MONROE - The Monroe football team received a reprieve by reaching the playoffs on a second tiebreaker. The tiebreaker was based on their winning percentage of opponents they beat in the Badger South Conference, and now the Cheesemakers are looking to pull off one of the biggest upsets in the first round of the playoffs.
Monroe (4-5) will play a Level 1 playoff game at New Berlin Eisenhower (9-0), which is ranked No. 3 in the WisSports.net Division 3 state Coaches poll.
"We will be upset-minded," Monroe coach Toby Golembiewski said. "Hey, Clemson got beat last week. There are upsets all the time in the playoffs. It's a whole new season. Anything can happen now."
New Berlin Eisenhower is the champion of the Woodland West Conference. The Cheesemakers' eight-team playoff grouping includes three teams ranked in the top 10 in the state. In addition to the third ranked Lions, Waukesha Catholic Memorial (7-2) is ranked second and Mount Horeb-Barneveld (8-1) is ranked sixth.
Monroe has been shut out three times this season by Stoughton, Monona Grove and Oregon. Often, the Cheesemakers have sputtered due to penalties, turnovers and missed assignments. Getting at least one more week of practice for a team that starts four sophomores on offense could pay off in building consistency and momentum for next season.
"Any time you can get more reps, the better you are at football," Golembiewski said. "It's a great opportunity."
The Cheesemakers are averaging 13.7 points per game and coming off a 7-0 loss to Oregon in the regular season finale last week. Monroe junior Jordan Montgomery leads the team with 392 rushing yards and has one touchdown. Senior fullback Dempzy Foley has rushed for 340 yards and three touchdowns. Sophomore Nick Bansley has 334 rushing yards and has scored three times. Despite being shut out in three of their bigger tests in the Badger South Conference this year, Golembiewski is confident the Cheesemakers can generate enough offense to contend with the Lions.
"The result is in the system," he said of the Wing-T offense that last year saw three Cheesemakers each eclipse 1,000 yards. "We just have to execute. We moved the ball on Monona Grove. It's just a matter of following through with the execution."
New Berlin Eisenhower quarterback Bryce Miller has passed for 1,215 yards with 14 touchdowns and just three interceptions this year. Miller is completing 65 percent of his passes and is the trigger-man in the Lions' pistol and Wing-T offense. That offense has proven to be a juggernaut by averaging 42 points per game. Instead of relying on the fullback like the Cheesemakers, the Lions run more plays in shotgun and use more passing.
New Berlin Eisenhower running back Jack Himmelspach has rushed for 807 yards and 12 TDs this season and is averaging 7.9 yards per carry. Senior Jake Belongia also has been a proven playmaker for the Lions (549 rushing yards and 10 TDs). Belongia is averaging 9.3 yards per carry.
"They can run," Golembiewski said of New Berlin Eisenhower. "They remind me a lot of our team from last year. They have a lot of big basketball players who can just flat out run down the field."
Defensively, Monroe senior linebacker Sam Kind has a team-high 92 tackles. Foley, at defensive end, has 74.5 tackles and 2.5 sacks and junior linebacker Jacob Amacher has racked up 64 tackles and two sacks.
The Cheesemakers have forced 20 turnovers this year, an average of 2.2 per game, but they will be tested by a Lions' offense that is averaging 366.5 yards per game. Bansley has a team-best six interceptions, junior Anthany Hernandez has four picks and three fumble recoveries and Kind also has three INTs.
"We have played some good defense all year," Golembiewski said. "We have made defense a focus all year. That has been the strength. They will have to step up to minimize the scoring."
On defense, the Lions run a 4-4 scheme similar to what the Cheesemakers faced against Oregon last week, where the opposition will walk up its outside linebackers. The soft spot in the 4-4 defense is an opening in the middle of the field behind the linebackers.
"There is a big bubble over the center," Golembiewski said.
That could lead to success with the Cheesemakers as they pound the fullback and look to hit on some tight end pop and crossing pass plays.
Monroe sophomore Alex Witt has passed for 91 yards and four interceptions this season on just 28 attempts. Witt has also run for a touchdown.
"We have had some breakdowns in our protections this year," Golembiewski said.
The Cheesemakers could get a boost with the expected return of sophomore Jared Dillon at wide receiver. Dillon is coming back from a forearm injury. The top receiver for the Cheesemakers is senior Caleb Ruegsegger who has five receptions for 42 yards.
Monroe (4-5) will play a Level 1 playoff game at New Berlin Eisenhower (9-0), which is ranked No. 3 in the WisSports.net Division 3 state Coaches poll.
"We will be upset-minded," Monroe coach Toby Golembiewski said. "Hey, Clemson got beat last week. There are upsets all the time in the playoffs. It's a whole new season. Anything can happen now."
New Berlin Eisenhower is the champion of the Woodland West Conference. The Cheesemakers' eight-team playoff grouping includes three teams ranked in the top 10 in the state. In addition to the third ranked Lions, Waukesha Catholic Memorial (7-2) is ranked second and Mount Horeb-Barneveld (8-1) is ranked sixth.
Monroe has been shut out three times this season by Stoughton, Monona Grove and Oregon. Often, the Cheesemakers have sputtered due to penalties, turnovers and missed assignments. Getting at least one more week of practice for a team that starts four sophomores on offense could pay off in building consistency and momentum for next season.
"Any time you can get more reps, the better you are at football," Golembiewski said. "It's a great opportunity."
The Cheesemakers are averaging 13.7 points per game and coming off a 7-0 loss to Oregon in the regular season finale last week. Monroe junior Jordan Montgomery leads the team with 392 rushing yards and has one touchdown. Senior fullback Dempzy Foley has rushed for 340 yards and three touchdowns. Sophomore Nick Bansley has 334 rushing yards and has scored three times. Despite being shut out in three of their bigger tests in the Badger South Conference this year, Golembiewski is confident the Cheesemakers can generate enough offense to contend with the Lions.
"The result is in the system," he said of the Wing-T offense that last year saw three Cheesemakers each eclipse 1,000 yards. "We just have to execute. We moved the ball on Monona Grove. It's just a matter of following through with the execution."
New Berlin Eisenhower quarterback Bryce Miller has passed for 1,215 yards with 14 touchdowns and just three interceptions this year. Miller is completing 65 percent of his passes and is the trigger-man in the Lions' pistol and Wing-T offense. That offense has proven to be a juggernaut by averaging 42 points per game. Instead of relying on the fullback like the Cheesemakers, the Lions run more plays in shotgun and use more passing.
New Berlin Eisenhower running back Jack Himmelspach has rushed for 807 yards and 12 TDs this season and is averaging 7.9 yards per carry. Senior Jake Belongia also has been a proven playmaker for the Lions (549 rushing yards and 10 TDs). Belongia is averaging 9.3 yards per carry.
"They can run," Golembiewski said of New Berlin Eisenhower. "They remind me a lot of our team from last year. They have a lot of big basketball players who can just flat out run down the field."
Defensively, Monroe senior linebacker Sam Kind has a team-high 92 tackles. Foley, at defensive end, has 74.5 tackles and 2.5 sacks and junior linebacker Jacob Amacher has racked up 64 tackles and two sacks.
The Cheesemakers have forced 20 turnovers this year, an average of 2.2 per game, but they will be tested by a Lions' offense that is averaging 366.5 yards per game. Bansley has a team-best six interceptions, junior Anthany Hernandez has four picks and three fumble recoveries and Kind also has three INTs.
"We have played some good defense all year," Golembiewski said. "We have made defense a focus all year. That has been the strength. They will have to step up to minimize the scoring."
On defense, the Lions run a 4-4 scheme similar to what the Cheesemakers faced against Oregon last week, where the opposition will walk up its outside linebackers. The soft spot in the 4-4 defense is an opening in the middle of the field behind the linebackers.
"There is a big bubble over the center," Golembiewski said.
That could lead to success with the Cheesemakers as they pound the fullback and look to hit on some tight end pop and crossing pass plays.
Monroe sophomore Alex Witt has passed for 91 yards and four interceptions this season on just 28 attempts. Witt has also run for a touchdown.
"We have had some breakdowns in our protections this year," Golembiewski said.
The Cheesemakers could get a boost with the expected return of sophomore Jared Dillon at wide receiver. Dillon is coming back from a forearm injury. The top receiver for the Cheesemakers is senior Caleb Ruegsegger who has five receptions for 42 yards.
