Sports Thoughts

Quarterback Niko Koshak and wide receiver Austin Selvick of the New Berlin Eisenhower football team put up some pretty startling numbers last week in the Lions' 48-7 romp over New Berlin West.

Koshak completed 11 of 13 passes for 319 yards, breaking the school single-game record for yards passing of 297 set by Joe Behrendt, who went 16-for-28 on Oct. 28, 1995.

Selvick caught eight of those tosses for 212 yards, shattering the school single-game receiving mark of 161 yards set by Ryan Schweiger that same night.

The two also hooked up for four touchdowns.

Now, those would be outstanding numbers for a game, but Koshak and Selvick both reached them in just the first half before sitting out the second half of the lopsided contest.

Those numbers are startling in themselves, but especially so in the light of the fact that Eisenhower has been primarily a running team over the years.

What in the name of Don Coryell was going on?

Well, it was actually all part of the Lions' game plan, which was cleverly built upon their own reputation. "They (the Vikings) wanted to stop the run," Koshak said, "and we wanted to see if we could pass on them."

Also, coach Jeff Setz, much like Miami Dolphins legend Don Shula, adjusted his philosophy to fit his talent. Shula won two Super Bowls with the pounding running style of Larry Csonka and Jim Kiick, but when Dan Marino, Mark Duper and Mark Clayton came along, Shula did an about-face, switching to a wide-open passing game, and went to another Super Bowl.

Similarly, Setz realized he had to utilize the special talent of Selvick. "We felt that we had some pretty good weapons," he said. "We've got some pretty good DB's (defensive backs) on our own team, and they have a hard time stopping Selvick in practice. We saw how good Selvick can really be, and Niko sure put the ball up there nicely and allowed him to make those catches out in space."

Throw in the explosive Ian McKechnie (a catch-and-run for 80 yards against West and several long kick returns this season), and it's easy to see why Eisenhower has outscored its four opponents in the first half by a combined 130-60.

Certainly nothing 'grind-it-out' about those numbers. Woodland opponents may have a hard time grounding the Lions this season.

As the temperatures get cooler, the varsity sports teams at Muskego High School look to be warming up nicely.

Several Warrior teams are off to hot starts, and it appears like the excitement will continue into October and November.

The boys soccer squad stands at 10-1 heading into this weekend's Wauwatosa West Quadrangular at Whitman Middle School. The Warriors are also 3-0 in Southeast Conference play and have claimed first place in the Brown Deer Cup and second in the Warrior Cup so far this season.

Their 1-0 victory over South Milwaukee on Sept. 16 was their eighth shutout of the season, but they also boast a strong and balanced offense. They have had six players score at least two goals in a particular game this season.

"I didn't know if we would get off to this quick a start," coach Eric Hess said, "but I knew we were capable of doing it."

The boys cross country team won the South Milwaukee Invitational on Sept. 13, while the girls took third, to go with two earlier second places in invitationals.

For the boys, Mike O'Connor ran the fourth-fastest time for a sophomore in school history at Grant Park, while the girls are led by sisters Taylor and Niki Drolshagen, who have been in the top 10 in their races.

The girls swimming team finished second at two major invitationals, its own Fountainwood meet and the Shorewood meet, and was 3-0 in Southeast duals going into this week. What's more, many of the key performers are underclassmen.

The girls volleyball unit, which has a strong tradition, has already won both the Warrior Invitational and Brookfield Invitational while going 3-0 in SEC duals going into Thursday's test against Racine Park.

"We really had to fight through some adversity (at the Brookfield Invite)," coach Karen Anderson said. "We did have slow starts most of the day, but our girls hung in there and never quit. They believed they could come back and win."

The other Muskego teams, while struggling at times, have also had their moments this season.

Overall, it looks like Muskego fans will have more to look forward to this fall than the colorama of leaves and pumpkin shopping.

Following are some thoughts after the first two weeks of high school football action:

I gathered two distinct views of the new spread offense, one from the offensive side and one from the defensive side:

From West Allis Central coach Dax Rodriguez, whose team switched to the spread this season and has scored 74 points in two games: "At times, we play well and at times, you can tell it's a first-year thing. It's so new to all of us; we have to refine it. You can tell it's getting ingrained."

From New Berlin West coach Jeff Grabo, whose Vikings have faced two spread foes and have allowed 82 points in two games: "This spread option stuff is still so new to a lot of us. You'd much rather see something you're used to. Even though we spent a lot of time in the off-season looking at it, there are still some things that we have to get used to. There's a reason why that offense is sweeping the country and everybody's doing it. This offense is not going to go away."

No matter what your perspective, one thing is clear: the spread offense is having an impact.

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Speaking of scoring, New Berlin Eisenhower put up points at a dizzying rate early in last week's 74-28 romp over Wauwatosa West.

The Lions' first touchdown came 18 seconds into the game, and the second followed at the 50-second mark on a punt return. At the one-minute mark of the first quarter, it was 41-0.

Fans might not want to get involved in any traffic jams on the way to Lions' games this season.

Coach Jeff Setz, who believed the 40-point quarter was a first in his career, said, "We're a good football team in all phases, and that showed it. Our defense was outstanding, our special teams made big plays and our offense used a lot of weapons. It came together so fast."

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West Allis Hale appears to be in the envious position of having two good quarterbacks this season.

The main man is senior Tommy Koch, last year's starter, but when Koch went down with a concussion in the opening game against Hartland Arrowhead, junior Josh Riche filled in well, hitting 2-of-3 passes for 39 yards and running for 19 more.

Koch sat out last week's contest agains Wilmot as a precautionary measure, and Riche shook off an early interception and passed for 67 yards and a touchdown while leading the Huskies in rushing with 85 yards.

"He's a good quarterback," coach Scott Otto said. "We're in good hands. Tommy should be back this week (against Wauwatosa East), but if he's not, Josh is ready to go."

That must make Otto feel good as the Huskies open play in the rugged and balanced Greater Metro Conference.