By Rich Palzewic
Sports Editor
DE PERE – After making the WIAA Division 1 playoffs for the first time last season since 2015, The De Pere football team will be looking to make it back-to-back this year.
The Redbirds, who finished 4-6 and lost a Level 1 WIAA postseason game to Bay Port in 2018, will be led by a strong defense.
“It was a big deal to make the playoffs last year,” said De Pere head coach Chad Michalkiewicz. “If we can make it two straight, that will give our program a big boost. We are a program which expects to win and make the playoffs. Last season, we literally could have been 2-7 or 7-2. We had five, one-score games. We felt we were a little better than our record indicated.”
De Pere had fourth-quarter leads against Ashwaubenon, Green Bay Preble and Notre Dame Academy – games they eventually lost.
“It was nice for the seniors to go out with a postseason berth,” Michalkiewicz said. “We feel strongly about this year’s junior and senior classes and feel we have a legitimate shot to get back to the playoffs. I think Bay Port is clearly a cut above everyone else at this moment, but after that, there are a lot of unknowns. You will see some teams take a step back and a team like us take a step forward.”
The only two returning all-conference players are senior linebackers Kyjuan Vengrowsky and Sam Hafner.
“I think we have the potential to have the second-strongest defense in the conference,” said Michalkiewicz. “We are going to be tough to score on. Our front seven is established – especially our linebackers. Our defensive backs are all juniors, but they are intelligent and will hawk the ball.”
The Redbirds will start the season with two road games against Preble and Green Bay Southwest, before opening their home schedule with Sheboygan South.
“I like our start,” Michalkiewicz said. “This will be the last year of the conference having Thursday games before school starts, so it’s nice we have two road games right off the bat. We are a community that is very receptive to high school football. We have a chance to compete in our first three games.”
De Pere will look to quarterbacks Christian Bocik (senior) and Bennett Spaeth (junior) to lead the offense.
The Redbirds’ top rusher last season, Caelan Markusen, who was a second-team FRCC choice in 2018, has graduated.
“Christian has all the tools, so I think he will take the next step this season,” Michalkiewicz said. “Bennett is a three-sport athlete who plays sports all year – he’s old school. We will have to figure a few things out on offense to start the season.”
Michaelwicz said junior Adam Timbrook, who played in De Pere his freshman year and got minutes on the Neenah varsity team last year, is back in De Pere.
“He will be a name to watch,” Michalkiewicz added about Timbrook. “He looks like a running back. He ran a 4.67 forty and can bench 300 pounds. We are excited about his potential this season.”
Coach Spotlight
Name: Chad Michalkiewicz
School: De Pere
Years coaching at De Pere: 9
Other football coaching gigs: Green Bay Blizzard, Northwestern University, Winona State University
Hometown: Green Bay
Most memorable coaching moment: “The easy answer is when we beat Bay Port in 2015 to the end the conference season – it’s their last conference loss. The other most memorable game is a 2014 overtime loss to Ashwaubenon – it was an unbelievable atmosphere. We lost 35-28, but we picked their quarterback [James Morgan] off three times.”
Coaching mentor: “Matt Entz, the current head coach at North Dakota State University – I worked with him when I was at Winona State. I spent a lot of time with him and learned a lot.”
Best high school player you’ve coached against: “Alec Ingold – no doubt. He would literally run the same play the entire game, and we couldn’t stop him.”
Goals for 2019: “We do progressive goals – we don’t like to look at the big picture too much. We use a three-step process: Qualify for the playoffs, host a playoff game and compete for a conference title if we are still in the mix.”
My style of coaching is: “I can’t get enough football. Anybody can study the x’s and o’s, but I take pride in the relationships I build with my players. I would put my ability to connect with players up against anybody I coach against. You can argue whether or not that produces wins and losses – we’ve won more than we loss – but nobody can debate I know my players on and off the field.”
De Pere 2019 regular season schedule
8/22 – @ Green Bay Preble
8/29 – @ Green Bay Southwest
9/6 – Sheboygan South
9/13 – Notre Dame Academy
9/20 – @ Bay Port
9/27 – Pulaski
10/4 – @ Manitowoc Lincoln
10/11 – @ Sheboygan North
10/18 – Ashwaubenon
- All games begin at 7 p.m.