'It's going to be fun': New stadium, high-powered offense bring excitement to Neenah Rockets football team
NEENAH – Wow.
That’s one way to describe the new football facility the Neenah Rockets will run out onto Thursday night.
From the new turf and giant scoreboard to the more than ample number of bleachers for big crowds, it’s a marvelous-looking facility.
It’s expected the Rockets will also provide plenty of wows on the field this season.
“It’s going to be fun,” said Neenah senior fullback/tight end Luke Keller in describing his expectations for the season.
As part of making this a dynamic season for Neenah, coach Steve Jung and his staff have been figuring out who will play where and how they will make up for the losses to graduation of players like Jase Jenkins, Trevor McGinnis, Blake Dietzen, Eric Schaufelberger and Darius Jones Jr.
“But we do bring back a lot of good football players,” Jung said. “I don’t know if we can replace some of those guys, but overall I think that even with our offensive line — our offensive line I think is probably the best it’s been in a few years — offensively we’ve got a lot of weapons.”
Quarterback Evan Vanevenhoven, who accounted for over 2,000 yards of offense in 2022, agrees.
“I think we’re picking it up pretty good,” Vanevenhoven said of finding players to replace the graduates. “Our offense is looking really good and our O-line is looking real good. I’m excited to get started.”
What is it that is making the offensive line not filled with 275-pound behemoths look good?
“They’re just really mentally tough and get back up to the line every play,” Vanevenhoven said. “They’re relentless.”
And working to know the offense flawlessly, according to Keller, perhaps as flawlessly as one knows the combination to their locker.
“We need to know what we’re doing every single play,” Keller said. “We can’t have any stupid errors because we’re not going to be as big as everyone else. We need to stay low and hit harder than the other guy.”
Jung expects the offense to be more than just good.
“Our offense is going to be really good this year,” Jung said. “Coach (Steve) Jorgensen, his offensive mind is second to none. He really understands how defenses work. He makes great adjustments and he is a great coach. And he gets kids to work hard for him.”
But what about the defense?
“I think just like last year, bend but don’t break and not give up the big play,” Jung said.
“Defensively, we have to fill the gaps of McGinnis, Jones and Schaufelberger and play decent,” Jung said. “We’ve been working hard on that. That has really been our focus to find those guys. We can’t replace them, but we’ve got to find strengths in other spots.”
And then it’s just about being ready to play every week.
“Football is the ultimate team sport,” Jung said. “You’ve got 11 guys working together. If one’s off, the play’s not going to work. Defensively, offensively, special teams, everyone has to work together and do the job correctly.”
Especially since the Rockets are playing in the Fox Valley Association, where every team is expecting to win a conference title and make deep playoff runs.
“The last 15 years that has been the expectation,” Jung said. “I think that has made the entire conference that much better. Every week you’re preparing for a team that is in the top half of the state and that’s just what you get used to.
“I think Coach Jorgensen, when he came and established Kimberly and (Steve) Jones after him set the standard for the FVA just like Paul Engen did in the ’90s. And I think it has just continued to be one of the top conferences in the state.”
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This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Neenah Rockets football team excited about new stadium, solid offense
