Plenty of Waterloo Pirates will be taking their first varsity snaps when the 2024 high school football season kicks off. Waterloo was hit hard by graduation in the offseason, opening the door for fresh faces to make a name for themselves around town.
The Pirates are not easing into this new era, however. Waterloo, which competed in Division 6 in last season’s Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Associaton (WIAA) state tournament, will start the season on the road against Division 4 Adams-Friendship.
The Green Devils are the reigning South Central conference champions after going 6-1 against conference opponents last fall. Their overall 7-3 regular season record earned them a No. 5 seed in Division 4 for the 2023 WIAA state tournament. Their run in the playoffs was short-lived as they dropped a 33-14 game to No. 4 seed West Salem in Level 1.
This season, Adams-Friendship was named a team to watch in the Wisconsin Sports Network Division 4 preseason football rankings. Much like the Pirates, the Green Devils have plenty to replace after the graduation of their own talented senior class.
Most notably, Adams-Friendship will be without 2023 South Central Defensive Player of the Year Jake Long. The Green Devils’ defense as a whole was hit hard with the graduation of four all-conference contributors. The offense also lost five all-conference players, including their starting quarterback and running back.
Adams-Friendship is far from gutted, however, thanks to the return of linebacker Ryan Weaver. The senior was named to WSN’s preseason watch list for the “John Anderson” award, given annually to the state’s top senior linebacker. He earned first team all-conference honors last season thanks to 44 total tackles, five sacks, three forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries.
The Green Devils’ linebacker corps as a whole will be strong as senior Robert Irey also returns. He was a second team all-conference selection in 2023 after leading Adams-Friendship in total tackles with 60, including three tackles for loss and a sack.
Irey could also be a top contributor on offense. He returns with the most rushing yards on the team after picking up 423 on 57 carries last fall, including three touchdowns. This earned him second team all-conference honors.
Speaking of second team all-conference, Adams-Friendship returns two offensive linemen who earned that distinction last season. Big senior Jayce Wikman clocks in as a starting tackle at 6-foot-7, 340 lbs.. Junior guard Gavin Leach will also help open holes in the trenches.
As for Waterloo, while the Pirates were not ranked in the wissports.net preseason top-15 in Division 6, they were listed as a team to watch. They’ll kick the season off on Friday, Aug. 23 with a trip to take on the Green Devils on their turf. Waterloo will be on the road for the first three weeks of the 2024 season. After Adams-Friendship in week one, the Pirates will head to Pecatonica/Argyle on Friday, Aug. 30 and to Fall River/Rio on Friday, Sept. 6.
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