' 250 OL/DL 2026
Edrick Camacho 5'11'' 170 TE/LB 2026
Jacob Mueller 5'11'' 160 OL/LB 2026
Jake Luebker 5'11'' 165 RB/LB 2026
Jayven Wipperfurth 6'1'' 200 OL/DL 2026
Kayden Klefbohm 5'11'' 180 OL/LB 2026
Kevin Gonzalez 6'3'' 170 WR/DB 2026
Matthew Carollo 6' 170 QB/DB 2026
Austin Retzlaff 5'11'' 220 OL/DL 2027
Brady Friend 5'7'' 130 RB/LB 2027
Colton Liberto 6' 200 OL/DL 2027
Connor Brummeyer 5'9 150 WR/DB 2027
Corbin Vaughn 5'9'' 160 RB/LB 2027
Dominic Sierra 2027
Elliot Belair 5'9'' 160 OL/DL 2027
Emmet Spear 5'9'' 160 WR/DB 2027
Evan Amundson 6'0'' 160 QB/DB 2027
Gavin Smith 6' 180 OL/LB 2027
Hayden Armstrong 5'11'' 165 RB/LB 2027
Jacek Egnoski 5'9 150 WR/DB 2027
Trevor Piper 6' 170 TE/OL/LB 2027
Ty Bucholtz 6' 160 QB/DB 2027
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