RECAP: Lancers Survive Waterford Wolverines in Season Opener

In a close game dominated by the defenses on both teams, it was inevitable that the game would be decided by one or two big plays. And that is exactly what happened.

Midway through the second quarter, QB Tommy Braaten connected on a 73 yard TD pass to Matt Lukomski to put Brookfield Central up 7 - 0. That lone touchdown held up until late in the fourth quarter when Braaten fumbled on an option run at his own 32 yard line. Waterford ran the ball 5 times and Jake Dostalek punched it in for a score with 2:48 remaining in the game.

Without a strong kicking game, and being on the road, Coach Venne decided to take his shot at a win. The offense ran the same wishbone off tackle play to Dostalek for the 2 pt conversion attempt, but failed when standout middle linebacker Matt Upson stopped the play at the half yard line to secure the victory for Brookfield Central.

"We're not a real good field goal kicking team, and we decided on the road, we would try for the win instead of going to overtime. We'd do the same thing again" said Coach Venne when asked about the decision to go for two near the end of the game.

"Waterford has no weakness" Brookfield Central Coach Doug Lange said after the game. "They're bigger than we are, stronger than we are, they're just a very, very good team. Our defense bailed us out".

That defense was led by Senior Matt Upson, all-conference nose tackle in 2007 that has been moved to middle linebacker with the emergence of Junior Bryce Gilbert at the nose tackle position in 2008. The lancers allowed the Waterford offense to gain yardage on the ground between the twenties, but stiffened in the red zone and forced 6 turnovers on the night.

Brookfield Central was fortunate to come away with the victory, as Waterford beat themselves in a road game that was there for the taking. The BC offense, with a number of first year players at the skill positions, will need to improve to contend in the solid Greater Metro confernce this year.

Waterford showed great promise for the 2008 season, and Coach Venne's team will only get better as they continue to learn the multitude of offensive sets and philosophies of it's Hall of Fame head coach.

Listen to Post Game Interview with both coaches:

Click the play button to listen to the interview with Coach Lange

Click the play button to listen to the interview with Coach Venne

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RECAP: Riverside Dominates Tosa East in Season Opener

The Milwaukee Riverside Tigers reversed the outcome of the 2007 opener between the same teams beating the Red Raiders of Wauwatosa East 39 - 6 in the season opener for both teams at Hart Park on Friday night.

Ryan Givens ran for 199 yards and 3 touchdowns (33,66,14) and Riverside's offensive and defensive lines controlled the game from the second quarter on. Givens, whom Tigers Head Coach Patrick Wagner calls "possibly the best back I've ever coached", took over the game in the second in third quarters gaining almost 150 of his yards and all three touchdowns.

Both teams started the season with opening game jitters, with each team turning the ball over in the first three plays of the game. Riverside then opened with a 27 yard TD pass from Ryan Van Dunken to Geoffrey Bacon to open the scoring. The Red Raiders quickly countered with a 70 yard 5 play drive on their next possession including 2 receptions for 65 yards by Barett Powell, the second being a 15 yard TD in the corner of the end zone. Tosa failed on a 2 point conversion try, and trailed 7 - 6 after one quarter.

From there it was all Riverside, who dominated both the offensive and defensive lines to physically outmatch Tosa East.

The Tigers offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage and allowed FB Logan Wells to continually pound the middle of the field. Wells punished the interior of the Tosa East line and scored 2 touchdowns on runs of 3 and 5 yards. The Red Raiders were worn down by the middle of the third quarter, with as many as 5 players playing both sides of the ball all night.

The connection of QB Ethan Harris to Powell looked to be working early, but the Tigers defensive line, led by standout LB Oscar Johnson, put constant pressure on Harris and the Red Raiders passing attack. Powell was to big and strong for the speedy, but undersized defensive backs for Riverside, but Harris did not have enough time to consistently take advantage of the matchup.

Overcoming some early sloppy play as well as over 100 penalty yards, Milwaukee Riverside cruised to an easy victory on the strength of Ryan Givens legs and the strength and speed in the trenches.

Riverside takes on a stronger Waukesha Catholic Memorial team next week, while Tosa East travels to take on Milwaukee King.

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INTERVIEW: Brookfield Central Head Coach Doug Lange

Brookfield Central Head Coach Doug Lange has had a busy month of August scouting and preparing his Lancer team for the 2008 campaign. Friday, BC gets to finally take the field against Waterford in a rematch of the 2007 opener that they dominated 31 - 0. But as you'll hear, Coach Lange believes that Waterford comes in with an improved squad, and a new look from Hall of Fame Coach Carey Venne.



Click the play button to listen to the interview with Coach Lange

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INTERVIEW: Waterford Head Coach Carey Venne

First year Waterford Head Football Coach Carey Venne is no stranger to the sidelines. He is a 2004 Wisconsin Coaches Hall of Fame inductee for his accomplishments with the Cudahy Dynasty through the 1990s. He now takes over a Waterford team that won two playoff games in the WIAA Division II playoffs last year.

Click the play button to listen to the interview with Coach Venne The interview took place on August 28, 2008 as he was preparing to take the sidelines for the first time with his new Waterford team against Brookfield Central on Friday night, August 29th at 7pm.

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PREVIEW: Milwaukee Riverside Tigers @ Wauwatosa East Red Raiders

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Thursday marks the season opener for Milwaukee Riverside and Wauwatosa East at Hart Park at 7 PM. In a rematch of last year's season opener for both teams, the Tigers from Riverside are out to show that the Milwaukee City Conference Teams can compete with the other SE Wisconsin area teams.

Last year's match up was decidely one sided as the Red Raiders ran away early in the third quarter to post a 41 - 6 victory over a Riverside team that was fresh off an outstanding 2006 campaign in which they lost in the Division I semifinals to perennial powerhouse Arrowhead 24-20.

In 2008, the Tigers are trying to regain their 2006 form, and prove to be a strong contender in the Milwauke City - Richardson conference with Bay View and Bradley Tech. In the season opener, however, they must prove they can perform outside the conference, where they were 1-3 and were outscored 137 - 30 in their 2007 non-conference campaign.

At Tosa East, the Red Raiders look to continue a streak that has seen them in the WIAA playoffs 4 of the past 5 years. Although they play in the powerhouse Greater Metro Conference, which boasts the number 4 and 8 ranked teams in the state in Marquette and Brookfield Central respectively, they are hoping to continue last year's dominance over the city conference teams where they went 2 -0 and outscored Riverside and Milwaukee King by a combined score of 81 - 12.

While not one of the top teams in the Greater Metro Conference, the Red Raiders have some strong skill position players. They are led by QB Ethan Harris, a 6' 2" 185 lb. Junior, and his main target Junior WR Barett Powell, who last year set a school record with 40 receptions for the season as a Sophmore.

Riverside will try to get a strong pass rush on Harris with their all state DE Oscar Johnson, but also must contain the small but quick senior running back tandem of Tyler Love and Mike Cupertino of Tosa East.

On the offensive side of the ball, Riverside will give Senior running back Ryan Givens, who has a scholarship offer pending from Illinois St., plenty of opportunities to run on the Red Raiders undersized defense.

Tosa East will show the depth of the Greater Metro Conference by handling Riverside in the opening game of the 2008 season. Thier offensive firepower will be too much for the Riverside defense to contain, and force Riverside to put the ball in the air.

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PREVIEW: Waterford Wolverines @ Brookfield Central Lancers

VS.

In a match up of teams that both exited the 2007 WIAA Division II Playoffs with losses to Germantown, the Lancers of Brookfield Central will rely heavily on it's defense while trying to match the 31 - 0 route of Waterford on opening day last year. Drew Herma rushed for 103 yards on 14 attempts and scored all 4 TDs for the Lancers in a game that was all but over at halftime.

Now, in 2008, Herma, QB Mike Bogard, OL Jacob Glickstein, and TE Brad Nortman are all playing at the collegiate level. Which means that the Lancers must turn to a defense led by 3 returning All-Conference players from 2007 in DL Matt Upson, LB TJ Gruman (pictured), and DB Mike Rossmiller.

With first year starters at QB, RB, and TE, the Lancers will look to test their offensive game plan against a solid opponent on opening night.

The Wolverines welcome Wisconsin Football Coaches Association 2004 Hall of Fame Inductee Coach Carey Venne to the sidelines this year. As head coach of the dominant Cudahy teams of the 1990's, Venne team's posted a 72 - 17 record over 11 seasons.

Venne inherits a team with an outstanding backfield tandem that in '07 combined for 1045 yards and 14 TDs while averaging 6.4 yards per carry. Running Backs Jake Dostalek and Bernie Tansett are looking to rebound from last year's contest in which the Wolverines managed only 60 yards and 3 first downs in the loss.

To have a chance, Waterford must reverse a trend from '07 in which they were a solid 7-0 at home, but just 2-3 on the road while being outscored 101 - 43.

Expect to see both teams focus on the running game as each team starts first year Quarterbacks Jack Korslin for BC, and Jake Sindberg for Waterford.

Even with the offensive uncertainties, Brookfield Central's defense has them well positioned to contend in the Greater Metro Conference again this year, joining Marquette and West Allis Hale as the pre-season favorites in a top heavy league.

Waterford is the defending champion of the Lakeshore Conference, which has now been disbanded. They are now the strong favorite in the Southern Lakes Conference. The challengers to Waterford could be a solid Badger HS team from Lake Geneva, and the defending Southern Lakes Conference champs from Elkhorn.

Look for Brookfield Central to start off this season in the same manner as '07 with a strong defensive effort that will again stymie the Wolverines running attack and control the game with field position throughout the night.

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Introduction

My dream has always been to make a living doing something with sports. Of course, like everyone else, up until I was 15 years old, I thought it would be as the starting QB of the Green Bay Packers. Those dreams die hard.

When you are 37 years old, your dream shifts to either playing golf on the Senior Tour, or more realistically, retooling yourself to be able to leave youre boring, overworked and underpaid eight to fiver for something a little more fun and, perhaps, Glamorous???

I have found myself in the envious position of my current job that allows me some flexibility to chase down some of my dreams. This fall, I am beginning my sports journalism career as a sideline stringer for HS Football games in Southeastern Wisconsin. I will have an opportunity to attend a premier game each week and report live on AM1250 WSSP in Milwaukee.

It's a great gig! I don't even have to pay them to do this!!! Can you believe it?

With this unique opportunity, I would like to share my observations on the SE Wisconsin HS Football scene with all of my readers. And for those of you that are interested in more than just my ramblings, please check out the wealth of information from other sources in the links on the left side of the page.

It is going to be a great 2008 football season in Southeast Wisconsin.