MONROE — All good things come to an end, and after 61 years, the Cheesemakers have closed the chapter of Friday night lights at T.R. Holyoke Field. Visiting Evansville got the last laugh, beating Monroe 39-7. Next season, Monroe will play its home games at the Badger State Ethanol Stadium at the new high school campus.

“A lot of good memories, both playing-wise and coaching. Nothing but good memories on this field,” said Monroe head coach Tom Witt. “We’ll miss it, but we’ll have a pretty good field coming up over at the new school.”

Two games stick out in particular to Witt: The 1986 win over Sun Prairie, and the 2022 “Go-for-two” game, a Level 2 playoff win over Pewaukee. Both victories preceded state championships.

“In ’86, I was a sophomore on special teams and we had the goal line stand to keep Sun Prairie from beating us,” Witt said.

“My favorite game would have been 1986 when we beat Sun Prairie,” said former coach and Wisconsin Football Coaches Association Hall of Famer Pat Martin. “We’re up 14-10 and they get down to the two-yard line in the last minute and a half in the game, and they ran seven plays and didn’t score.”

Martin coached at Monroe from 1978-2003. He guided the program to five state titles in eight appearances. Witt followed him from 2004-07, then came Curt Miller from 2008-15, followed by Golembiewski from 2016 until his death in 2023. Witt took control of the program again after that.

Monroe’s program has had nearly the same coaching staff dating back more than a decade — and all 10 coaches are homegrown former players themselves.

“I coached most of that coaching staff,” Martin said. Two JV coaches, Alex Hernandez and Nick Bansley, are recent graduates that played under Golembiewski. Martin was the head coach for former players Tom Witt, Shawn Paulson, Ryan Paulson, Eric Losenegger, Gerry Herbst, Mike Figi, Rob Schilt and Curt Elmer.

“Toby gave them a good foundation, and I think what they learned, you know, playing for me, yeah, maybe that helps them.”

Senior Peyton Herbst has spent practically every fall of his life on the sidelines at T.R. Holyoke Field. He was a ball boy alongside his brothers growing up, with his father, Gerry, and assistant coach. He said getting to play his last game on the last varsity game this field would host meant a lot to him.

“It’s been cool. My sophomore year, I played with my brother. It’s just been incredible,” Peyton said, fighting back the same tears that hundreds of other former Cheesemakers have shed following their final home game. He added that his favorite game of all was the 2022 “Go-for-two” win over Pewaukee. In that one, Monroe scored in the final seconds to come within a point of Pewaukee. Golembiewski opted for the offense to attempt a two-point conversion and the win, which they succeeded with.

Witt said the aura of playing on the field comes from the continued success the program has seen over the years. While there have been a couple of valley-type seasons, the mountains have been as high as any high school program in the state.

“Just the history of Monroe football — just go back and look at the ’64 team. There’s been a lot of good football players on this field going all the way back to them. So many great teams, so many great players, lots of memories for everything,” Witt said. “Everybody’s been involved — the guys that weren’t starters, that was still the whole deal with Monroe football, you wanted to be a part of it and step foot on this field as a player. It didn’t matter if you were a starter or a backup or whatnot, that was the thing. So, lots of great memories for everybody. And now we get to start making some at the new field.”

Martin is also looking forward to seeing the new stadium. 

“I’m looking forward to the new field. Hopefully I’m healthy enough to be around next year and go to see the next one” he said.

At the high school’s Homecoming pep rally earlier in the afternoon, Witt said there was a moment when he choked up for a moment, realizing the significance of the night.

“During the pep rally, they didn’t sing the school song, but the band was playing it, and I was just kind of humming the lyrics in my head and I just kind of lost it for a bit knowing that this was it” Witt said.

Martin said that he has only attended two Monroe games this season — a Week 1 loss to Lodi and the Week 8 loss to Evansville. 

“I have a grandson playing in De Pere, he’s a junior up there, so I go to those games on Friday nights. On Thursday nights, I go to the freshman games in Verona, because I have another one playing there. I took this week off from De Pere to go to this last one, and I’m glad I did,” Martin said.

After the game, Martin made his way down to the field for one last walk following a Friday night game. He was greeted by multiple people, including former players and students.

“A lot of memories,” Martin said. “I had a chance to go to the south end zone, and I am proceeding to the north end zone. And every once in a while, I get to a spot and then, ‘Oh yeah, this happened here, and that happened there.’ You know, it’s stuff that other people don’t remember.”