Milwaukee-area high school football top-10 countdown: No. 8 Oak Creek
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel will be counting down our top-10 greater Milwaukee area football teams entering 2023 with analysis and reporting from practice visits. These stories will be released in a one-per-day countdown leading up to Week 1 of the WIAA high school football season.
No. 8 Oak Creek
2022 finish: 7-3 record (6-1 in Southeast Conference, T-1st), lost in WIAA Division 1 Level 1 playoffs 21-14 to Badger
Key losses: OL Jordan Puente, WR Joey Flaherty, WR Steven Piontek, DB Aiden Metz, DE Braydon Ulezelski
Key returners: OL Brock Hodge, QB Cade Palkowski, ILB Drew Braam, WR/DB Brayden Rohde, RB Jackson Phelps
Visit takeaways
Senior receiver Brayden Rohde is a name to watch for a potential breakout season after the Knights lost their top two receivers from a year ago. Despite being third on the team in receptions last season, Rohde out-paced Piontek (10.2) and Flaherty (18.8) with 25.8 yards per reception. Rohde could be seen demonstrating routes for the rest of the receivers during our Wednesday visit, which was emblematic of his new role as a leader of this receiving core. He will also be playing both ways as a defensive back this season as well.
Reigning Southeast Conference lineman of the year Brock Hodge, a Northwest Missouri State commit, returns to anchor an offensive line returning four-of-five starters. Asked what he is passing along to his teammates in new roles, Hodge said "Go 100 percent all the time. If you're gonna make a mistake, make it 100 percent."
Several players and coaches brought up the continuity they have experienced throughout the program as being pivotal to their recent success. Seven current coaches at the varsity level were former Oak Creek players, and current players have in many cases been playing together since first grade. Oak Creek boasts several four-year starters as well, including quarterback Cade Palkowski, Hodge and inside linebacker Drew Braam.
Biggest question mark
Will an irregular schedule cause difficulties for Oak Creek's conference title quest?
While coach Paar acknowledged the program's own role in laying out the schedule for the season, there was still some concern about how some irregular start times may affect game readiness. Oak Creek faces all three Kenosha schools on the road this season, meaning 5:30 p.m. kickoff times. The Knights travel to Bradford on Sept. 1, Indian Trail two weeks later on Sept. 15 and finish their season on Oct. 13 at Tremper. Another irregularity in their schedule will be a shortened week leading up the renewing of their rivalry with Franklin. The two teams have agreed to a 7 p.m. kickoff on Thursday, Sept. 21, to accommodate a broadcast partner. With all four games being within the Southeast Conference, how Oak Creek manages that schedule to avoid any sluggish starts will be a key to its season.
They said it
"We were right there when Franklin made their run. I thought we had as good of a team as there was around, but they had a bunch of seniors with a ton of experience, and their quarterback had seen and done everything. Myles (Burkett) went on to have an amazing year. I kind of see that, I'm hoping to see that from what we have this year with Cade. We’re gonna put a lot on him, we're gonna allow him to do a ton of different changes and call things at the line that you just wouldn't normally do at the high school level that we believe Cade can handle because of his experiences." - Joel Paar on quarterback Cade Palkowski
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee-area high school football top-10 countdown: No. 8 Oak Creek
