Pioneer football picked third in tough WIAC
Platteville, Wis.- When the University of Wisconsin-Platteville football team welcomes East Texas Baptist University to Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium for a 6 p.m. kick on Thursday, Sept. 2, it will be 656 days since the Pioneers last competed in a game. Head Coach Mike Emendorfer is in his 23rd year at UW-Platteville and returns seven starters on the offensive side of the ball, led by All-Conference senior quarterback Colin Schuetz, senior wide receiver Donald Allender and senior offensive lineman Carter Brehm.
Platteville, Wis.- When the University of Wisconsin-Platteville football team welcomes East Texas Baptist University to Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium for a 6 p.m. kick on Thursday, Sept. 2, it will be 656 days since the Pioneers last competed in a game. Head Coach Mike Emendorfer is in his 23rd year at UW-Platteville and returns seven starters on the offensive side of the ball, led by All-Conference senior quarterback Colin Schuetz, senior wide receiver Donald Allender and senior offensive lineman Carter Brehm.
"Like every other college football program, we are excited," Emendorfer said. "Before this pre-season camp, it has been over 700 days since we had a pre-season camp. Just to have the two to three weeks of all football only is special. Having our new players come in and especially seeing our seniors who thought their final year wasn't going to happen; many of them came back for the 2021 season, and we are very grateful for them."
The Pioneers will look to extend the consecutive win streak on opening night to 22 games when ETBU visits. Emendorfer is a perfect 21-0 in openers. The Pioneers will turn to Schuetz to lead the team.
"Having Colin back, going into his senior year and third as a starter, he has really grown and matured into a tremendous leader," Emendorfer said. "Anytime you have a quarterback with experience gives you a fighting chance. He is one of the better ones that has played here at UW-Platteville."
The 2019 Pioneers led the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in points per a game (34.7), pass efficiency (143.6) and third down conversions (44.5 %), and they were third in total offense per game (403.4).
Schuetz led the league in passing efficiency (145.7) and completion percentage (60.8). He was second in touchdowns thrown (25), yards thrown (2,873), yards thrown per a game (287.3), attempts (367), completions (223) and second fewest interceptions (6).
Schuetz will be relied on for his leadership and skills on the offensive side of the ball, but Emendorfer is also excited for other talent he is seeing on that side of the ball.
"With Allender, Brandt Stare, Ben Wilson, Austin Guy and David Urke, we have a lot of core players that are returning that have experience in the system," Emendorfer said. "We will be young on the offensive line; we will have some freshmen and sophomores that have some experience. There is talent there, but we will have to develop them. Overall, offensively, we have some explosive players and young talent. It is a good combination."
Allender led the Pioneers with nine touchdown catches, including a season and career long of 90 yards.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Pioneers will need to replace nine starters, but Emendorfer took the hardship of the COVID-19 pandemic and looked at it as a positive.
"We graduated eight or nine seniors on defense after the 2019 season," Emendorfer said. "We have some very young talented players that needed seasoning. Having the opportunity to practice as much as we did in the spring benefited a lot of those young players. We have a lot of freshmen and sophomores that are fighting for playing time."
The Pioneers were the third best team in scoring defense (21.3), even though they were second-to-last in total yards allowed per a game (386.5).
The bend but do not break defense led the WIAC with 17 interceptions and were the toughest team to score against in the red zone. The Pioneers allowed the opponent to enter the red zone 45 times but only surrendered 21 touchdowns and four field goals.
The Pioneers will lean on the defensive line in the 2021 season.
"I think our strength on defense will be our defensive line," Emendorfer said. "Justin Blazek, Logan Ketelhut and Tyler Bacon, combined, could be one of our best defensive lines we have had here in many years. Sam Smith is a transfer that will play middle linebacker; we are excited about him and many others."
After opening at home with ETBU, the Pioneers will face two new opponents on the road. The Pioneers travel to Minnesota to take on Bethel on Saturday, Sept. 11, before making the trip to Indiana to face Franklin on Saturday, Sept. 18.
Following the non-conference season, the Pioneers will use a bye week leading up to a tough WIAC schedule.
"It is a very physical conference," Emendorfer said. "I call it the truth league; it tells you the truth every Saturday. You have to be physically and mentally prepared to make it through this league."
The Pioneers will welcome 2019 co-champion UW-Oshkosh to Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium for a 2 p.m. kick on Saturday, Oct. 2, before heading to pre-season favorite and the other 2019 co-champion, UW-Whitewater, on Saturday, Oct. 9, for a 1 p.m. kick.
The annual Homecoming game is Saturday, Oct., 16, when UW-Stevens Point visits for a 2 p.m. contest.
UW-Platteville and the football program will honor the seniors on Saturday, Nov. 13, when UW-Stout visits for the final regular season game.
To follow the Pioneers all season, visit www.Letsgopioneers.com for links for live stats, postgame recaps and links for the contests that are live streamed. Follow the official social media accounts of Pioneer Athletics on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.