By Jennifer Eisenbart
Editor
By Mike Ramczyk
Sports Editor
It’s something that hadn’t happened in 12 years, and it changes the landscape of city football.
Hans Block recently stepped down as the Burlington High School head football coach, and, according to sources, there have already been multiple applications.
Block’s departure impacts the school and the program and leaves a question mark on area football in 2014.
For these reasons, Block’s resignation is the Burlington Standard Press Sports Story of the Year.
Here’s the original piece:
When Hans Block first stepped in as head football coach at Burlington High School, he did so with every expectation of success – and believing he was the right person for the job.
But after the Demons finished 4-5 this year after a 3-0 start – and missed the playoffs for the sixth time in the last seven years – Block no longer felt the same way.
“We haven’t been able to win,” said Block last week after resigning as head coach. In his 12 years at the helm, Block was 59-56, with four trips to the playoffs – two past the first round.
“I’m not pleased with the results of that,” Block added. “I’ve been working hard. I’m not sure I can give much more, and I don’t like the results we’re getting.
“In this situation, I don’t know what else I can do.”
Block had come under fire from some community members – many parents of players in the program – in recent years as the Demons failed to make the playoffs from 2007 through 2011.
Prior to that, BHS hadn’t won a title, but had been respectable in the Southeast Conference, reaching a Level 2 playoff game in 2004 and the state semifinals in 2005 – where the Demons lost to 15-13 to Waunakee at Watertown.
The next year, though, Burlington was upset in the first round of the playoffs – by Waterford – and then struggled with three straight 4-5 seasons.
That the Demons went a combined 11-16 from 2009 through 2011 in its return to the Southern Lakes Conference did not help matters at a school that was used to dominating in the SLC.
Block’s team made the playoffs in 2012, going 6-2 before losing in the first round to Watertown.
Season unravels
But after a 3-0 start to this season – with non-conference wins over Racine Case and Horlick, plus an SLC win over Union Grove – the Demons could not ride the momentum. After a 41-12 loss to Badger, the Demons came back home and lost a tight contest to Waterford, 13-10.
BHS followed that with a 42-14 win over Westosha Central, but saw Delavan-Darien execute a late surge on the road a week later, losing 28-24.
Burlington managed just one touchdown over its final two games, falling 27-0 to Wilmot and 24-6 to Elkhorn.
Somewhere along the line, Block said, he lost his team.
“At the end, when things started to get difficult … they stopped believing somewhere along the line,” Block said. “That’s not what I like, either. That’s one of the things I point to when I say I’m not the same person I was 12 years ago when I took over.
“Not that we threw the towel in, but when things started to go wrong, you could see the chins go down a little bit.”
Block said Friday that he had spoken with his wife, Marita, before the start of the season, and had expected to coach two more years.
The difficult 2013 season accelerated that time frame.
“I just think the program needs a shot in the arm,” Block said. “Burlington deserves a winner, and right now, we’re not winning.”
A column by Standard Press Sports Editor Mike Ramczyk analyzing BHS’s football situation drew plenty of online commentary in November, with many reviewers saying a change should to be made – one that started at the top with Block.
However, Block said Friday that his decision had already been made, in fact, before the end of the season.
“At that time, I finished the race,” Block said.
The coach told his assistants following the football banquet Dec. 8, and then turned in a letter of resignation to BHS Athletic Director Eric Plitzuweit Dec. 9, and informed his players on the afternoon of Dec. 11.
A devoted coach
Plitzuweit was supportive of the type of program Block ran.
“Coach Block devoted countless hours to the Burlington Area School District, the football program and the student athletes that he coached,” Plitzuweit said.
The AD added that Block was the first to greet him when he arrived in 2008, and that kind of welcome was something he would be “forever grateful” for.
“We’re planning on having him around,” Plitzuweit said about Block’s continued involvement at sporting activities. “He’s a guy who I hope stays around.”
Block drew praise from many in the community for his work with students, both on and off the field. What it came down to in the end, though, was the inability to produce winning teams in recent years.
Block indicated he would not be any kind of assistant with the football program, however.
“There needs to be a change in environment and in how things are done,” Block said. “What we did didn’t work.”
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