BRODHEAD — The Brodhead-Juda Cardinals set out this past spring to make the most of its short scheduled season. And make the most of it they did. The Cardinals went unbeaten in seven games and had 18 COVID-Large all-conference nods — including six each on the first team offense and defense. 

“We took a nice step in the right direction last spring,” 14th-year head coach Jim Matthys said. “We still aren’t where we could be. A regular season with 9 games and potential playoffs will test our depth more than last spring. We expect to be in contention for a conference championship as well as a playoff spot.”

The make-shift COVID-Large Conference consisted of Brodhead-Juda, New Glarus-Monticello, Deerfield, Poynette and Parkview-Albany. This fall, the Cardinals join the newly reorganized Southwest Wisconsin Conference (SWC). The 2020 fall season was supposed to be the first with the state-wide realignment put through by the WIAA, only for about 1/3 of the teams to play an alternate-fall schedule in the spring of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year’s SWC will pit the Cardinals against other teams of similar enrollment size, unlike the days in the Rock Valley, where Brodhead-Juda was typically one of the smallest schools, sometimes playing programs two divisions larger. The other teams in the SWC include, with win-loss record for fall/alternative fall: New Glarus-Monticello (3-4), Dodgeville (0-3), Platteville (2-5), Prairie du Chien (4-4), Richland Center (3-4) and River Valley (6-2) all make up the other teams in the SWC. 

Throw in nonconference games against Rock Valley foes Edgerton and Evansville, and the Cardinals will have their work cut out for them.

“We have a very tough schedule up front with Edgerton, Evansville and New Glarus-Monticello,” Matthys said. “We will need to find some early success if we want to get any momentum going into a tough conference schedule.”

COVID-Large Lineman and Defensive Player of the Year in 2021, Ben Knuth, was a first-team selection on offense and defense and has since graduated, as have several others.

Those returning this year include first-team linebacker Colton Buttke and DB Gage Boegli, and second team DE Brady Malkow and DB Aidyn Vondra. On the offensive side of the ball, Boegli was a first-team running back, while Malkow made a name for himself at tight end. Cole Hoesly was a first-team pick as kicker, and Aaron Makos was second team on the offensive line. 

Boegeli rushed for a team-high 102 yards per game and 10.2 yards per rush this past spring. Vondra was used as a home run hitter, which worked out well for the Cardinals. He averaged 15.3 yards per carry.

Other returners include Hoesly at QB, Austin Moe on the offensive line, and Cooper Woelky and Leon Saunders at skill positions on offense. Defensively, Buttke, Vondra, Saunders, Moe, Malkow, Hoesly, Makos and Sean Huffman all return. Gunner Boegli, Marcus McIntyre, Jaxon Dooley and Blake Matthys all expected to contributed as well.

“We return a lot of starters on both sides of the ball. Good speed at the skilled positions will be a plus. We also return several other underclassmen that played a lot of varsity football last spring. Leadership will be the key for us this year,” Jim Matthys said. “Defensively we took a huge step last season. We have some big holes to fill in order to be as good defensively as we were last season.”

Matthys expects River Valley, Richland Center, Prairie du Chien and New Glarus-Monticello to jostle with his squad the hardest for conference supremacy this fall. River Valley returns a nice core of skilled players, Matthys said, and Richland Center had a breakout season last fall and returns a lot of players from that team. Prairie du Chien is always tough and physical, and New Glarus-Monticello fought the Cardinals the toughest last season — with the game coming down to a 2-point conversion late in the fourth quarter.