"They didn't only want to win for themselves, but for the future of Monroe football."
- Head coach Curt Miller, referencing his players
MONROE - The regular season for the Cheesemakers couldn't have been much more black and white. Now 3-6 overall, Monroe is left with a haunting sense of gray, instead of its deep crimson.
That's because after Friday's 29-14 walloping of Oregon, the Cheesemakers reached the 3-3 mark in conference play and are playoff eligible for the first time in eight years.
"Having a shot right now, it feels great," senior Alex Dahlk said. "We stick together as a team, and we made it here."
Not only has it been eight years since a playoff appearance - which either will or will not be on the schedule for next week - but Monroe hadn't beaten Oregon since 2002, and is closing out the year that marks the 25th anniversary of the first state football title.
"I'm really proud of our kids. They knew what was on the line," Monroe head coach Curt Miller said. "They wanted to be that group that could maybe propel the program to bigger and better things. We have a lot of unselfish kids in our senior group, and they saw the big picture. They didn't only want to win for themselves, but for the future of Monroe football."
The wait to find out their fate will last all weekend. Initially, the WIAA planned to release the playoff field of 224 teams in seven divisions today. However, an eleventh-hour lawsuit brought on Thursday by Shorewood-Messmer, a private school in the Milwaukee suburbs seeking an end to its four-year ban from the playoffs, has delayed the announcement until after 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 17. Shorewood-Messmer would be eligible for the playoffs had the co-op not received a penalty in 2007 for leaving the Woodland Conference.
"Being on the bubble is tough enough, but now we have to wait even longer. And this is an odd feeling for me, because this is the first time that I have walked off of a field not knowing whether we were playing next week or not. Not as a player in high school, college or as a coach. But to me, we've earned it. But I told the kids we're meeting on Monday one way or the other," said Miller, who is in his fourth year of leading the program. "After our first four weeks, people thought we were going to fold. But our kids hung in there and stuck to the plan and their goal of becoming playoff eligible."
In Friday's game, the Cheesemakers dominated early on and didn't let up. Quarterback Alex Barenklau opened Monroe's scoring with a 21-yard scamper just two plays after connecting with Skyler Stingley on a fourth-down passing play to keep the drive alive.
Barenklau wasn't done there. With the playoffs on the line, the junior had the best game of his life. On the Cheesemakers' next possession, he had a touchdown taken away by a penalty, but Monroe still got a 21-yard field goal from Kevin Klopfenstein to make it 9-0. In the second quarter, Barenklau raced down the sidelines with 43 seconds left, scoring from 59 yards out thanks to a stutter-step that slowed the safety near the 20-yard-line.
"We all knew that if we won we would have a chance at the playoffs, but if we didn't, we had no chance," Barenklau said. "On offense, our reads were great and coach Miller called some great plays."
Monroe went into halftime with a 15-8 advantage on the scoreboard, and had picked up 159 rushing yards in the first two quarters combined.
"I was a little upset. I thought we should be up 21-zip, but we weren't," senior Cam Elmer said. "But our confidence was up anyway, and the guys were just flying around having fun. It was our last game at home."
In the second, Barenklau continued his hot day, throwing touchdown passes to Dahlk and Elmer.
"It was nerve-wracking," Elmer said of the entire game.
Dahlk's catch was from 28 yards out, and a defender had a handful of jersey long before the 6-foot-5 wide out leapt into the air.
"I gave it all I had. I just stuck my hands out there and grabbed it. 'Klau threw a nice ball and the line blocked for him," Dahlk said. "Afterwards I pointed to my mom in the stands because that's who sponsors me and makes me who I am right now and provided me to be here."
Overall, Monroe had 391 yards of offense, far and away its most all season, which included 292 yards on the ground on 51 carries. The defense held Oregon (1-8, 0-6) to just 168 total yards and 92 total by Jake Gundlach, an all-conference performer last year who picked up the vast majority of his yards Friday in garbage time down three scores in the second half.
"Alex had his game of the year so far, but I sure hope it's only so far. We got a lot of contributions from a lot of kids, but for Alex to run for two (TDs) and to throw for two, that was pretty impressive. I'm happy to see him have a breakout game," Miller said.
Jon Becker led Monroe with 101 yards on 22 attempts rushing, and Barenklau added 100 on nine runs.
"It was nuts. We had to get a win and we played our best," Becker said. "We put our records aside and knew that we would have to play hard to get it done."
But now, the Cheesemakers await their fate, and the seniors hope they get one more chance at a game. Because, hey, when all six of your losses come to teams either currently ranked - including No. 1, No. 2, No. 5 and No. 9 - or were ranked among the tops in the state when you played them, wouldn't you want some respect too?
"The worst part is right now we don't know who we play or if we play. That will be on our minds all weekend," Barenklau said.
That's because after Friday's 29-14 walloping of Oregon, the Cheesemakers reached the 3-3 mark in conference play and are playoff eligible for the first time in eight years.
"Having a shot right now, it feels great," senior Alex Dahlk said. "We stick together as a team, and we made it here."
Not only has it been eight years since a playoff appearance - which either will or will not be on the schedule for next week - but Monroe hadn't beaten Oregon since 2002, and is closing out the year that marks the 25th anniversary of the first state football title.
"I'm really proud of our kids. They knew what was on the line," Monroe head coach Curt Miller said. "They wanted to be that group that could maybe propel the program to bigger and better things. We have a lot of unselfish kids in our senior group, and they saw the big picture. They didn't only want to win for themselves, but for the future of Monroe football."
The wait to find out their fate will last all weekend. Initially, the WIAA planned to release the playoff field of 224 teams in seven divisions today. However, an eleventh-hour lawsuit brought on Thursday by Shorewood-Messmer, a private school in the Milwaukee suburbs seeking an end to its four-year ban from the playoffs, has delayed the announcement until after 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 17. Shorewood-Messmer would be eligible for the playoffs had the co-op not received a penalty in 2007 for leaving the Woodland Conference.
"Being on the bubble is tough enough, but now we have to wait even longer. And this is an odd feeling for me, because this is the first time that I have walked off of a field not knowing whether we were playing next week or not. Not as a player in high school, college or as a coach. But to me, we've earned it. But I told the kids we're meeting on Monday one way or the other," said Miller, who is in his fourth year of leading the program. "After our first four weeks, people thought we were going to fold. But our kids hung in there and stuck to the plan and their goal of becoming playoff eligible."
In Friday's game, the Cheesemakers dominated early on and didn't let up. Quarterback Alex Barenklau opened Monroe's scoring with a 21-yard scamper just two plays after connecting with Skyler Stingley on a fourth-down passing play to keep the drive alive.
Barenklau wasn't done there. With the playoffs on the line, the junior had the best game of his life. On the Cheesemakers' next possession, he had a touchdown taken away by a penalty, but Monroe still got a 21-yard field goal from Kevin Klopfenstein to make it 9-0. In the second quarter, Barenklau raced down the sidelines with 43 seconds left, scoring from 59 yards out thanks to a stutter-step that slowed the safety near the 20-yard-line.
"We all knew that if we won we would have a chance at the playoffs, but if we didn't, we had no chance," Barenklau said. "On offense, our reads were great and coach Miller called some great plays."
Monroe went into halftime with a 15-8 advantage on the scoreboard, and had picked up 159 rushing yards in the first two quarters combined.
"I was a little upset. I thought we should be up 21-zip, but we weren't," senior Cam Elmer said. "But our confidence was up anyway, and the guys were just flying around having fun. It was our last game at home."
In the second, Barenklau continued his hot day, throwing touchdown passes to Dahlk and Elmer.
"It was nerve-wracking," Elmer said of the entire game.
Dahlk's catch was from 28 yards out, and a defender had a handful of jersey long before the 6-foot-5 wide out leapt into the air.
"I gave it all I had. I just stuck my hands out there and grabbed it. 'Klau threw a nice ball and the line blocked for him," Dahlk said. "Afterwards I pointed to my mom in the stands because that's who sponsors me and makes me who I am right now and provided me to be here."
Overall, Monroe had 391 yards of offense, far and away its most all season, which included 292 yards on the ground on 51 carries. The defense held Oregon (1-8, 0-6) to just 168 total yards and 92 total by Jake Gundlach, an all-conference performer last year who picked up the vast majority of his yards Friday in garbage time down three scores in the second half.
"Alex had his game of the year so far, but I sure hope it's only so far. We got a lot of contributions from a lot of kids, but for Alex to run for two (TDs) and to throw for two, that was pretty impressive. I'm happy to see him have a breakout game," Miller said.
Jon Becker led Monroe with 101 yards on 22 attempts rushing, and Barenklau added 100 on nine runs.
"It was nuts. We had to get a win and we played our best," Becker said. "We put our records aside and knew that we would have to play hard to get it done."
But now, the Cheesemakers await their fate, and the seniors hope they get one more chance at a game. Because, hey, when all six of your losses come to teams either currently ranked - including No. 1, No. 2, No. 5 and No. 9 - or were ranked among the tops in the state when you played them, wouldn't you want some respect too?
"The worst part is right now we don't know who we play or if we play. That will be on our minds all weekend," Barenklau said.
In a press release sent out late Friday, the WIAA announced a litigation suit was filed against them, which will slow the process of determining the postseason pairings. The full brackets, along with the 224 teams in the field, will be announced Monday by 5 p.m., instead of the initial timeframe of noon today.
