You may see the navy or white jerseys walking around the hallway or maybe even a few of the players might be friends of yours. It’s no secret that the football team is a big part of the Appleton North student population. Many students either go to the Friday night games or play football on either the freshman, junior varsity, or varsity teams. With playoffs just around the corner, the football team has been preparing long and hard for these upcoming games. But how exactly has the team’s year been?
The varsity team has had many successes and challenges this year. One specific challenge the team has faced is players with injuries. Rob Salm, the head football coach, said, “We’ve had quite a few kids that have been injured for a short time and some are out for the season.” Despite these injuries, the team has had many younger players step up to the varsity team that normally wouldn’t play until their junior or senior year.
This year has brought out many leaders from the senior class. They have helped the rest of the team and the coaches navigate practice and games without the injured players. Salm talks about the two captains, Mitch Mologne and Hayden Kreul, “They bring a great team attitude along with high expectations for the team.” These leaders will definitely help the team as they go into playoffs. They can help the team focus on getting better every single day and trying not to get too far ahead of themselves Salm said.

With each new season brings new competition. “[Competition] has definitely improved overall. A couple teams that haven’t had a lot of success have new coaches and have gotten the school excited about football again so more kids come out. Therefore, there is more competition.” This new competition hasn’t gotten in the way of the team and they continue to be proud of what they do and act together as a team.