Experienced group leads Menomonee Falls
Prior to the 2020 prep football season, the Journal Sentinel will unveil its preseason top 10. Today we take a look at the area’s fourth-ranked team.
Thank goodness there is a football season.
That is the sentiment of Menomonee Falls coach Dan Lutz and not because he is expected to lead one of the best teams in the state. For him, it’s about the people.
“It’s probably one of the best senior classes I’ve had in terms of leadership and for those type of kids you’re looking for,” said Lutz who is entering his 11th season as a head coach. “I’m excited that we get to play this year and see what we can do.”
Expectations are high at Falls due to what could be its best team in recent memory. In addition to a 26-man senior class, there are 10 players who claimed 14 spots on the all-conference team last season after the Phoenix shared the Greater Metro Conference title with Brookfield Central.
With that experience has come confidence.
“The thing with that is you can’t be overconfident,” Lutz said. “You’ve got to be ready. You’ve got to take everyone 100%. You’ve got to go hard. … To their credit, last year they backed it up. It’s going to be whether or not we can back it up again this year.”
Back to make another run at the GMC title is the Phoenix’s top passer (senior Nate McLean), top two receivers (senior Quentin Redding and junior Evan Redding) as well as its second-, third-, fourth and fifth-leading tacklers..
This is the kind of experience most teams never reach, especially at quarterback. McLean has played in 19 games the past two seasons while throwing for 2,107 yards and 23 touchdowns. Last year he completed 56% (87 of 155) of his passes for 1,466 yards.
“He knows he can do it and he’s confident about it. He’s done it before,” Lutz said.
“He just has that look about him that he’s confident. Also, his throwing motion is better this year.”
The big question for the Phoenix comes on the offensive line where two starters must be replaced, but its situation there is better than most considering all-conference picks in seniors Ben Janowski, Brian Fullerton and Connor Dortbudak return. The defensive front returns no starters but has back a few players who play lot of snaps last season.
“It’s a very enjoyable experience. It’s just a matter of staying on them and making sure they’re pushing themselves,” Lutz said. “You know they know what they’re doing, you know when the bullets start flying they’re going to be ready to go.”