Red Devils to Test Character at Wisconsin Lutheran
WAUWATOSA, Wis. -- The theme of the week for the Eureka football team is getting things back on track.
The last two weeks have been trying for the Red Devils. The team is coming off a close loss at home and a lopsided one on the road.
There are three weeks left in the 2021 season, and every member of the program has a lot to play for.
"We've been knocked down a little bit," EC coach Kurt Barth said. "We've got three weeks to kind of get things going back in the right direction for the program.
"It's not just about three games left this season. We've got seniors that are in their final three games here. That means a lot to these guys – some of them were part of a championship team. There's a great degree of pride of what it took to get to that point. They deserve to go out and finish strong. They need to play hard to control that part, and then the other guys that are coming back need to use these three weeks as a springboard into the offseason to keep the program moving forward."
On Saturday, the Red Devils are headed back on the road for another Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference night game at Wisconsin Lutheran. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.
Wisconsin Lutheran is hosting the Red Devils for Homecoming after coming off a big win. The Warriors went to Rockford last weekend and brought home their first win of the season, topping the Regents 49-41.
After getting blanked 68-0 by St. Norbert the week before, Wisconsin Lutheran let senior running back Justin Parbs lead the way. He tallied 280 yards of total offense, posting a career-high 184 rushing yards on 26 carries and 96 receiving yards on six receptions, and scored four touchdowns. Quarterback Nick Yockey threw for 253 yards and two scores on 16-of-30 passing without recording an interception.
Parbs is third in the NACC in rushing yards per game with 87, while Yockey is fifth in passing yards with 196.8. Parbs also leads the Warriors in receptions with 30 for 274 yards. Carter Schneider leads in receiving yards with 370 on 23 receptions, while Mike DuPree and Trevion Green follow with 296 on 28 receptions and 252 on 21 receptions, respectively. All three are sophomores.
Defensively, the Warriors have conceded a league-high 511 yards and 50.7 yards per game. They've also given up a league-high 291.3 rushing yards per game.
Still, the team has some very good tacklers, including NACC leader Ty Castillo. The senior linebacker has racked up 56 total tackles, including 37 solo efforts, and is averaging 11.2 total tackles per game.
The Red Devils have only played the Warriors twice in program history, and they are looking for their third straight win. In 2018, EC took them down 54-35 at McKinzie Field. The following year, the Red Devils seized a 26-20 road win in overtime.
It's a different coaching staff this time around, though. Eric Treske, a Wisconsin Lutheran alum, is in his second season and first fall season as head coach after spending five seasons as offensive coordinator and strength and conditioning director at Lakeland University. In five seasons, Treske coordinated Muskies' offenses that ranked either first or second in the NACC four times.
"He's got familiarity with the conference – and with us," Barth said. "He's done a nice job, both recruiting and getting things going as a first-year coach starting to build his own program."
While Treske's squad is looking to build off the high point of its season, Barth's is looking to come back strong after last week's 49-7 loss at Aurora. It was a night when a lot of things didn't go the Red Devils' way, but the coach said it wasn't for a lack of effort.
"I think our guys did a good job of controlling what they could control, and they competed hard," Barth said. "Aurora's a good team. They scored 70 in their previous three conference games, so we knew they were going to be capable of putting up points.
"We had some opportunities to put up some points. We moved the ball pretty well. We got inside the red zone a couple of times, and they (Aurora) tightened up. They did what good teams do."
For the second game in a row, the Red Devils saw senior Nehemiah Butler step into the backfield and run the ball like a veteran.
A safety and defensive back for his whole career until recently, he stepped into the running back spot to help add depth to a unit that needed it. Two weeks ago, he proceeded to rush for 104 yards on 23 carries and scored a touchdown against Concordia Wisconsin in his first game as a running back.
He complemented a tremendous performance by freshman running back Lamont Hill Jr., who tallied a career-high 156 rushing yards on 20 carries and a touchdown before exiting the game with a serious injury in the third quarter. It was the first time Eureka has had two players record 100-plus rushing yards since Sept. 18, 2018, when Le'Anthony Reasnover (282) and Joe Hughes (106) did it.
Last week, Butler added 42 more yards on 19 attempts.
"Nehemiah is the ultimate team player and competitor," Barth said. "We needed to make a move at those positions, and he stepped up and has just been true to Nehemiah's character. He's a hard-working young man that is for the team and he'll do whatever he can to help the team. He's been great for us.
"He's done a great job adjusting and I'm very proud of him."
Another offensive player who continues to standout week-to-week is freshman wide receiver Sebastian Hill.
He caught four passes for 70 yards against Spartans last week, including making a show-stopping play on a 40-yard reception that would have been an interception if he didn't rip the ball out of the defender's hands at the last second.
"In my opinion, he's probably one of the most complete receivers that we've had here, and we've got two at the same time, because I think Pierce (Bradford) is along those lines as well," Barth said. "Sebastian is just one of those guys that you can tell, he has a unique skillset and unique ability to do everything on the field. He's got everything he needs to be one of the best to play here."
On the other side of the ball, the Red Devils have seen sophomore Austin Hopkins step up and contribute wherever he's needed. Due to injuries, he's gone back and forth between linebacker and secondary all season, and last week, he led the team with 10 total tackles and his first career sack.
"Wherever we put him, he's made plays," Barth said. "He's a great tackler. He plays hard. He knows what he's doing.
"The one thing about Hop is that you're never going to have to second-guess his effort. He's going full-tilt and he's going to do everything he can to be successful, and those are the guys you want on your team."
As the season winds down, Barth says Hopkins' kind of mindset and work ethic is what this team needs to be successful.
"This program is built on hard work, trust, toughness, never backing down," he said. "That's how we got from an irrelevant team when we took over to building to a championship program. Those have got to stay the same.
"It's easy to ride that wave when you're up there and things are going well, but when you get smacked around a little bit, it's really a test of character for each of the guys involved."