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Big Foot football highly motivated

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BigFoot v Lodi Division 4 Semifinal

Photos from Walworth Big Foot's 27-21 victory over the Lodi Blue Devils at Arrowhead High School in Hartland.

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WALWORTH — Is a loss ever a good thing?

No, but it can serve as a strong motivational tool.

Case in point—Walworth Big Foot’s football team.

The Chiefs are making a return trip to Camp Randall Stadium and the WIAA Division 4 state title game. Big Foot (13-0) plays Kewaunee (13-0) at 7 p.m. Thursday.

And last year’s 20-0 loss to Wautoma/Faith Christian in the state title game was the springboard the Chiefs needed.

“Last year was such a whirlwind,” Big Foot coach Rodney Wedig said of the week leading up to the state title game. “This year’s team seems to be a little bit more comfortable and a little bit more at ease because of going through this last year.

“And playing in that atmosphere a year ago made us more prepared this time around.”

Despite only six starters returning off of last year’s 13-1 team, Wedig still thought the 2009 Chiefs had a chance to be decent. An impressive showing in a scrimmage against Kenosha Bradford and Madison West changed his mind. The Chiefs more than held their own against a Bradford team that advanced to the WIAA Division 1 state quarterfinals and a West team that advanced to the D1 playoffs.

“After the scrimmage, I sat down with my coaches, and we all agreed, “we’ve got a chance to be pretty good,’ ” Wedig said.

“We’re not the most talented team across the board, but what we have are a bunch of ‘overachievers.’ And by finding a way to win a couple of really close games, we’ve become mentally tough.”

Senior two-way starters Michael Walker and Nathan Nagel, along with Alec McGreevy, Dowden, Dustin Sorrentino and Jon Petkoff were the only starters returning.

Despite the graduation of all-state lineman and University of Wisconsin recruit Travis Frederick, as well as Matt Fogerty, T.J. Schaid and Ben Haeberrlin, Dowden said expectations remained high.

“We felt like we had a lot to prove,” Dowden said. “Everybody knows how good Travis was and what he meant to the program, and he was that good, but we also knew the weapons we had coming back.

“And when you lose at state, you never forget about it. I think about it everyday, and I know a lot of the other guys do, too. Now we have a chance to go back again, and as great as it is to play at state, nobody wants to lose in the state title game two years in a row.”

The Chiefs rolled through the Rock Valley Conference in registering a third straight

9-0 regular season and a second straight Rock Valley South title. Big Foot was tested only once during the regular season—a come-from-behind, 14-7 win over Rock Valley North co-champion Jefferson.

Big Foot is averaging 33.4 points a game and allowing only 7.1. The Chiefs gave up a season-high 20 points to Lodi in the 27-20 state semifinal win last Saturday.

Wedig said the biggest lesson he learned from last year’s title game comes from the old adage: “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

“You’ve got to go with what you got and not try to get cute or put in any new plays or formations,” Wedig said. “We might fine-tune some things a little, but I think last year we were wound a little bit tight against Wautoma.

“We just have to treat Thursday like any other game and let our playmakers make plays.”

Wedig said that Kewaunee, at 13-0, is the real deal. The Indians are stout defensively and capable of putting up points in bunches.

“They probably don’t have the three or four really, really good players that Wautoma had, but they’re solid at every position across the board,” Wedig said. “Obviously, it’s the best team we’ve seen this year, and our guys have to understand that they’re (Kewaunee) going to make plays. We just have to make more.

“The key for us is to win first down and not allow any long drives. I don’t think this team needs any kind of pep talk. They’ve been waiting a year for this chance.”