Schools

Greenfield, Whitnall Ready for Gridiron Showdown

Both teams are in the top half of the conference standings, with Whitnall tied for first place with Greendale.

Picture this: Moments after the scoreboard clock displays all zeroes, the players on the winning team of Friday’s Greenfield-Whitnall varsity football showdown race to the sidelines, grab a trophy, or maybe a brick or some other prized artifact and raise it high above their heads for all their fans to see.

It won’t happen this Friday after the host the at 7 p.m. in a Woodland Conference contest, but if Whitnall coach Rob Lebouef gets his way, it could happen soon.

“I wouldn’t mind getting some kind of trophy, a City of Greenfield type of thing that we’d pass back and forth, with it going to the victor of the game,” said Leboeuf, who is in his eighth season at Whitnall. “That would be a neat idea.

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“We don’t want to manufacture it. It’s got to be something that’s already sacred, that’s part of the heritage of the community.”

The Greenfield-Whitnall intercity rivalry is not one filled with intensity or hatred. It is more one of friendly competition and narrow margins of victory. The Falcons have won four of the last seven matchups, but had a three-game winning streak snapped last fall when Greenfield came to Whitnall and beat the Falcons on their homecoming night, 38-33.

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That victory snapped the Hawks’ 15-game losing streak.

“Is it a rivalry? Since I’ve been here, I sure think it is,” Leboeuf said. “They’ve been close games and they know what’s at stake.”

Said Otto, “It seems like it’s not a bitter rivalry. It’s a healthy one. Where it gets kind of antsy for us, it’s between Greenfield and Greendale.”

So far, so good for both teams

The Falcons come into the meeting tied for first with Greendale at 3-0 in the Woodland Black Division and 3-1 overall. The Hawks are a game behind the division front-runners at 2-1 and 2-2 overall.

Thus far, the Falcons have been piling up offensive yards both through the air and on the ground, much like they did in two years ago when then-junior quarterback Joel Stave and then-senior running back Sean Graham gave Whitnall a balanced attack.

This year, it’s a three-headed monster of quarterback Luke Mentkowski, wide receiver Stephen Pelkofer and running back Travis Karweik, all seniors.

Mentkowski leads all players within the Milwaukee Patch area with 865 passing yards with five touchdowns on 52-of-85 passing. Pelkofer, Mentkowski’s primary target, tops all Patch-area players with 28 catches for 390 yards with two scores.

And Karweik leads a running attack that was largely absent last fall with 541 yards on 96 carries (8 TDs), the most for any player in a Milwaukee area Patch community.

“That’s something we always strive for, balance on offense,” Leboeuf said. “We don’t want to throw it 50 times.”

The Falcons did learn Wednesday they will be without slot receiver Danny Weymier for the rest of the season. The junior suffered a season-ending ankle injury in the first quarter of a .

For the Hawks, it’s run, run and run some more out of the wishbone offense. Senior running backs Andy Lucas (334 yards, 4 TDs) and Bathong Pham (280 yards, 3 TDs) and senior quarterback Tyler Laverdure (283 yards, 3 TDs) are all averaging 70 yards or more per game.

Playoff hopes alive for both schools

Greenfield is coming off a huge win at home on Sept. 9. After going just 1-3 at home a year ago, the Hawks opened their home season with a 24-7 victory over the Rockets, a team many consider the Woodland’s best.

The victory could go a long way in snapping the Hawks’ lengthy playoff drought. Greenfield had not made the playoffs since 2002 but needs just two wins in five games to qualify this fall. And with teams such as Wauwatosa West (1-3) and New Berlin West (1-3) still on the schedule, Otto likes his team’s chances.

“I like our schedule,” Otto said. “I’m not disrespecting New Berlin West or Tosa West. But we believe we have a better team than both those schools. Good teams are consistent and win games they should win and give themselves a chance to win games that should be a toss-up.”

As for the Falcons, they find themselves not only tied for first in the conference but just one win away from qualifying for the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season (Whitnall qualified for the playoffs in 2007 but did not make the final field).

“And it’s not going to get any easier,” Leboeuf said. “You look at our schedule. You have Greenfield, they’ve beaten some good teams. We’re playing the best teams coming up. … It’s going to be a tough road when you look at what’s ahead of us.”


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