Team must replace majority of offensive production with low numbers
By Mike Ramczyk
Sports Editor
The odds are stacked against the 2016 Catholic Central varsity football team.
Numbers are around 28 or 29 athletes, as opposed to totals in the mid-30s last year and 40s a few years ago.
Gone are quarterback Ben Heiligenthal and running back Cole Kresken, two all-everything performers that combined for nearly 4,500 total yards, 3,000 on the ground.
But longtime coach Tom Aldrich has enjoyed historic success in his three decades as the head coach, and he expects the defending Metro Classic Conference champions to contend for a repeat.
The Toppers, who were one victory away from the WIAA Division 7 state championship game last season, will have their work cut out with only nine upperclassmen.
“It will be a little bit different without Cole and Ben, who were exceptional athletes,” Aldrich said Sunday. “We have to replace a strong senior class. By the end of the year, it won’t be that dramatic.”
While Catholic Central will see a host of new faces occupy the offensive backfield, all-conference wide receiver Cole Pankau, who led the team with 595 receiving yards and eight touchdowns, is back as the big-play threat.
Aldrich said Pankau will hope to build chemistry with first-year quarterback Chad Zirbel, a 6-foot junior.
Senior Aaron Reuber and sophomore Tristan Welka will take over the running back duties, and Reuber is the backup quarterback.
Aldrich said Welka, who is new to varsity, will play both sides of the ball, along with many other Toppers.
“It’s been challenging but rewarding,” Aldrich said of the transition this season. “We can’t just pound everyone. We have to use our imagination.”
Whereas Kresken and Heilgenthal stood beside each other in the shotgun formation, Aldrich said the Toppers will use more of the pistol formation this season.
The quarterback will be closer to the center for the shotgun snap, with the running back a couple feet behind.
Aldrich said the team will be trying several new formations this season.
Key returning seniors will include linemen Kyle Goethal, Aidan Kempken and Bryce Hocking.
Aldrich added that lineman Jack Henderson and slot receiver Jack Czerwinski will be key newcomers.
With two juniors on the roster, Catholic Central will lean on sophomores Dan Januscewski, Luke Sassano, Tyler Shaw and Simon Pedone.
Aldrich said the competition is “wide open” for the sophomores.
While new formations will be explored, Aldrich said the team will stick to its foundation of balance on offense.
“We still must be able to run more,” he said. “It’s much easier to run the ball once the cold weather comes.”
Catholic Central hosts New Glarus/Monticello Friday at the Topper Bowl.
Schedule
(7 p.m. – Home games in capital letters)
Aug. 19: NEW GLARUS/MONTICELLO. Aug. 26: LAKE COUNTRY LUTHERAN. Sept. 2: at Shoreland Lutheran. Sept. 9: at Whitefish Bay Dominican. Sept. 16: GREENDALE MARTIN LUTHER. Sept. 23: at Kenosha St. Joseph. Sept. 30: RACINE LUTHERAN. Oct. 7: MILWAUKEE THOMAS MORE. Oct. 13: at Racine St. Cat’s.
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