Posted: Oct 28, 2022
Eureka Focused on ‘Doing Things the Right Way’ at Lakeland
PLYMOUTH, WIS. – The Eureka football team is reaching the part of the season where it would be easy to back down.
The Red Devils have two games left to play, and they're coming off three tough losses. Senior Night is in the rearview mirror, and the postseason isn't a possibility this fall.
But, under 14th-year head coach Kurt Barth and his staff, that won't be happening. As the Red Devils have prepared to head into the final stretch of the season, the message has been clear: In this program, we're going to do things the right way and finish the season strong.
"We're frustrated, but as I try to stress, no matter what's going on – frustration, wins, losses, all of those types of things – you've got to continue to do things the right way," Barth said. "You can't falter in that, or there's no reason to be in the spot we're in.
"We have two weeks of football left. For some of these guys, that's their last two weeks of football ever. You have to do what's right, enjoy the moment and represent yourself, your program and your families how they want to be represented. For me, that's do your job, work as hard as you can, control what you can and leave everything out there, and that's what we have to do."
On Saturday at 1 p.m., the Red Devils (2-6, 2-4 NACC) will be looking to make a statement in their Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference battle at Lakeland (1-6, 1-4 NACC).
In the Muskies, the Red Devils will be taking on a conference opponent that has also taken its lumps this season. A few short years ago, Eureka-Lakeland was one of the top matchups in the league.
Now, both squads are fighting to get back to where they were.
After going 8-2 last year, Lakeland is 1-6 on the season and 1-4 in league play. The team has been competitive in league play, falling just four points shy against Wisconsin Lutheran and keeping it within two touchdowns in all but one game.
Two weeks ago, the Muskies took down Concordia Chicago 43-23 for Homecoming to pick up their first win of the season. Last week, they lost by 10 points on the road against Concordia Wisconsin, a team that previously edged Eureka by three points late.
Lakeland has developed a reputation for having one of the most fasted-paced offenses in the region, and that has continued to be the case this season.
"In their last three or four games, they're averaging about 90-95 plays per game, which is about 30 more than most teams are getting in a game," Barth said. "They're getting right back to the line and forcing you to get lined back up and play defense right away, so we're getting in a lot of plays for our guys this week."
The team currently leads the NACC in rushing yards per game with 293.9. A lot of their rushing production has come from their quarterback play. Freshman quarterback Robby Michael leads the league with 125.2 rushing yards per game while also adding just under 150 rushing yards per game in the air. On the season, he has thrown for 896 yards, three touchdowns and four interceptions on 86-of-166 passing and ran for 751 yards and five touchdowns on 103 carries.
Michael was out of the lineup last week but is expected to be back this week. In his absence, senior Lane Sobieski threw 242 yards, two touchdown and one interception, and ran for 57 yards.
In addition to the team's mobile QBs, sophomore running back Devon Harris is fifth in the league with 66.1 rushing yards per game. In the receiving corps, sophomore Devin Martin has hauled in a team-high 38 catches for 309 yards and sophomore Kolby Cohen has tallied team-high 339 receiving yards and two touchdowns on 20 catches. Freshman Caleb Besaw has also notched 20 catches for 170 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, the Muskies are an aggressive group that will be looking to stifle the Red Devils' running game and force the visitors to make big plays.
Last week against Wisconsin Lutheran, the Red Devils made some big plays in the first half and tacked on a few more later on, but the game slipped away in the third quarter. After leading 14-0 after the first quarter and 21-14 at half, Eureka saw the Warriors come back and win it, 51-35.
To Barth, the takeaways of the game were obvious.
"When we do things the right way, we can play with just about anybody on our schedule," Barth said. "When we step away from that and step out of character, we're susceptible to giving up a lot.
"Our guys played hard in the first half, they did things the right way and had themselves in position to win a football game. Second half, we didn't do that. Wisconsin Lutheran got after us early in that second half, and we didn't respond."
The maroon and gold have seen what it can accomplish in bursts. Now, the team is looking to sustain its success. The key to getting over the hump is putting together a complete football game, staying steady from the first play to the last.
"You have got to be consistent in your approach, no matter what," Barth said. "You've got to stay attentive, focused, aggressive, working hard for 60 minutes, and that's what we have to do."