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In the game of the week in Southeast Wisconsin and maybe the entire state, the Hartford Orioles travel to Wisconsin Lutheran to take on the Vikings in a game that will probably decide the Wisconsin Little Ten Conference title. In 2007, the Orioles came away with a two point victory at home, but Wisconsin Lutheran went on to win the Division 3 state title. Now in 2008, both teams come into the matchup with a 4-0 record.
Hartford has not really been challenged to date outscoring their opponents 131 – 13. The teams that they’ve beaten, however, have a combined 4-12 record on the season. Wisconsin Lutheran’s opponents have been a little more challenging, as the Vikings beat the Greater Metro Conference pre-season favorite Milwaukee Marquette 31-6 in the season opener, as well as pulling out a victory last week against West Bend East to hand the Suns their first loss in the conference season.
Hartford lost a number of veteran players on offense in 2007, and have focused their efforts on the defensive side of the ball for 2008. Led by Senior Linebacker Tyler Dippel, the defense has allowed just 13 points in four games while forcing 9 turnovers. They moved most of their veteran players over to the defense, which will have a tough test when they face the Vikings offense on Friday.
The Vikings are led by senior quarterback Dave Klein who can beat you with his arm and his legs. Senior running back Frank Spath is the Viking’s biggest threat in the backfield having amassed 437 yards and 3 touchdowns in four games this season.
Similar to Hartford, the defense is the key to the success for Wisconsin Lutheran. They began the year shutting out Milwaukee Marquette, and holding Waukesha West and Beaver Dam to 7 and 6 points respectively. Last week, however, they ran into a spread offense from West Bend East that used a balanced attack to gain 348 yards and score 28 points.
Asked if he saw anything the Orioles can exploit in the Wisconsin Lutheran defense, Hartford coach Dan Brunner said “Wisconsin Lutheran’s defense has been a man on man, very aggressive, everybody is assigned responsibility, and once you start spreading those people out all over the field, that puts a lot of pressure on every individual out there. You know, you find a couple of chinks in their armor, and I think West Bend East did that and took advantage of it with an outstanding second half.”
The Orioles will try to attack that offense with quarterback Jordan Stephans, one of the few veteran players moved from the defense to the offense this year. Stephans has rushed for 363 yards and 6 touchdowns, and is joined in the backfield by running back Mark Cadena, who has gained 173 yards and scored 3 touchdowns. “He’s gonna go do things with his legs, get out of some situations and make positive things out of things that didn’t look like they were there, and his throwing is coming along”, said Brunner about his quarterback.
There is no doubting, however, that this all important Wisconsin Little Ten contest features the two of the premier defenses in southeastern Wisconsin. When these two teams meet, it will be a battle of wills and hard fought smash mouth football that will decide the outcome on Friday night.
Hartford has not really been challenged to date outscoring their opponents 131 – 13. The teams that they’ve beaten, however, have a combined 4-12 record on the season. Wisconsin Lutheran’s opponents have been a little more challenging, as the Vikings beat the Greater Metro Conference pre-season favorite Milwaukee Marquette 31-6 in the season opener, as well as pulling out a victory last week against West Bend East to hand the Suns their first loss in the conference season.
Hartford lost a number of veteran players on offense in 2007, and have focused their efforts on the defensive side of the ball for 2008. Led by Senior Linebacker Tyler Dippel, the defense has allowed just 13 points in four games while forcing 9 turnovers. They moved most of their veteran players over to the defense, which will have a tough test when they face the Vikings offense on Friday.
The Vikings are led by senior quarterback Dave Klein who can beat you with his arm and his legs. Senior running back Frank Spath is the Viking’s biggest threat in the backfield having amassed 437 yards and 3 touchdowns in four games this season.
Similar to Hartford, the defense is the key to the success for Wisconsin Lutheran. They began the year shutting out Milwaukee Marquette, and holding Waukesha West and Beaver Dam to 7 and 6 points respectively. Last week, however, they ran into a spread offense from West Bend East that used a balanced attack to gain 348 yards and score 28 points.
Asked if he saw anything the Orioles can exploit in the Wisconsin Lutheran defense, Hartford coach Dan Brunner said “Wisconsin Lutheran’s defense has been a man on man, very aggressive, everybody is assigned responsibility, and once you start spreading those people out all over the field, that puts a lot of pressure on every individual out there. You know, you find a couple of chinks in their armor, and I think West Bend East did that and took advantage of it with an outstanding second half.”
The Orioles will try to attack that offense with quarterback Jordan Stephans, one of the few veteran players moved from the defense to the offense this year. Stephans has rushed for 363 yards and 6 touchdowns, and is joined in the backfield by running back Mark Cadena, who has gained 173 yards and scored 3 touchdowns. “He’s gonna go do things with his legs, get out of some situations and make positive things out of things that didn’t look like they were there, and his throwing is coming along”, said Brunner about his quarterback.
There is no doubting, however, that this all important Wisconsin Little Ten contest features the two of the premier defenses in southeastern Wisconsin. When these two teams meet, it will be a battle of wills and hard fought smash mouth football that will decide the outcome on Friday night.
Click the play button to listen to the post game interview with Coach Dan Brunner
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