MONROE - As the Cheesemakers officially opened football practice, something seemed missing. There were helmets, cleats, footballs, whistles and energy - but there was also a lack of bodies.
Between soccer and cross country, along with a declining school body, lack of wins and the change in the personality of teenagers over the past decade, Monroe's depth on the gridiron is lacking.
With practice starting Wednesday morning, the junior varsity and the varsity were side-by-side, and not just for drills. They were side by side to compete against one another just as they did at the end of the 2010 season, in which Monroe finished just 2-7, it's seventh-straight losing season.
"We have to make sure we keep the younger guys going and don't give up. It's going to be hard during August, but we can't lose anybody. We all have to stay together as a family," said senior lineman Austin Burandt, one of the team's key returnees. "The young guys are going out to prove themselves because they want to suit up with us (varsity) on Fridays and get some playing time. I think it's better."
"I've talked to other schools, schools bigger than us, and they are fighting kind of the same thing right now. For whatever reason, kids are not going out for sports," said Monroe head coach Curt Miller. "It's not that they're just choosing to do other things, they are just choosing not to participate.
"But we'll play with what we have. The kids who are here are the kids that want to be here. And we're fine with that."
If the high schoolers not in camp weren't there because of the threat of this season's opponents, some may not second-guess the decision. Monroe opens the season at Mount Horeb/Barneveld, then hosts Waunakee before traveling to DeForest to cap the non-conference schedule. The first Badger South game is against Monona Grove, a team that has gone 11-1 in each of the past two seasons and beat Monroe 37-0 a year ago at T.R. Holyoke Field.
"Our schedule is going to make us better," Miller said. "We get some of the state's best teams right away. It will prepare us for anything we face down the road."
Mount Horeb has made it to the playoffs in each of the last four seasons, finishing 8-3 a year ago. DeForest has gone 43-14 over the last five seasons, was the 2007 Division 2 runner-up, and was 8-3 in 2010.
Perhaps the most daunting task will come against Waunakee in Week 2. The Warriors are back-to-back Division 2 champs and have won three titles in the last nine years, plus a runner-up prize in 2005, and was a semifinalist in 2003. Since 2002, Waunakee has never lost more than a single game in any season, and is 27-1 over the last two years - including a perfect 14-0 a year ago.
"Some people might look at that as a disadvantage, but I look at it as a great thing. We'll survive those games and it will make us better," Miller said.
Waunakee's statistics, mostly led by the amount of wins and state titles, reminds many of Monroe's past success in the late 1980s through the 90s, when they won five state titles in eight tries under former coach Pat Martin. The success of both Monroe and Waunakee came from depth, talent, offseason preparation, snarling defenses and between-the-tackles running attack.
Miller is entering his fourth season at the helm, but is leaving a spread offense that routinely passed for a heavy ground game.
Senior Jon Becker, last season's leading rusher, will lead the charge in the backfield.
"It's my senior year, and I want it to be a good one," Becker said. "It feels good, I'm in the best shape of my life."
According to a few coaches, Becker's dedication to the weight room and training has stretched far beyond what a normal leader would be expected to do.
"You can tell just by looking at Jon that he's lived in the weight room all offseason, and Austin too," Miller said. "We're going to rally around those kids."
So as the Cheesemakers lineup for drill after drill in cutoff shirts and shorts (pads cannot be used until Saturday), players are working on the key fundamentals, hoping that they can prove all the doubters wrong.
"You have to get your fundamentals down. The very basic ones. You don't have to worry about hitting someone, just doing everything right," said Burandt, who went as far to predict Monroe could go 3-1 to open the season. "If we play with no mistakes, we can walk away 3-1 without a doubt. Waunakee, yeah, they're ranked I think in the top 100 in the nation. They're loaded again.
"But every other team - like DeForest, losing 7-0 is not that much. And they (DeForest) lost a lot of seniors. Mount Horeb, not long ago we lost to them by 7, and then MG, we know we can beat them because we've beaten them on levels before."
For a team that hasn't made the playoffs since 2003, any win in the first four games could go a long way for confidence - and potentially for future members of the program.
Between soccer and cross country, along with a declining school body, lack of wins and the change in the personality of teenagers over the past decade, Monroe's depth on the gridiron is lacking.
With practice starting Wednesday morning, the junior varsity and the varsity were side-by-side, and not just for drills. They were side by side to compete against one another just as they did at the end of the 2010 season, in which Monroe finished just 2-7, it's seventh-straight losing season.
"We have to make sure we keep the younger guys going and don't give up. It's going to be hard during August, but we can't lose anybody. We all have to stay together as a family," said senior lineman Austin Burandt, one of the team's key returnees. "The young guys are going out to prove themselves because they want to suit up with us (varsity) on Fridays and get some playing time. I think it's better."
"I've talked to other schools, schools bigger than us, and they are fighting kind of the same thing right now. For whatever reason, kids are not going out for sports," said Monroe head coach Curt Miller. "It's not that they're just choosing to do other things, they are just choosing not to participate.
"But we'll play with what we have. The kids who are here are the kids that want to be here. And we're fine with that."
If the high schoolers not in camp weren't there because of the threat of this season's opponents, some may not second-guess the decision. Monroe opens the season at Mount Horeb/Barneveld, then hosts Waunakee before traveling to DeForest to cap the non-conference schedule. The first Badger South game is against Monona Grove, a team that has gone 11-1 in each of the past two seasons and beat Monroe 37-0 a year ago at T.R. Holyoke Field.
"Our schedule is going to make us better," Miller said. "We get some of the state's best teams right away. It will prepare us for anything we face down the road."
Mount Horeb has made it to the playoffs in each of the last four seasons, finishing 8-3 a year ago. DeForest has gone 43-14 over the last five seasons, was the 2007 Division 2 runner-up, and was 8-3 in 2010.
Perhaps the most daunting task will come against Waunakee in Week 2. The Warriors are back-to-back Division 2 champs and have won three titles in the last nine years, plus a runner-up prize in 2005, and was a semifinalist in 2003. Since 2002, Waunakee has never lost more than a single game in any season, and is 27-1 over the last two years - including a perfect 14-0 a year ago.
"Some people might look at that as a disadvantage, but I look at it as a great thing. We'll survive those games and it will make us better," Miller said.
Waunakee's statistics, mostly led by the amount of wins and state titles, reminds many of Monroe's past success in the late 1980s through the 90s, when they won five state titles in eight tries under former coach Pat Martin. The success of both Monroe and Waunakee came from depth, talent, offseason preparation, snarling defenses and between-the-tackles running attack.
Miller is entering his fourth season at the helm, but is leaving a spread offense that routinely passed for a heavy ground game.
Senior Jon Becker, last season's leading rusher, will lead the charge in the backfield.
"It's my senior year, and I want it to be a good one," Becker said. "It feels good, I'm in the best shape of my life."
According to a few coaches, Becker's dedication to the weight room and training has stretched far beyond what a normal leader would be expected to do.
"You can tell just by looking at Jon that he's lived in the weight room all offseason, and Austin too," Miller said. "We're going to rally around those kids."
So as the Cheesemakers lineup for drill after drill in cutoff shirts and shorts (pads cannot be used until Saturday), players are working on the key fundamentals, hoping that they can prove all the doubters wrong.
"You have to get your fundamentals down. The very basic ones. You don't have to worry about hitting someone, just doing everything right," said Burandt, who went as far to predict Monroe could go 3-1 to open the season. "If we play with no mistakes, we can walk away 3-1 without a doubt. Waunakee, yeah, they're ranked I think in the top 100 in the nation. They're loaded again.
"But every other team - like DeForest, losing 7-0 is not that much. And they (DeForest) lost a lot of seniors. Mount Horeb, not long ago we lost to them by 7, and then MG, we know we can beat them because we've beaten them on levels before."
For a team that hasn't made the playoffs since 2003, any win in the first four games could go a long way for confidence - and potentially for future members of the program.
