Wednesday, September 18, 2024
The Hortonville Polar Bears, after a two-year absence, made their return to the WIAA playoffs under the leadership of first-year Head Coach Nick Reichert as they completed a 5-5 campaign in 2023 and a 4-3 record in the Wisconsin Valley.
They concluded the season after a 20-9 loss in the opening round of the playoffs to Cedarburg.
2024 will see the Polar Bears move into the Fox Valley Association, which includes Appleton East, Appleton North, Fond du Lac, Kaukauna, Kimberly, Neenah, and Oshkosh West. Five teams (Appleton North, Fond du Lac, Kaukauna, Kimberly, and Neenah) participated in the playoffs in 2023.
A stout defense led the way for the Polar Bears last season as they surrendered only 13.4 points per game and boasted ten honorees to the All-Conference team. The first-team included Co-Defensive Player of the Year defensive lineman Ben Smith, who was a unanimous selection, defensive lineman Aidan Roh and linebacker Miles Sillas, second-team linebacker Stuart Ellenbecker and safety Sam Buelow and honorable mention defensive lineman Sam Bellile and cornerback Kane Fletcher, each of those players graduated in 2024.
Coach Reichert on the defense, “Going back to last year, that unit was fun to be around, they went out there and played fast and played hard.”
The Polar Bears still have a core of players to build their defense around as three All-Conference performers return.
First-team selection defensive lineman Reggie Kloehn was Co-Defensive Player of the Year, first-team defensive lineman Matthew Speilman, and second-team cornerback Seth Valeri.
“It’s going to be a big thing to fill the shoes of all the seniors that left,” Spielman said, “I’m getting prepared, I hit weights hard this offseason, everybody did, we got players to fill the spots, we have players to fill the spots, I think we/re going to be pretty good.”
Kloehn, a recent Idaho Vandals commitment, believes the defensive line is the team’s biggest strength.
“What our leadership does in improving our players on the d-line, we have great leaders, and our front four is really, really good.”
The offense is losing talent as well, with unanimous First-Team selection offensive lineman Noah Draeger and honorable mention honorees offensive lineman Bo Anderson, tight end Tate Denkins, wide receivers Colin Wendt and Winston Peters, and running back Gavin Vallner.
The offense can still be effective with returning honorable mention honorees quarterback Broden Butzin, running back Levi Strange, and offensive lineman Logan Gaffney.
The Polar Bears believe they have what it takes to have a successful transition into the Fox Valley Association.
Coach Reichert, “Just trying to build consistency and just keep trying to make the playoffs as we keep going and build excitement around the program.”
The Polar Bears begin their season on Friday, Aug. 23, on the road against West De Pere.
