Week 3 high school football rewind: Preble stays positive despite struggles; Pulaski earns first win

It was another difficult night on the football field for Green Bay Preble on Thursday, another rough result that looked like so many others the past few seasons.

This time it was a 49-6 loss at Bay Port, which put up 445 total yards against the Hornets with a balanced attack.

The Pirates already were up 35-0 with 10 minutes, 49 seconds remaining in the second quarter, starting a running mercy clock that stopped after Preble scored its lone touchdown four minutes later with a 15-yard pass from junior quarterback Ty Gerard to senior wideout Jack Neumann.

It was a bright spot in an otherwise frustrating game.

It can’t be fun getting beat all the time. To work hard during the week, show up prepared for each practice and give it your best on a Thursday or Friday night, only for that best to not be good enough for a win.

But the program believes brighter days are ahead, including a feeder system producing talent that could help put Preble back on the football map in a few years.

“I always just worry about the next play,” said Gerard, who completed two of his three pass attempts for 65 yards, rushed for a team-high 26 yards and played in the defensive backfield against Bay Port. “You know, I think we have got some talented players here. I feel like the rest of the season we match up very well against these teams.

“I just know we can keep doing better. We are playing better. I know we are a better team with how we have been playing.”

Preble made the playoffs a program-record nine straight times from 2011 to 2019. It won a WIAA Division 1 playoff game in the final year of the run before losing in the second round to a Bay Port squad that advanced to its first state title game.

The Hornets haven’t been the same since the COVID-19 pandemic hit. It took a significant toll on the program and the numbers of players coming out.

They went 2-5 during the alternate spring season in 2021 and followed by going 2-7 in the fall, which included losing the last four games by a combined 165-19.

Preble hit rock bottom last season, going 0-9 while playing in the Fox River Classic Conference-North.

It allowed at least 35 points in every game and scored seven points or fewer six times.

Not much has changed early this season.

The Hornets have allowed 40 or more points in each of their first three outings, although they did score 21 in a season-opening loss to a D.C. Everest team that has made the postseason four straight years.

Preble hasn’t won a game since Sept. 17, 2021.

It’s had some forgettable seasons the past few decades — including 1-8 campaigns in 2006 and 2009 — but a 16-game losing streak is something new.

The growing pains of rebuilding should be expected. There are only 10 seniors on the roster, which is filled with juniors and sophomores still learning and improving.

“We are young, we have got a lot of talent,” said Preble coach Dustin Gresen, who was hired in 2018 after spending four seasons as an assistant under former coach Tim Larsen. “The senior leadership we have is great, there is just not a lot of seniors on the team because of some of the COVID falling out within our program. Numbers have continued to grow since those COVID years. Right after COVID, we were 86 (players) in the program. Last year we were 92. This year we have 113.

“We are back onto kind of the normal numbers that we are used to at Preble. More guys create depth. The talent we do have is good. We are just trying to get all the guys in the right spots to be as successful as we can as a program.”

The staff has seen a good shift in the commitment level of players, and along with numbers and talent, it’s the most important piece to a winning team.

The Hornets have a way to go to be in the conversation for a conference title, especially with Bay Port and West De Pere set up for sustained success and Pulaski and De Pere often providing difficult competition.

Preble still is the largest school in the league and one of the biggest in the state with 2,137 students, although not everyone is going to be into football or want to play it.

“Our conference is tough, we all know that,” Gresen said. “We are not going to hide around that, we are not making excuses around that. So, we go out and make sure we schedule the nonconference games that are competitive, just like our conference is going to be.

“One of our core values is growth. We just need to grow. Every single rep. Every single play. Every single practice. Every single game. As long as we continue with the growth mindset and kids getting better, everything else will fall into place.”

While the results on the field must improve, everything around the program is booming.

The Hornets will play the first four games of the season at road venues because of a turf field being installed at Preble. The home opener is scheduled for Sept. 15 against Ashwaubenon.

The new playing surface is part of a renovation project which includes more additions to the stadium as well as the weight room.

Yes, Preble has been beat a lot the last few years, but it isn’t beaten down yet.

“This year, especially, we have a lot of juniors and sophomores starting on defense,” said Gerard, whose team will attempt to break the losing streak Thursday at Green Bay Southwest. “Next year, we are going to get bigger and stronger.

“We are going to make steps.”

Pulaski earns a big win

Talk about a momentum shift.

Pulaski’s 35-30 win over De Pere on Friday mostly was about a dominant second half by the Red Raiders’ offense, but it was the defense that really got things going in the final minute of the second quarter.

The Redbirds led 18-7 and had a first down at the Pulaski 5 when senior quarterback Easton Arendt, who made several impressive plays in the game, threw an interception in the end zone to junior defensive back Bryce Wotruba.

After going the final 14 minutes of the first half without a point, Pulaski’s running game kicked into gear after halftime.

Running back Spencer Hakes took a direct snap for a 55-yard TD with 10:57 left the third quarter before Logan Shultz added a 2-yard score about five minutes later to give the Red Raiders a 21-18 lead they never would relinquish.

Shultz scored on a 41-yard run in the final minutes of the third quarter and put Pulaski up 35-24 with 6:13 remaining on a spectacular 57-yard TD run which included an impressive stiff-arm.

After Arendt found Hayden May for the duo’s third TD connection of the night, Shultz helped run out the clock on the ensuing possession.

Pulaski (1-2) rushed for 311 yards and averaged 8 yards per carry. Shultz had 168 yards on 15 carries and Hakes 97 yards on 14 attempts.

It helped offset a De Pere passing attack that was relentless for most of the night. Although Arendt threw three interceptions, he completed 18 of 24 passes for 303 yards and four TDs while May hauled in nine receptions for 157 yards along with those three scores.

Pulaski wasn’t facing a must-win so early in the season, but it was an important victory. This was the start of its most difficult stretch of the conference season, which continues with back-to-back games against Bay Port on Thursday and West De Pere on Sept. 15.

The Redbirds should earn their first win in a crossover game with FRCC-South member Green Bay East in Week 4, but they do have to figure out some things on defense moving forward.

The unit has allowed 35 or more points in each of the first three games after allowing 28 or more in the final three games to end last season.

Wisconsin recruit Landon Gauthier makes season debut

It was a good day for Bay Port on Thursday.

Not only did the Pirates get their first win after nonconference losses to Middleton and defending D1 state champion Kimberly, but they also welcomed the return of star linebacker and University of Wisconsin commit Landon Gauthier.

The 6-foot-3, 230-pound Gauthier had been out since injuring a rib earlier in the summer. He was put on a snap count of 25 to 30 plays against Preble.

“I feel great,” Gauthier said after the game. “It feels great to be back. I have aches and pains, obviously, but not from the rib. The rib is all healed. I’m going to be full-time next week. I was limited a little this week, but next week I will be good.”

Gauthier might not just be a top defender for Bay Port coach Gary Westerman and his staff this season.

He made his career debut as a punter and left quite an impression in the closing minutes on his lone attempt, a 35-yard kick downed at the 10.

Where the heck did that come from?

“Earlier in the season one of our backup quarterbacks was punting, and I thought to myself, ‘I could probably punt better than that,’” Gauthier said, smiling. “I just picked up the ball, took a couple and caught Westy’s eye. He’s like, ‘Well, I will throw you in there.’”

Proud moment for Bay Port program

The Pirates have developed several college players and a few NFL ones during Westerman’s tenure.

One of the biggest success stories is Alec Ingold, a 2015 graduate who played for the Badgers in college and has been a fullback in the NFL with the Las Vegas Raiders and Miami Dolphins since 2019.

Ingold signed a three-year contract extension with the Dolphins on Thursday worth up to $17.2 million. It makes him the highest-paid fullback in the AFC.

Ingold was the Gatorade Wisconsin Player of the Year for Bay Port as a senior in 2014, when he threw for 1,411 yards and 15 TDs and rushed for 2,324 yards and 29 scores.

He had 4,208 rushing yards and 61 TDs and threw for 2,838 yards and 28 TDs in 34 career games.  Ingold also was a state champion in wrestling.

“Couldn’t happen to a better human,” Westerman said. “He’s making his money in football, but he’s a better human and person than he is a football player. Any time good things happen to people like that, you are extremely proud.

“The fact that I can call him a friend and he’s an alumni of our program, couldn’t be happier for him and his family.”

Upset alert

Coleman has been the class of the Northwoods Conference, at least until Friday.

Crivitz pulled off a big 36-34 win over the Cougars, handing them their first loss in the regular season since 2020.

It was Crivitz’s first win in the series since August 2017 and broke a five-game losing streak in which it was outscored 216-59.

Week 3 results

Bay Port 49, Green Bay Preble 6

Ashwaubenon 49, Green Bay Southwest 14

Pulaski 35, De Pere 30

West De Pere 54, Green Bay West 0

Green Bay Notre Dame 68, Green Bay East 0

Southern Door 30, Mishicot 7

Kewaunee 43, Marinette 6

Oconto 27, Peshtigo 0

Bonduel 20, Sturgeon Bay 19

Crivitz 36, Coleman 34

Luxemburg-Casco 48, New London 0

Wrightstown 34, Winneconne 13

Little Chute 29, Seymour 6

Waupaca 50, Denmark 14

Grantsburg 36, Oconto Falls 20

Fox Valley Lutheran 42, Shawano 20

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Green Bay Preble football stays positive, Pulaski gets big Week 3 win