Football Fever 2014

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EDITOR: Eric Christenson DESIGN: Janae Breunig + Eric Christenson WRITERS: Tom Giffey + Luc Anthony + Tyler Jennings Henderson LISTINGS: Hailey Melander + Tyler Griggs HAS IT BEEN A YEAR ALREADY? Football season is ramping up once again which means soon life will consist solely of punts, kicks, spirals, and Hank Williams Jr. theme songs. And pigs-in-a-blanket. Please don’t forget the pigs-in-a- blanket this year, OK? Anyway, delve into this special section and gear up for a high-octane season in style. AAAAAAAAAAAND BREAK! B R O U G H T T O Y O U B Y :

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Transcript of Football Fever 2014

Page 1: Football Fever 2014

EDITOR: Eric ChristensonDESIGN: Janae Breunig + Eric ChristensonWRITERS: Tom Giffey + Luc Anthony + Tyler Jennings HendersonLISTINGS: Hailey Melander + Tyler Griggs

HAS IT BEEN A YEAR ALREADY? Football season is ramping up once again which means soon life will consist solely of punts, kicks, spirals, and Hank Williams Jr. theme songs. And pigs-in-a-blanket. Please don’t forget the pigs-in-a-blanket this year, OK? Anyway, delve into this special section and gear up for a high-octane season in style. AAAAAAAAAAAND BREAK!

BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

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T hese days, when the Green Bay Packers come to town, it’s to sign autographs and pose for pictures with fans.

In the old days, it was to butt heads with the locals on the gridiron to prepare for the regular season. Nearly 80 years ago, the legendary Packers rumbled with a team from Chippewa Falls, the Chippewa Marines, who put up a good fight against the pros – at least for a couple of quarters – and wrote a unique chapter in Chippewa Valley sports history.

Today’s NFL preseason games are played only against other NFL teams, and teams and their fans treat them with almost the same level of attention as regular-season contests. Back in pro football’s wild and woolly early days, however, the Packers warmed up for the regular season by barnstorming around their home state, taking on semi-pro and college all-star teams in exhibition games. In 1935, that meant games in Merrill, La Crosse, Stevens Point, and Chippewa Falls. Imagine today’s Packers taking on the semi-pro Chippewa Valley Preda-tors or the Eau Claire Crush, and you’ve got an idea of what it was like that Labor Day – Sept. 2, 1935 – at the fairgrounds in Chippewa Falls.

The Chippewa Marines’ lineup was filled with men who had experience play-ing college ball in Eau Claire, River Falls, and Whitewater, as well as for Army, Navy, and the University of Wisconsin. They also had one ringer on their roster: a color-ful halfback who played under the name Johnny Blood. The New Richmond native – whose given name was John McNally – had been a Packer from 1929-33. Blood, a future hall-of-famer, seems to have signed with the Marines as a way of attracting the attention of his old team in the hopes of getting a new contract.

A week before the game, the Eau Claire Leader reported that large crowds turned out in Chippewa Falls to watch the Marines’ two-a-day practices. “Interest of the fans appeared to be centered on the work of Johnny Blood, a former star per-former of the Green Bay Packers, who will be seen in a halfback position against his old teammates,” the newspaper reporter. “Blood’s passing, pass-receiving, and punt-ing created a lot of enthusiasm among the crowd.” In the same report, the Marines’ management is quoted as predicting the game “will be the largest ever to see a gridiron contest in northern Wisconsin.” A few days later, the newspaper said “reserved seats and boxes have been going like hotcakes.” Box seats cost $1.50, while general admission was $1.

Packers coach Curly Lambeau – him-self a future hall-of-famer and stadium namesake – and his team arrived in town two days before the game and worked out at the fairgrounds while the Marines practiced nearby at Glen Loch. “The (Chip-pewa) boys are all in the pink of condi-tion and anxious to enter the fray against the highly touted Green Bay aggregation which this year has been bolstered by the addition of a number of college stars who won renown by their playing last year,”

the Eau Claire Leader reported Sept. 1. “The Packers have a slight edge in weight” while “both teams are big and also fast,” the newspaper continued.

On game day, between 7,500 and 8,000 fans gathered at what is now know at the Northern Wisconsin State Fairgrounds to watch their hometown heroes take the field against the Packers. Objectively speaking, the Marines didn’t look like they stood a chance. For example, the Packers lineup included – in his very first pro game – Don Hutson; he went on to a hall-of-fame career and is generally considered the

THE DAY THE PACKERS CAME TO PLAYIn 1935, a bunch of guys from Chippewa Falls came close to beating the Green Bay Packers – at least for the first halfWORDS — TOM GIFFE Y

Information you already knew: Packers fans are the best in the NFLAsk any Packer fan who the best football fans in the world are and they’ll wash down a mouthful of barely-chewed fried cheese curds with a too-cold domestic brew, swallow and say “Packer fans, dude!” And that’s biased, of course, but now there’s actually some empirical evidence carved in stone (or Forbes Magazine, to be exact) that says, “Yeah, actually, they kinda are.” Research by Nielsen Scarborough states that 16 percent of adults who live in Green Bay aren’t fans of the team and everybody else is, meaning they’ve watched or attended games in the last year. And the Pack’s social media following (4.4 million Facebook likes and 700,000+ Twitter followers) far outweighs the population of Green Bay itself (just over 300,000). In the entire study, the Green & Gold scored the highest marks, except for two: TV ratings (second place) and merchandise sales through NFLShop.com (seventh place). –Eric Christenson

Objectively speaking, the Marines didn’t look like they stood a chance.

Ads like this one in the Eau Claire Leader touted the battle between the Packers and the local squad.

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greatest wide receiver of his era. (Near-ly 70 years after retiring, he still holds an astonishing 10 NFL records.) The Packers’ enviable roster also included four others – fullback Clarke Hinkle, tackle Cal Hubbard, quarterback Arnie Herber, and guard Mike Michalske – who are now enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Nonetheless, the game wasn’t a blow-out; in fact, it became a defensive battle. “The Packers were played to a standstill throughout the first two periods of the game, several times being thrown for losses,” the Chippewa Herald-Telegram reported. The Packers scored a field goal near the end of the first quarter, but went scoreless in the second quarter. Somehow the Marines had gone a full half against one of the best teams in the NFL and were only down 3-0.

The tide gradually turned in the sec-ond half. “Lambeau made frequent sub-stitutions in an effort to get his machine to click, which it finally did, but not smoothly for the Marines kept pegging away,” the Herald-Telegram reported. “Several times Packer passers were spilled for losses and numerous plays were broken up while still in the mak-ing.” The Pack scored again late in the third quarter, bringing the score to 10-0. “The Marine defense did not weaken un-til the fourth period was well underway, and up to this point the Packers were unable to make any consistent gains thru the Marine line and had to resort to end runs and passes,” the Eau Claire Leader reported the next day. However, the Packers scored two touchdowns in

the fourth quarter, running up the score to 22-0 before the game ended.

The game may have been a loss for the Marines, but it was a win for their star, Johnny Blood. After joining a La Crosse team that played the Packers in another exhibition game a few days later, he was re-signed to his old team and played with the Packers for two more years, including on their 1936 championship squad.

Unfortunately for the Marines, the 1935 season was their last (at least until they were reincarnated in 1947). None-theless, having a hometown squad put up a respectable showing against a team packed with pro football legends is still a notable achievement. As the Chippewa Herald’s Paul Huset wrote in a 2010 ret-rospective, “In a city full of history, the Marines’ game against the Packers re-mains one of the favorite claims to fame for many Chippewa Falls residents.”

THE FEW, THE PROUD, THE (CHIPPEWA) MARINES. The semi-pro Chippewa Marines, shown in the photo above from the Chippewa County Historical Society’s collec-tion, played the Green Bay Packers in an exhibition game in 1935. Future hall-of-famer Don Hutson, right, was a rookie for the Packers that year.

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CHAD CASCADDEN, CHIPPE WA FALLS

Linebacker, New York Jets (1995-99)A knee injury kept Cascadden from playing during his senior year at Chi-Hi, and he wasn’t recruited by major colleges. However, he found success as a walk-on for the Wisconsin Badgers and was a member of the team that won the 1994 Big Ten Championship and the Rose Bowl. He spent five seasons with the Jets after being signed as an undrafted free agent, and famously returned a fumble for a touchdown to clinch a playoff spot for the team in 1998.

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LOCAL TALENTThere are plenty of football fans in the Chippewa Valley, but we’ve produced our share of elite football players, too. Here’s a list of locals – who were either born, raised, or educated here – who went pro.COMPILED BY TOM G IFFE Y

FUZZY THURSTON, ALTOONA

Guard, Baltimore Colts (1958), Green Bay Packers (1959-67)Frederick Charles Thurston – better known as “Fuzzy” – was born and raised in Altoona, but didn’t play football for the Railroaders: Back then, they didn’t have a football team! He went to Valparaiso University in Indiana on a basketball scholarship and began playing football there, too. He made his NFL debut with the Colts in 1958 (they won a championship that year), then had a nine-season career with Green Bay. His storied career is summed up this way on Packers.com: “As one of the guards on Vince Lombardi’s offensive line, Thurston was a cog in the head coach’s famous power sweep play, which helped the Packers win five NFL titles in the 1960s” – including the first two Super Bowls.

PAT O’DONAHUE, E AU CL A IRE

Defensive end, San Francisco 49ers (1952), Green Bay Packers (1955)“Pat O’Donahue looks as Irish and plays as rugged a game of football as his name would imply,” declared The Capital Times in 1949. An Eau Claire native, O’Donahue attended what was then known as St. Patrick’s High School (now Regis) in the 1940s, where he was a standout in football and basketball. O’Donahue was an All-American for the Wisconsin Badgers in 1951, when he was a member of the “Hard Rocks,” the team’s best-in-the-nation defense. He played two seasons in the NFL. In 1987, he was part of the inaugural class named to the Regis High School Hall of Fame.

CUB BUCK, E AU CL A IRE

Tackle, Canton Bulldogs (1916-1920), Green Bay Packers (1921-25)Described as a “bruising, powerful behemoth” during his playing days – when he weighed a then-astonishing 289 pounds – Howard “Cub” Buck was standout athlete at Eau Claire High School more than a century ago. He went on to three successful seasons (1912-15) with the Wisconsin Badgers, where he earned All-Big Ten and All-American honors. After five seasons with the Canton Bulldogs (which joined the embryonic NFL in 1920), Buck be-came an early star for the Packers and their first coach, Curly Lambeau. He’s a member of the Packers Hall of Fame, the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame, and the UW Hall of Fame.

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TIM KRUMRIE, MONDOVIDefensive tackle, Cincinnati Bengals (1983-94)Krumrie was a star at Mondovi High School and then a two-time All-American for the Wisconsin Badgers. He went on to a 12-season career in Cincinnati and was twice an All-Pro. He broke his leg in two places during Super Bowl XXIII, but recovered (thanks to a 15-inch steel rod) and played six more seasons in Cincinnati. Krumrie played an unintended role in launching Brett Favre’s career in 1992 when Krumrie’s sack of then-Packers quarterback Don Majkowski brought Favre into the game – a game the future legend won in dramatic fashion.

JIM LEONHARD, TONY

Safety, various teams, most recently the Cleveland Browns (2005-present)Leonhard comes from the tiny Rusk County community of Tony, about 70 miles from Eau Claire, where he led Flam-beau High School to a state football championship. He was a walk-on to the Wiscon-sin Badgers, where he landed on the all-Big Ten team three times and set school and conference records. He was never drafted into the pros, but was signed by the Buffalo Bills in 2005 and later played for the Ravens, Jets, Broncos, Saints, and – beginning this season – the Browns.

MIKE MASLOWSKI, THORP

Linebacker, Kansas City Chiefs (1999-2003)A football, basketball, and baseball standout at Thorp High School, Maslows-ki went on to be a star for the UW-La Crosse Eagles, who won a national championship during his junior season in 1995. After playing in the Arena Football League and NFL Europe (where he set a league record for tackles), Maslowski was signed by the Chiefs. In his five seasons for Kansas City, he was known for his hard-hitting, no-nonsense style, and in 2000 he was part of USA Today’s All-Joe Team, which honors unsung blue-collar players.

TONY BECKHAM, UW-STOUT

Cornerback, Tennessee Titans (2002-05), Detroit Lions (2007)A three-time all-conference pick and two-time Division III All-American for UW-Stout, Beckham was drafted by the Titans in 2002 and played with the team for four seasons. He later spent part of the 2007 season with the Lions.

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BIG EXPECTATIONSAnnual survey of Valley sports media finds optimism for Packers, Badgers, and beyond.WORDS — LUC ANTHONY

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H ow big is football nowa-days? Big enough that NBC moved the Primetime Em-mys from their traditional

Sunday evening timeslot to a Monday, to make room for a preseason Sunday Night Football telecast. In other words, a game that does not count in the standings was a better ratings bet than one of the main TV awards shows – and awards shows have won good ratings in recent years.

How big is the NFL nowadays? Big enough that, according to reports, the league has inquired with prospective Super Bowl halftime performers to see if they would pay the NFL for the right to get that gig. Almost nowhere in the entertainment industry, at any level, does a performer pay a host or venue. When you are the behemoth professional sports organization in America, you can attempt to reverse the model and have a reasonable chance at success.

As you guessed by the subject of this edition of Volume One, football is so big that it is the one sport to warrant its own feature section in this publication – and the one sport to warrant a full-season, multi-performance-level prediction col-umn from me. Welcome to the Third An-nual Athletic Aesthetic Football Preview, where I asked members of the Chippewa Valley sports media for their take on the professional/college/high-school season to come. The sport is infused in our cul-ture, and while the issue of concussions could lead to a longer-term decline in popularity, that decline is past the hori-zon, if the decline is ever to be found.

“Decline” is not a term one would as-sociate with the Green Bay Packers, what with a new contract for General Manager Ted Thompson and the expectation that Aaron Rodgers may be in for a standout year – which, for Rodgers, is exceptional to ponder, and our respondents think he could challenge for MVP honors. The media expects a first-place finish in the NFC North and around 11 wins, making either the second or third round of the playoffs, but coming up short of a Super Bowl trip. As is always the case with the Pack of late, health will play a large fac-tor in the ultimate record for 2014.

We live in good times to be a football fan in Wisconsin, as not only do the Pack-ers regularly contend for the playoffs, but the Badgers are right around the top of their division. That would be a new di-vision this year, as the Big Ten – or B1G, as they stylize themselves – has dumped the oddity of the “Legends” and “Lead-

ers” with the arrival of Maryland and Rutgers, and re-sorted geographically to the West and East. The West Division should be topped by Bucky, according to the Chippewa Valley media, with an easy schedule helping out. A B1G Champion-ship Game win will not be in the cards, what with a powerful Michigan State team likely to take the conference from

the East Division, so you can already book your New Year’s trip to Florida for a likely Outback or Capital One Bowl berth. And while Melvin Gordon could get some Heisman talk, keep your eye out for fellow running back Corey Clement.

That statewide football success hiccups some as you descend to local col-lege football. The media does not expect much from either UW-Eau Claire or UW-Stout, with WIAC finishes on-average around fifth or sixth place, each team getting around three or four wins. Not helping the Blugolds’ situation is a tough schedule to start the season, with six of their first seven opponents either in the D3football.com Top 25 Poll or receiving votes. If you guessed UW-Whitewater as the WIAC favorite – again – you would be in agreement with the media members.

We have football prowess on the prep level here in the Valley, though the long wait for a state title from one of the

big city schools – North and Memorial – will continue, in the media respon-dents’ opinions. As is often the case, Menomonie and Hudson should finish at the top of the Big Rivers Conference, while this year, look for the Old Abes in the middle of the pack and the Huskies a little behind – though both might be better than you would think. If a BRC team is going to state, it will be one of the top two finishers, and matchups will be a factor in how far they advance.

Beyond the big boys, the smaller divisions will send their share of squads to state. Stanley-Boyd is the pick to not only take the Cloverbelt Conference, but

repeat as Division 5 champions; expect some success from Somerset, as well. Remember the names Ronny Ponick and Zach Turner from Stanley-Boyd, and Jaxon Brown at Regis, as being among the standout players in the area. And, as respondent Jimmie Kaska noted, the coming season is already a win in his hometown of Cadott, as they now have their football team back on the gridiron.

Your resident Vikings fan needs to chime in here: The biggest excitement for my team is the first of two seasons of possibly cold, wintry outdoor football while their new clear-roofed stadium is built on the Metrodome site. There is enough talent there to get the team perhaps a little below .500, especially once new coach Mike Zimmer starts to gel with the team and the Vikes get past a rough start to their schedule.

Whether another title for Titletown USA, an MVP or Heisman Trophy for a Wisconsin-based player, a long-awaited trip to state or the rare opportunity to watch a game while experiencing snow and windchill, there is always a big reason to follow this season of football. Clear your schedule, pay your money for tickets or TV services, and join the crowd. The big, big crowd.

‘Decline’ is not a term one would associate with the Green Bay Packers, with the expectation that Aaron

Rodgers may be in for a standout year.

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Aaron Rodgers

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PRESEASON PREPBlugolds – football team and marching band alike – start preseason warmups and take the field together.WORDS — T YLER JENN INGS HENDERSON

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The BandBlugold Marching Band members are lucky if

they’re able to find any part of the calendar year to kick back and relax.

“Not for me,” said senior drum major Nick Hans-berry about possible free time. “For some there’s a three month block without marching band, but that’s pep band season, a contingency of the marching band.”

Fondly referred to as the “BMB,” these students have a march-ing season that begins just before classes and ends in November, but the work continues after weekend football games and marching exhibitions. Students can register for a class that allows them to take part in the creative process, picking the artists and tunes that are going to be featured in the show in the following fall. “Dr. (Randy) Dickerson arranges the music all summer,” said Hansberry. “But the drum line writes the percussion parts.”

As summer comes to an end, the color guard and drum line show up two weeks before classes. “We use that time to bond a little more, do team building,” said senior drum line consultant Jack Donovan. “But we play a lot too, learning the exer-cises and the show music.”

The week before classes is for marching band camp, beginning at 8am and going until 5:30 every night. Hansberry said they start with a four-hour block where we warm up, learn the music, then learn the drill. “We get to hear the music for the first time. ... It’s a really neat experience, and you start to get really excited for the season.” As drill is internalized, the process becomes more complicated. “All 300 people on the field pointing to where they’re going, going there in 8-16 counts, and just memorizing it so that they not only know where to go, but how to relate to every-one else around them,” he said. “It can be a tedious process … but it’s fun.”

Although the entire season takes a toll on the band’s members, Hansberry said the reward of a relationship with the athletic program is worth it. “We are very fortunate to be in an area where we are so supported by the football team and the athletic director,” he said. “Every game, win or lose, the football players come ap-plaud us because they really enjoy what we do.”

The TeamEveryone who knows a lick about sports knows that there is a rigorous train-

ing period that goes along with a season. The Blugold Football team is no excep-tion, beginning their practices two weeks before school

is in session.Junior Ellis Williams, a wide receiver for the team,

can vouch for the intensity of the two-week period. Starting at the break of dawn, players can get their inju-

ries tended to in the training room as early as 5am before their 6:30 practice. After two hours of football, the team

grabs breakfast before breaking down the film from the previous day’s work. After lunch, “double days”

mean another practice before breaking for dinner, fol-lowed by more film study. “The body gets sore and you get

pretty nicked up,” Williams said. “But it’s a fun experience”.When game day rolls around in 2014, the team has a new home game ritual.

Instead of driving individually, the team changes together in McPhee on campus before getting bussed to Carson Park. There, they meet with the fans before the game then proceed to do warm-ups together.

After drills, stretching, and running basic plays, the marching band plays them out onto the field.

“We love the marching band,” Williams said. “Eau Claire has a nationally recognized marching band. ... We’re no dummies. People are there to see foot-ball, but the marching band brings their own crowd as well.”

The atmosphere at Carson Park becomes electric, and the football team has no problem giving the marching band credit for making the experience some-thing that they’ll never forget.

“It’s every kid’s dream to play college football and have that marching band going, with the energy that creates,” Williams said. “Without the marching band there to create that energy, it would be a completely different experience. They are a huge part of what makes Carson Park such a special place to play football.”

repeat as Division 5 champions; expect some success from Somerset, as well. Remember the names Ronny Ponick and Zach Turner from Stanley-Boyd, and Jaxon Brown at Regis, as being among the standout players in the area. And, as respondent Jimmie Kaska noted, the coming season is already a win in his hometown of Cadott, as they now have their football team back on the gridiron.

Your resident Vikings fan needs to chime in here: The biggest excitement for my team is the first of two seasons of possibly cold, wintry outdoor football while their new clear-roofed stadium is built on the Metrodome site. There is enough talent there to get the team perhaps a little below .500, especially once new coach Mike Zimmer starts to gel with the team and the Vikes get past a rough start to their schedule.

Whether another title for Titletown USA, an MVP or Heisman Trophy for a Wisconsin-based player, a long-awaited trip to state or the rare opportunity to watch a game while experiencing snow and windchill, there is always a big reason to follow this season of football. Clear your schedule, pay your money for tickets or TV services, and join the crowd. The big, big crowd.

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NFL: NFC NORTHGreen Bay Packers Sep. 4, 7:30pm at Seahawks // Sep. 14, 3:25pm vs. Jets // Sep. 21, noon at Lions // Sep. 28, noon at Bears // Oct. 2, 7:25pm vs. Vikings // Oct. 12, noon at Dolphins // Oct. 19, noon vs. Panthers // Oct. 26, 7:30pm at Saints // Nov. 9, 7:30pm vs. Bears // Nov. 16, noon vs. Eagles // Nov. 23, noon at Vikings // Nov. 30, 3:25pm vs. Patriots // Dec. 8, 7:30pm vs. Falcons // Dec. 14, noon at Bills // Dec. 21, noon at Buccaneers // Dec. 28, noon vs. Lions.Minnesota Vikings Sep. 7, noon at Rams // Sep. 14, noon vs. Patriots // Sep. 21, noon at Saints // Sep. 28, 3:25pm vs. Falcons // Oct. 2, 7:25pm at Packers // Oct. 12, noon vs. Lions // Oct. 19, noon at Bills // Oct. 26, noon at Buc-caneers // Nov. 2, noon vs. Redskins // Nov. 16, noon at Bears // Nov. 23, noon vs. Packers // Nov. 30, noon vs. Panthers // Dec. 7, noon vs. Jets // Dec. 14, noon at Lions // Dec. 21, noon at Dolphins // Dec. 28, noon vs. Bears.Chicago Bears Sep. 7, noon vs. Bills // Sep. 14, 7:30pm at 49ers // Sep. 22, 7:30pm at Jets // Sep. 28, noon vs. Packers // Oct. 5, noon at Panthers // Oct. 12, noon at Falcons // Oct. 19, noon vs. Dolphins // Oct. 26, noon at Patriots // Nov. 9, 7:30pm at Packers // Nov. 16, noon vs. Vikings // Nov. 23, noon vs. Buccaneers // Nov. 27, 11:30am at Lions // Dec. 4, 7:25pm vs. Cowboys // Dec. 15, 7:30pm vs. Saints // Dec. 21, noon vs. Lions // Dec. 28, noon at Vikings.Detroit Lions Sep. 8, 7:10pm vs. Giants // Sep. 14, 1pm at Panthers // Sep. 21, 1pm vs. Packers // Sep. 28, 1pm at Jets // Oct. 5, 1pm vs. Bills // Oct. 12, 1pm at Vikings // Oct. 19, 1pm vs. Saints // Oct. 26, 9:30am at Falcons // Nov. 9, 1pm vs. Dolphins // Nov. 16, 4:25pm at Cardinals // Nov. 23, 1pm at Patriots // Nov. 27, 12:30pm vs. Bears // Dec. 7, 1pm vs. Buccaneers // Dec. 14, 1pm vs. Vikings

// Dec. 21, 1pm at Bears // Dec. 28, 1pm at Packers.

NCAA: D1Wisconsin Badgers Sep. 6, 11am vs. Western Illinois // Sep. 20 (time TBA) vs. Bowling Green // Sep. 27 (time TBA) vs. South Florida // Oct. 4 (time TBA) at North-western // Oct. 11 (time TBA) vs. Illinois // Oct. 25, 11am vs. Maryland // Nov. 1, 11am at Rutgers // Nov. 8 (time TBA) at Purdue // Nov. 15 (time TBA) vs. Nebraska // Nov. 22 (time TBA) at Iowa // Nov. 29 (time TBA) vs. Minnesota // Dec. 6 (time TBA) Big Ten Championship in Indianapolis. Minnesota Golphers Sep. 6, 2:30pm vs. Middle Tennes-see State // Sep. 13, 3pm at TCU // Sep. 20 (time TBA) vs. San Jose State // Sep. 27 (time TBA) at Michigan // Oct. 11 (time TBA) vs. Northwestern // Oct. 18, 11am vs. Purdue // Oct. 25, 11am at Illinois // Nov. 8 (time TBA) vs. Iowa // Nov. 15 (time TBA) vs. Ohio State // Nov. 22 (time TBA) at Nebraska // Nov. 29 (time TBA) at Wis-consin.

NEFLOur local Northern Elite Footbal League teams’ 2015 schedules are TBA. Their seasons tend to run late April-late July. Refer to the following contact info for details.

Chippewa Valley Predators www.cvpredators.com.

Eau Claire Crush www.eauclairecrush.com.

Menomonie Thunderhawks www.thawksfootball.com.

LOCAL COLLEGESUW-Eau Claire Sep. 6, 1:10pm at St. Thomas // Sep. 13, 6pm vs. Saint John’s // Sep. 20, 1pm at Wheaton // Oct. 4, 2:30pm vs. UW-Platteville // Oct. 11, 1pm at UW-Stevens Point // Oct. 18, 2pm vs. UW-Whitewater // Oct. 25, 1pm at UW-River Falls // Nov. 1, 1pm vs. UW-Stout // Nov. 8, 2pm at UW-Oshkosh // Nov. 15, 11:30am vs. UW-La Crosse. UW-Stout Sep. 6, 1pm at Dakota Wesleyan Univer-sity // Sep. 13, 2pm vs. Loras College // Sep. 20, 7pm at Wartburg College // Oct. 4, 2pm at UW-Oshkosh // Oct. 11, 2pm vs. UW-Whitewater // Oct. 18, 1pm at UW-La Crosse // Oct. 25, 2pm vs. UW-Platteville // Nov. 1, 1pm at UW-Eau Claire // Nov. 8, 1pm vs. UW-River Falls // Nov. 15, 1pm at UW-Stevens Point.

LOCAL HIGH SCHOOLSGames’ start times are TBA unless otherwise noted.Altoona High School Sep. 5 vs. Regis // Sep. 12 at

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CATCH A GAME: local schedules

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EARLY TACKLES. The Blugold football team has been practicing for its Sept. 6 season opener at St. Thomas.

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Page 9: Football Fever 2014

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CATCH A GAME: local schedules Neillsville // Sep. 19 vs. Osseo-Fairchild // Sep. 26 vs. Pittsville // Oct. 3 vs. Spencer/Columbus // Oct. 10 vs. Stanley-Boyd // Oct. 17 at Cadott.Augusta High School Sep. 5 vs. Cochrane-Fountain City // Sep. 12, 7pm at Independence/Gilmanton // Sep. 19 at Eleva-Strum // Sep. 26 vs. Alma Center Lincoln // Oct. 3 at Whitehall // Oct. 10 at Melrose-Mindoro // Oct. 17 vs. Blair-Taylor.Bloomer High School Sep. 5 vs. Northwestern // Sep. 12 at Ladysmith // Sep. 19 at Barron // Sep. 26 vs. Chetek-Weyerhaeuser // Oct. 3 at Hayward // Oct. 10 vs. Spooner // Oct. 17 at Cumberland.Cadott High School Sep. 5 vs. Stanley-Boyd // Sep. 12 vs. Fall Creek // Sep. 19 at Spencer-Columbus // Sep. 26 vs. Colby // Oct. 3 at Tomahawk // Oct. 11 at Regis // Oct. 17 vs. Altoona.Chippewa Falls High School Sep. 5 at Memorial // Sep. 12 vs. Superior // Sep. 19 vs. River Falls // Sep. 26 at North // Oct. 3 vs. Hudson // Oct. 10 at Menomonie // Oct. 17 vs. Rice Lake.Colfax High School Sep. 5 at St. Croix Central // Sep. 12 vs. Spring Valley // Sep. 19 at Glenwood City // Sep. 26 vs. Elk Mound // Oct. 3 at Tigerton/Marion // Oct. 10 at Mondovi // Oct. 17 vs. Boyceville.Durand High School Sep. 5 vs. Ellsworth // Sep. 12 at New Richmond // Sep. 19 at Baldwin-Woodville // Sep. 26 vs. Amery // Oct. 3 vs. Osceola // Oct. 10 at Prescott // Oct. 17 vs. Somerset.Eau Claire Memorial High School Sep. 5 vs. Chippewa Falls // Sep. 12 at River Falls // Sep. 18 vs. Eau Claire North // Sep. 26 at Hudson // Oct. 3 vs. Menomonie // Oct. 10 at Rice Lake // Oct. 17 at Superior.Eau Claire North High School Sep. 5, 7pm at Menomonie // Sep. 12, 7pm vs. Rice Lake // Sep. 18, 7pm at Memorial // Sep. 26, 7pm vs. Chippewa Falls // Oct. 3, 7pm at River Falls // Oct. 10, 7pm vs. Superior // Oct. 17, 7pm vs. Hudson.

Eau Claire Regis High School Sep. 5 at Altoona // Sep. 12 at Marathon // Sep. 18 vs. Colby // Sep. 27 at Spencer/Columbus // Oct. 3 vs. Neillsville // Oct. 11 vs. Cadott // Oct. 16 vs. Fall Creek.Eleva-Strum High School Sep. 5 at Melrose-Mindoro // Sep. 12 vs. Alma Center Lincoln // Sep. 19 vs. Augusta // Sep. 26 at Blair-Taylor // Oct. 3 at Cochrane-Fountain City // Oct. 10 vs. Whitehall // Oct. 17, 7pm vs. Inde-pendence/Gilmanton.Elk Mound High School Sep. 5 at Spring Valley // Sep. 12 vs. Glenwood City // Sep. 19 at Port Edwards // Sep. 26 at Colfax // Oct. 3 vs. Mondovi // Oct. 10 at Boycev-ille // Oct. 17 vs. St. Croix Central.Fall Creek High School Sep. 5 at Colby // Sep. 12 at Cadott // Sep. 19 vs. Auburndale // Sep. 26 at Stanley-Boyd // Oct. 3 vs. Osseo-Fairchild // Oct. 10 vs. Neills-ville // Oct. 16 at Regis.McDonell Central High School Sep. 5 vs. Newman // Sep. 11 vs. Abbotsford // Sep. 19 7pm at Greenwood/Granton // Sep. 26 at Athens // Oct. 4 vs. Assumption // Oct. 10 vs. Thorp // Oct. 17 at Loyal.Menomonie High School Sep. 5 vs. Eau Claire North // Sep. 12 at Hudson // Sep. 19 vs. Superior // Sep. 26 vs. Rice Lake // Oct. 3 at Eau Claire Memorial // Oct. 10 vs. Chippewa Falls // Oct. 17 at River Falls.Mondovi High School Sep. 5 at Boyceville // Sep. 12 vs. St. Croix Central // Sep. 19 at Spring Valley // Sep. 26 vs. Glenwood City // Oct. 3 at Elk Mound // Oct. 10 vs. Colfax // Oct. 17, 5pm vs. Antigo.Osseo-Fairchild High School Sep. 5, 7pm vs. Chequa-megon // Sep. 12 vs. Stanley-Boyd // Sep. 19 at Altoona // Sep. 26 vs. Neillsville // Oct. 3 at Fall Creek // Oct. 10 vs. Colby // Oct. 17 at Spencer-Columbus.Stanley-Boyd High School Sep. 5 at Cadott // Sep. 12 at Osseo-Fairchild // Sep. 19 vs. Neillsville // Sep. 26 vs. Fall Creek // Oct. 3 at Colby // Oct. 10 at Altoona.

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