Stricken Wisconsin high school football coach could be on the sideline for title game
Two weeks after suffering a heart attack during a WIAA football playoff upset, Badger head coach Matt Hensler might be back on the sideline with his team for the Division 2 championship game.
“It’ll be a game-time decision; I don’t know for sure,” Hensler said Sunday night during a Zoom news conference with the other championship game coach.
“We’ll kind of see how this week goes health-wise and kind of wing it on Friday.”
Badger is scheduled to play seven-time champion Waunakee for the Division 2 title at 1 p.m. Friday at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison. Both teams are 13-0. Championships begin Thursday with Divisions 4-7.
Badger, which had never won more than one game in 26 previous playoff appearances, earned its first championship game appearance with a 35-6 victory over Sun Prairie East in a semifinal Friday night.
One week earlier the Badgers ended Kettle Moraine’s 16-game winning streak with a 28-7 victory, during which Hensler experienced shortness of breath. He was examined on the sideline and subsequently taken to the hospital.
“Actually I feel the best I’ve felt in probably seven months,” Hensler said during the call. "I’ve got a cold like every other person in the state of Wisconsin, but other than that, I feel pretty darn good."
Assistants split the coaching duties for the game against Sun Prairie, and Hensler attended.
Whether he's on the sideline or in a coaches’ box high above the field remains to be seen, Hensler said. The decision will come down to two factors: his health and the reaction of his players.
“These kids are unbelievable, and this program, this team, is on one heck of a run,” Hensler said. “Plain and simple, I would never do anything that would get in the way of that, so if I can be on the sideline, and I feel I’m healthy enough without a distraction, I’ll do that. If I feel that causes a distraction, or might lead to one, then I’ll get the heck out of the way and go up to the booth.
“I’m concerned with my health too, and I’m more concerned about that than anybody, but from a football standpoint I just don’t want to be a distraction to the kids.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Badger coach Matt Hensler may return for title game after heart attack
