By Tim Wester
Sports Correspondent
Playing in an area loaded with offensive talent, Union Grove senior quarterback Matt Nelson certainly ranks among the best in the Southern Lakes Conference.
Nelson, who enters his third season as starting quarterback, leads a young and talented Broncos roster that is striving to make a second consecutive trip to the postseason.
“Nelson is an extension of the coaching staff, “McClelland said. “He is a coach’s dream, constantly watching film and bringing things to my attention.”
Last season, Nelson led Union Grove (7-4, 4-3) to a fourth-place finish in the Lakes and a berth in the WIAA Level 2 playoffs in Division 2.
Making a return trip to the postseason won’t be easy for the Broncos, who graduated a strong group of seniors, including Joe Peterson, Toby Robe, and Tyrell Laxton.
Despite losing playmakers, coach Craig McClelland is confident the new batch of Broncos will pick up the slack.
“We are young across the board but still have a nice mix of seniors to balance it out,” McClelland said. “It certainly helps having Nelson back to make things right. Our young kids are fantastic athletes whose play in our scrimmage was really encouraging.”
One of the more encouraging areas is at wide receiver where a young group of receivers must replace Peterson and Robe.
This group includes junior Jack Pettit on the outside and slot receivers Jacob Peterson, Alex Rewolinski, and Carson LaPointe. The Broncos will also split out 6-foot-4 tight end Holden Whybark to create mismatches on the outside.
“We lost two talented receivers to graduation, but we have plenty of talent left,” McClelland said. “We should have a strong passing game between Nelson and our receivers.”
While the passing game looks strong, McClelland will rely on a rotation of runners to balance his offense.
Devin Shibilski and Nick Gursky should factor prominently in the running game with La Pointe and Ross also getting carries.
“Last year we were 50-50 run and pass, and we plan to be similar,” McClelland said. “You can’t go away from the running game in this conference and this state in general because of the weather.”
Leading the way for runners is a quick and athletic offensive line that includes center Kellen Panyk, guards Andrew Tompkins and Chris Breytspraak, and tackles Jake Kies and Clayton Esch
“We have three starters back on the offensive line and four seniors and one junior, so it’s nice to have some senior leadership on the line,” McClelland said. “While we aren’t overly big on the line, we have plenty of experience.”
While the Nelson-led offense has received attention among opposing Lakes coaches, McClelland has been more impressed with his defense.
“Our defense is looking good, and is ahead of the offense right now,” said McClelland, who deploys a 3-3-5 defensive scheme. “Our younger kids are picking up the defense and our secondary is quickly becoming our strength.” The talented group includes Ross, Jack Clark, Pettit, Rewolinski, Austin Walker, and LaPointe.
The Bronco linebackers, meanwhile, will be made up of Brad Johnson in the middle with Shibilski and Gursky on the outside.
In front of the linebackers will be the down linemen trio of Kies, Esch, and Whybark.
With a talented defense and an all-conference caliber quarterback leading the offense, Union Grove could once again be a dark horse in the Lakes with Lake Geneva Badger, Waterford, and Wilmot in contention.
“I have been a coach for Union Grove football for five years now, and this is probably as deep of a Lakes conference as I’ve seen,” McClelland said. “All seven of our conference games will be tough and if we don’t show up and play well, we can lose any of those games. If we can just stay on track and show in practice, we have the athletes to be right there in the Lakes.”
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