Boyceville football looks to find solid footing in 2020
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BOYCEVILLE will open its 2020 football season this Friday in Colfax. This year’s team members are shown in the above photograph. Front row (L to R): Braden Roemhild, Kyle Lipke, Jack Phillips, Nick Olson, Ira Bilazik, Wyatt Sell, Peyton Ponath, Nate Stuart and Brady Helland. Middle row (L to R): Connor Gilpin, Zach Kersten, Keegan Plemon, Preston Coombs, Dawson McRoberts, Jacob Granley, Tyler Dormanen, Bash Nielson, Treylin Thorson and Darryl Stai. Back row (L to R): Isaac Bartz, Brandon Dunn, Jacob Wheeler, Brendan Hazelton, John Klefstad, Chase Hollister, Parker Coombs, Peter Wheeldon, Tate Downey and Mason Bowell. Not pictured are Josiah Berg, Grant Kaiser, Cole Morrisette, Luca Pierre, Devin Halama and Paul Kurschner. —photo by Shawn DeWitt
by Laura Giammattei
Sports Correspondent
BOYCEVILLE — With a much deeper roster than last season, many starting positions are up for grabs across all grade levels for the Boyceville football team this fall.
From hungry juniors and seniors determined to display improvement upon the 2019 season, to a vast array of eager sophomores and freshmen, Boyceville head coach Michael Roemhild is expecting to see good competition for starting spots.
“We have a deep freshman class that could see varsity time and a small sophomore class ready to compete at the varsity level,” Roemhild said. “My juniors and seniors, for the most part, were not ready for a varsity schedule last year … they have now grown and matured and are looking to lead this team.”
Last season the Bulldogs fell short of reaching their goals of staying competitive in every game, finishing the year with a 1-5 conference record (2-7 overall), but Roemhild said the upperclassmen aim to prove that last season was just a stepping stone to this season.
The Bulldogs move forward with a first-year varsity quarterback, as well as a number of other positions featuring younger athletes. Roemhild is confident the selected positions for each player are well-suited to their strengths and their attitudes show they are up for the challenge.
Roemhild added that this 2020 team has already shown both physical and mental dedication, weightlifting and running 7-on-7 scrimmages together throughout the summer.
“Everyone knows that if we want to be successful, it has to be team first with individual accolades being the cherry on top,” Roemhild said.
The Bulldogs’ main goal this year is to take things week by week and focus on winning one game at a time. Roemhild expects the team overall to become faster, stronger and more confident with each passing week.
Boyceville will also be welcoming four new Dunn-St. Croix (D-SC) Conference teams and saying goodbye to three old ones. Durand, Elk Mound and Mondovi have moved to the Cloverbelt Conference while Cadott, Clear Lake, Elmwood/Plum City and Turtle Lake take their place.
Roemhild still sees Spring Valley as the top dog of the D-SC and everyone else fighting for the number two spot. He said the Cardinals are well coached and will return with speed and the best running back in the conference.
Boyceville will not meet with Spring Valley until the last regular game of the season on November 6. They begin the season on the road at Colfax High School this Friday, September 25 and then host Turtle Lake the following week on October 2.
“We are excited to be able to compete and play sports again,” Roemhild stated. “We are definitely in uncharted territory right now but it feels good to be back coaching again. The excitement on the kids’ faces has been great.”
2020 Roster
Seniors: Brendan Hazelton. Brady Helland, Cole Morrissette, Nate Stuart
Juniors: Isaac Bartz, Josiah Berg, Ira Bialzik, Preston Coombs, Tyler Dormanen, Jacob Granley, John Klefstad, Kyle Lipke, Dawson McRoberts, Luca Pierre, Keegon Plemon, Peyton Ponath
Sophomores: Mason Bowell, Brandon Dunn, Chase Hollister, Sebastian Nielsen, Jack Phillips, Jacob Wheeler
Freshmen: Parker Coombs, Tate Downey, Connor Gilpin, Devin Halama, Grant Kaiser, Zach Kersten, Nick Olson, Braden Roemhild, Wyatt Sell, Darryl Stai, Treylin Thorson, Peter Wheeldon