WAUSAU - As Edgar defends its eighth state championship under community fixture Jerry Sinz, this season has been one of surprise and resilience for Sinz, who is in his 50th season with Edgar's football program.

The Wildcats suffered two critical injuries in the first half of their week two matchup against high-powered Stratford High School. They lost their two-way star, Jase Apfelbeck, to a season-ending ankle injury and their punter, Brock Mauer, to a knee injury.

The most noteworthy injury resulted in Apfelbeck's ankle surgery. This forced the Wildcats to finish the game and march toward the remainder of the season without their top rusher and tackling machine at middle linebacker.

Despite a second-half surge after trailing 14-0 at halftime, the Wildcats failed to overcome a two-score deficit at home and lost 21-8 to Stratford, the back-to-back Division 6 champion.

Central Wisconsin football schedule: High school football schedules for Central Wisconsin, including Marawood and Valley Football teams

The Wildcats trimmed Stratford's lead to 14-8 entering the fourth quarter. However, despite identical game stats, Sinz feels the team's errors in the first half were too insurmountable to mount a comeback against a team on a year-long winning streak.

However, to Sinz's surprise, his team has remarkably recovered without their aces. In their last three matchups, the Wildcats have made a statement outscoring their opponents 129-14, including a shutout over Pittsville at home and a 53-0 shutout over Rosholt on the road.

"The kids really rallied after that," Sinz said. "I told them, 'Well, obviously nobody could make up Jace's, you know, 10-11 tackles a game."

"But maybe 10 or 11 guys can get one more each, and you know, the yards will come."'

Sinz was skeptical entering week three against Auburndale, another top-rated school within the newly merged Marawood/CWC conference. He thought they might have had the better team and would have some extra motivation, as Edgar had gotten the better of them, 41-0, in the middle of their dominant two-loss season last year.

"I thought that they probably would be really fired up and would play a really good game against us," Sinz said. "But somehow, our kids, like I say, just really rallied, and we came out with a big win. And, of course, that gave us quite a bit of confidence going into the other games."

Edgar (4-1) at Assumption (0-5): Friday, Sept. 27 @ 7 p.m.

Sinz said Assumption, whom the Wildcats will face Friday on the road, has always been an exciting team to play against.

The two programs last met in the first round of the Division 7 playoffs in 2016. Edgar won 34-7 and ran the table to become champions that year, but each team will have a hurdle to overcome this time around with the Wildcats' injuries to critical pieces and Assumption's lack of roster depth.

"They only have about 20 guys on their varsity team," Sinz said. "So, of course, it is just hard to play them because everybody has got to play both ways."

Regardless, Edgar approaches each day the same way, with a mindset of getting 1% better. They see this game and the challenges it poses as a necessary stepping stone for team growth.

Sinz said the team has seen it all this year in terms of what opposing offenses have thrown at them, but he has prepared for a consistent rushing attack from the Royals. He considers this game a learning curve for future opponents who will enforce their physicality through the run game, like 5-0 Abbotsford, who they will meet in their regular-season finale.

The untimely injuries have forced Sinz to shift his defense from a 3-4 back to a standard 4-3 set that Sinz commanded for two decades at Edgar. But in the future, he's also not eliminating the idea of bringing a safety up to have extra support in snuffing the run.

One thing that comforts Sinz as the season approaches its conclusion is his confidence in how his team responds to adversity. He understands he does not have to challenge his group's exertion.

"Our kids know what the expectation is; I think they welcome the challenge," Sinz said. "We seem to play our best when our backs are kind of against the wall."

A Wildcat win Friday night would extend its win streak to four games and keep them at speed with unbeaten Abbotsford in defense of their 2023 title.

This article originally appeared on Wausau Daily Herald: Edgar overcomes early-season blow, faces Assumption for first time in 8 years