North Shore teams have something to prove

Optimism runs high everywhere this time of year on sweaty, mud-strewn high school football players everywhere as the season is set to open this Friday.

Here's a breakdown of possibilities for the remaining North Shore teams as the chill of autumn and the clash of pads meet in the annual ritual of Friday night excitement.

BROWN DEER

Lightning and heavy wind and rain forced the Falcons to make a quick exit out of their scrimmage with Random Lake on Friday, but it'll be the Woodland Conference Blue Division powerhouses who will be creating most of the fireworks this fall with an experience-laden, talented team.

"We're in really good shape at this point," Falcons coach Rob Green said. "We're healthy, but going into the season, we're still taking some precautions. These kids have worked really hard and all of them, especially the seniors have taken it upon themselves to be real leaders."

"There's a sense of urgency out there. They know we have a lot of weapons to work with and they are pretty excited about their chances."

Brown Deer was 6-2 in league play and 7-3 overall last season with a junior-dominated team, losing to eventual state Division 3 semifinalist Catholic Memorial in the first round of the state playoffs.

But the Falcons have 17 returning letter-winners upon whom there were 11 sets of All-Woodland honors conferred last fall. It'll be a speed and excitement-based sort of team in the spread offense behind All-Suburban running back Chris Smith and All-Woodland receivers Sean Andryauskas and Dominique Richie.

However, muscle will not be in short supply with 6-3, 237-pound Tory Dibb, 6-1, 257-pound Alex Williams and 6-2, 270-pound Brandon McAfee around.

"We have speed and skill," said Green, "but what I really like is how the kids are interacting with one another. There are great leaders out there and the others know what their roles are. And the guys upfront have been great. It all starts with them."

Green and the rest of the Falcons would like to compete for a conference title, but know that in order to do that, they'll have to circle the Sept. 24 date at home with defending champion Pewaukee.

"They're the champs until someone beats them," Green said.

Brown Deer will open at Watertown Luther Prep at 7 p.m. Friday.

HOMESTEAD

The Highlanders have owned wholly or in part the North Shore Conference since 2001, but with a greener group and a whole passel of new coaches this fall, veteran coach Dave Keel and his staff will have to work harder than ever to defend their league crown.

"We have a long ways to go," said Keel, "but we're actually pretty excited about our chances. We see it as a nice challenge. The kids survived the heat and humidity of the first couple of weeks in pretty good shape which we were very pleased with.

"We'll need to be in good shape with so many new defensive backs, receivers and linemen. Fortunately, everyone has a great attitude, which really helps."

One thing hasn't changed for the Highlanders, who finished last season at 10-1 overall, is their history of producing great defensive linemen. Senior Donté Phillips has already accepted a scholarship offer from Indiana.

Phillips talked of keeping up the tradition and of taking a leadership role on a team that can really use some of it this fall.

Other leaders include three-year offensive linemen Kyle Schober and Max Vielmetti, the final holdovers from the Highlanders' 2008 state championship unit. They're players who also know how it is to live with a target on your back all the time, which has been Homestead's status this entire decade.

"They've done a great job of showing the other kids the way," Keel said.

But aside from them, experience, especially on the offensive side, will be hard to come by. Junior quarterback Cody Berger will look to improve on his solid sophomore year starting numbers, but will have almost entirely new skill position people to work with.

And on defense, aside from Phillips, defensive backs Doug Mueller and Matt Stern (also the team's kicker) look to have the most experience as a lot of new linebackers and linemen will be tested early.

The Highlanders will go on the road to visit Wisconsin Valley power D. C. Everest on Friday and then on Sept. 3 will entertain another Valley team, Wisconsin Rapids.

Keel is trying to get the team not to worry about early mistakes.

"We've had good leadership and that'll help," he said, "and everybody's put forth the effort. We know we can't coach with a chip on our shoulders and the kids know that in order to improve they have to have short memories.

"Don't worry about what just happened. Just move on to the next play."

WHITEFISH BAY

Is this the year that the talented, but few in number (45-plus) Blue Dukes stay healthy, limit their mistakes and maybe crash the party at the top of the North Shore Conference?

Blue Dukes coach Jim Tietjen is not saying "yes" or "no" but knows that there are opportunities afoot for his team this fall.

"No question, we do think we have a chance," he said. "The kids have worked so hard, right from the time of our pre-season camp all the way through now. We've really made a lot of progress. We're not perfect mind you, but we're working towards it."

And the defensive-minded Tietjen noted that if his Blue Dukes are going to contend for some major honors this fall, it will be his backstop that leads the way. He points to the fact that his experienced, scholarship-pursuing quarterback Cal Ehrke is having trouble getting anything done against his first-team defense.

"We're getting pressure on him and making it difficult for him," he said.

The Blue Dukes (5-5 in 2009) also feel they have the muscle to compete with the likes of decade-long champ Homestead as the likes of Jack Beck (6-3, 273) and Austin Hill (6-3, 255) will give Bay a real physical presence.

An on offense, if Ehrke finds some good targets and state place-winning track speedster Davontae Johnson finds his form, things could get real interesting.

The Blue Dukes will find out how good they are right away, as they host Classic 8 Conference champ Waukesha West at 7 p.m. Friday. Down the road, they will get Homestead and Cedarburg both at home on Oct. 8 and 15, respectively.

Tietjen is hoping an attitude change can put Bay over the top with those two this fall.

"Last year Homestead beat us (7-0) because they were Homestead, we just weren't as confident," said Tietjen. "We matched up toe-to-toe with them but the key is belief. If we're to get this done, we'll have to do this a little at a time because winners find a way."

SHOREWOOD

The Greyhounds will try to improve on their 0-9 season of a year ago.

A major step forward will be improving defensively, as in their final four games of 2009, the Greyhounds were outscored 178-6.

Shorewood will again be playing an independent schedule, with road games at Saint Francis on Friday and Racine Lutheran on Sept. 3 to open the campaign. The first home game will be held against University School on Sept. 10.