West De Pere at Shawano – Live on Frog Country 92.3 FM
It’s a new season for the Shawano Hawks after making a trip to the level-1 playoffs a year ago. They’ll be tested out of the gates when they host West De Pere, who finished second in the Bay in 2016 behind undefeated Menasha. The Hawks will try to replace an offense that averaged 32 points per game. They’ll need new skill position players to step up, but should have experience up front in the trenches.
West De Pere will have their own key contributors to replace. Quarterback Matthew McNabb was one of two 1,000-yard rushers and led the team with 23 total touchdowns. Their leading rusher returns, however. Austin Beaumier rushed for 1,176 yards and 19 scores. West De Pere took last year’s meeting by a 56-27 final. It was a season that took the Phantoms to level-2 of the playoffs when they fell to Luxemburg-Casco.
Kickoff begins at 7:00 p.m. Click here to listen live.
Fox Valley Lutheran at Clintonville – Live on ESPN 94.9, 96.5 FM & 1380 AM
It’s a new season for the Truckers and the first for co-head coaches Jeff Brightwell and Jim Ash. The goal is clear for Clintonville: work to be competitive and start to build the foundation that turns around the program. Wins won’t come easy in a very difficult North Eastern Conference, but with a strong core of seniors and a hungry group of underclassmen, they believe this year will be different.
The Foxes made a trip to level-1 in the playoffs after finishing 5-3 in conference-good for a tie of third place. They’ll be expected to compete near the top of the North Eastern again, with the return of second-year, junior quarterback Drew Reader, who tossed 17 touchdowns last year. Fox Valley Lutheran’s leading rusher Zayne Rodencal also returns. He was the conference’s third leading rusher with 1,644 yards, earning first-team all-conference honors.
Kick of begins at 7:00 p.m. Click here to listen live