The Wildcat football squad was looking very strong entering the 2021 season. We have an astounding 21 players on the varsity team, so there is no shortage of leadership. Many of these guys are also three-year-starters: running backs Riley Taylor and Roman Martell, linebacker Zach Bancroft, and linemen Tyler Wright and Camden Schettle. This is nothing new as this senior class has been strong going all the way back to when the 2016 Flyers team won the league championship.

While the team has been solid, the leadership has gone through a number of evolutions in a very short period of time. Entering the 2021 spring season, Coach Duane Hartkopf sought to rebuild the program, leading the team by declaring “Why Not Us?”. As a result, the Wildcats produced their first winning record in 11 years, losing only to the De Pere Redbirds in the Championship. The Wildcats also claimed multiple all-conference players, including Riley Stobb, Bancroft and Schettle. Those were good times, but that now seems like a lifetime ago.

Fast forward to the 2021 fall season, when the Wildcats started with a dominant, 54 point shutout against Green Bay East. Unfortunately, the team faced adversity following the abrupt departure of Hartkopf, who left to become an associate principal and athletic director at Appleton North. Coaches Andrew Dittburner and Cole Yoder stepped up to the challenge and have led their athletes with the motto “Rise Up.”

Rise up we have, defeating Steve Jung’s dynasty team on the road - the first win against Neenah in 7 years. Yoder’s defense sustained a shut out the entire game, refusing quarterback Matt Jung to even see the redzone.

In spite of this early success, the road has definitely turned rough as tough losses against the Kaukauna Ghosts, led by Carson Sipple, as well as Steve Jones’ Kimberly Papermakers. However, these losses were made easier to digest as illness and injury devastated the lineup, sidelining seven starters. Senior linebacker Colin Zeimet withstood a broken hand against Neenah, yet managed to finish the game and was named FVA Player of the Week. Parker Fontaine went down against Appleton East with a knee injury, but returned to play Kimberly. ‘

As I type these words on September 25, a challenging gauntlet awaits. Looking ahead, we have only three more conference games - Appleton North, Oshkosh North, and Fond du Lac. If we can manage two conference wins, Dittburer’s Wildcats will overcome a season of intangible obstacles to finish the year in the playoffs. Such success would go a long way to helping the seniors make memories worth holding onto after graduation.

By John Vanden Heuvel

Oshkosh West Index Volume 118 Issue 1

October 6th, 2021

Wildcats weather adversity in pursuing second consecutive playoff position