MONROE - The Cheesemakers football team finally got a chance to hit players they don't share a locker room with. Monroe scrimmaged New Glarus-Monticello and Evansville Friday night.
"The great thing about a scrimmage is that it's just a practice against another team," Monroe head coach Curt Miller said.
The Cheesemakers opened its offensive drills against Evansville and quickly saw promise. Quarterback Michael Barrett took a mid-option keeper 21 yards up the middle of the field. On the next play, Jon Becker went 19 yards up the right sideline for a score.
In all, Monroe scored two touchdowns in 20 plays against Evansville, the second of which was a touchdown pass from Cam Elmer to Evan Brady.
"They all have their individual strengths," Miller said of his quarterbacks. "Michael did a great job of running the offense and running the football. He made some nice passes."
On defense against New Glarus-Monticello, Monroe found itself struggling.
"It's hard to simulate fast-paced, high-tempo play on either side of the ball and it took us a little while to wake up, but once they did they started figuring it out," Miller said.
On the flip side, Glarner Knights head coach Jeff Eichelkraut liked what he saw from his offense, which scored twice against Monroe in the first eight plays.
"I saw guys that were intense and were ready for a game situation," Eichelkraut said. "Against Monroe those first 12 plays, I don't ever remember a series like that. That was just phenomenal."
Overall, Eichelkraut was impressed with the way his team played.
"I thought our defense played fast and physical," Eichelkraut said. "You always have something that you need to work on, but I thought it was a great start. If we keep working hard each week, good things will happen by the end of the season."
The Knights are also working out a new quarterback situation. Longtime starter Ryan Bright is playing at UW-Stout and Lukas Kolasch is pegged to be the starter, with Gabe Noyce and Corey McGowan backing up.
"When you play varsity quarterback for the first time, what they find out is things move a lot faster and reads have to be quicker," Eichelkraut said. "But what I did see out of all of them were glimpses that they can manage a game, make plays.
"Lukas had a couple of good throws and made a great play on the option run. He was out there making plays and putting his head down. We're going to be just fine."
Monroe saw its defense step up after New Glarus-Monticello's second score, and continue through Evansville's offense. The Blue Devils scored just one touchdown against Monroe, on the 18th play.
"It's our first time ever, both coaching and as a team, running the 35 defense. It's never been done at Monroe or by any of us coaches," Miller said. "We knew there was going to be a learning curve. New Glarus did some nice things right away and took advantage of some spots. Our learning curve is going to take some time, and that's expected."
In the second offensive session, the Cheesemakers found some more promise while facing New Glarus-Monticello's defense.
Alex Barenklau threw for a pair of TDs - one to Brady and another to running back Dylan Schwitz - and ran for another, while Elmer tossed a late touchdown pass to Brady.
"Alex, for a sophomore, has come a long way. He looks very good and confident. Probably the nicest thing about Alex is his confidence is his leadership in the huddle. As a sophomore, that's tough to do," Miller said. "And Cam Elmer, right now he's our third-string kid, but boy he is what I would consider probably one of the best third stringers in the conference. He's an outstanding quarterback and made some great throws. All three of our guys were outstanding."
The one drawback to the offensive session was Barrett, last year's quarterback, was nicked up early and sat out the rest of the session as a precaution.
"We made some progress today. I'm glad we finished the way we did. It's nice to end this with some confidence. If we would have started hot and then got sluggish at the end, then you're questioning things going into the following week," Miller said.
Monroe now has a full week to prepare for DeForest, the Cheesemakers' Week 1 opponent.
"Our kids are going to be ready to play. DeForest is a heck of a football team, no doubt, but these kids will be already to go," Miller said.
"The great thing about a scrimmage is that it's just a practice against another team," Monroe head coach Curt Miller said.
The Cheesemakers opened its offensive drills against Evansville and quickly saw promise. Quarterback Michael Barrett took a mid-option keeper 21 yards up the middle of the field. On the next play, Jon Becker went 19 yards up the right sideline for a score.
In all, Monroe scored two touchdowns in 20 plays against Evansville, the second of which was a touchdown pass from Cam Elmer to Evan Brady.
"They all have their individual strengths," Miller said of his quarterbacks. "Michael did a great job of running the offense and running the football. He made some nice passes."
On defense against New Glarus-Monticello, Monroe found itself struggling.
"It's hard to simulate fast-paced, high-tempo play on either side of the ball and it took us a little while to wake up, but once they did they started figuring it out," Miller said.
On the flip side, Glarner Knights head coach Jeff Eichelkraut liked what he saw from his offense, which scored twice against Monroe in the first eight plays.
"I saw guys that were intense and were ready for a game situation," Eichelkraut said. "Against Monroe those first 12 plays, I don't ever remember a series like that. That was just phenomenal."
Overall, Eichelkraut was impressed with the way his team played.
"I thought our defense played fast and physical," Eichelkraut said. "You always have something that you need to work on, but I thought it was a great start. If we keep working hard each week, good things will happen by the end of the season."
The Knights are also working out a new quarterback situation. Longtime starter Ryan Bright is playing at UW-Stout and Lukas Kolasch is pegged to be the starter, with Gabe Noyce and Corey McGowan backing up.
"When you play varsity quarterback for the first time, what they find out is things move a lot faster and reads have to be quicker," Eichelkraut said. "But what I did see out of all of them were glimpses that they can manage a game, make plays.
"Lukas had a couple of good throws and made a great play on the option run. He was out there making plays and putting his head down. We're going to be just fine."
Monroe saw its defense step up after New Glarus-Monticello's second score, and continue through Evansville's offense. The Blue Devils scored just one touchdown against Monroe, on the 18th play.
"It's our first time ever, both coaching and as a team, running the 35 defense. It's never been done at Monroe or by any of us coaches," Miller said. "We knew there was going to be a learning curve. New Glarus did some nice things right away and took advantage of some spots. Our learning curve is going to take some time, and that's expected."
In the second offensive session, the Cheesemakers found some more promise while facing New Glarus-Monticello's defense.
Alex Barenklau threw for a pair of TDs - one to Brady and another to running back Dylan Schwitz - and ran for another, while Elmer tossed a late touchdown pass to Brady.
"Alex, for a sophomore, has come a long way. He looks very good and confident. Probably the nicest thing about Alex is his confidence is his leadership in the huddle. As a sophomore, that's tough to do," Miller said. "And Cam Elmer, right now he's our third-string kid, but boy he is what I would consider probably one of the best third stringers in the conference. He's an outstanding quarterback and made some great throws. All three of our guys were outstanding."
The one drawback to the offensive session was Barrett, last year's quarterback, was nicked up early and sat out the rest of the session as a precaution.
"We made some progress today. I'm glad we finished the way we did. It's nice to end this with some confidence. If we would have started hot and then got sluggish at the end, then you're questioning things going into the following week," Miller said.
Monroe now has a full week to prepare for DeForest, the Cheesemakers' Week 1 opponent.
"Our kids are going to be ready to play. DeForest is a heck of a football team, no doubt, but these kids will be already to go," Miller said.
