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HORSCHAK: California Dreamin' of Wisconsin high school football

09/27/2016, 7:45pm CDT
By Andrew Horschak

Andrew Horschak spent 25 years covering prep sports in Wisconsin, including 21 at the Kenosha News. He recently relocated to southern California, where he freelances for The Desert Sun and The Orange County Register amongst others. He is an occasional contributor to WisSports.net as well.

If someone needed to track me down on a Friday night in the fall from 1995 to 2015, chances are that I was standing on a sideline or sitting in a press box at a high school football stadium in southeastern Wisconsin.

By my calculation, I covered 264 games in 21 seasons as a reporter for the Kenosha News. Included in those 1,056 quarters and 12,672 minutes (not counting overtime thrillers) were more than 60 playoff match-ups.

From my first game in 1995 – Kenosha Bradford’s season opener against two-time defending WIAA Division 1 state champion Arrowhead – to my final game last year – Shoreland Lutheran’s upset victory over Marshall in the Division 5 quarterfinals – there were enough highlights and memories to fill Camp Randall Stadium.

Shortly after last season came to a close, my wife received a job opportunity that was too good to turn down and we packed up and moved to southern California.

As expected with any big move, there is a transition period. Obviously, we miss our family and friends.

What I underestimated, though, was how much I would miss covering high school football in Wisconsin.

Getting a chance to watch superstar players like Michael Bennett, John Clay, Craig Cummings, Adrian Davis, Zach Dodge, Danny Freund, Melvin Gordon, Lance Kendricks, Chris Maragos, Jazz Peavy, Tony Romo and Trae Waynes (to name a few) was the favorite part of my job.

My Friday nights are still spent under the lights.

I have done some freelance reporting for a couple of publications, however, I feel like a stranger when I go to these games. I always prided myself in knowing conference affiliations, team nicknames, coaches and rivalries. Now, I am in the dark and starting over.

While I haven’t had the opportunity to check out national powerhouse programs De La Salle or Mater Dei, the games that I have seen are no different than the ones that I covered 2,500 miles away. Other than having a 10-game regular season that starts one week later than in Wisconsin, the only major difference that I have noticed is that cheerleaders and pep bands seem to play a more prominent role.

One thing is for sure. There is no shortage of talent in California.

According to MaxPreps.com, the state ranked second behind Florida with 220 former high school players on opening-day NFL rosters. Wisconsin was in the middle of the pack with 28.

In the San Bernardino County Sun prep football preview, the top 10 recruits from the area were listed. Manning the top spot was Redlands East Valley defensive end Jaelan Phillips, the No. 3 recruit in the nation by ESPN.com. Stephen Carr of Summit, the No. 1 running back in the country by Rivals.com, was second. The rest of the highly regarded top 10 is weighing offers from major NCAA Division I programs.

What do I miss most about high school football in Wisconsin?

If it hasn’t already, the air will turn crisp when the sun goes down. The crack of the pads and the cheering sections will seem louder. Steam will rise off the heads of players when they remove their helmets. To me, that signified that the playoffs were right around the corner.

I don’t mean to rub it in, but game-time temperatures out here have routinely been in triple digits. I don’t know if I will ever get used to wearing T-shirts and shorts to games this late in the season.

My days of wearing long underwear in October are long gone.

Tag(s): News Archive  News