Championship football season earns rewards

The greatest season in Grafton High School football history came with matching accolades.

The Black Hawks went 14-0, setting a school record for victories on their way to the third state championship in school history. They won their fourth straight Woodland Conference title in their final year in the league.

Coach Jim Norris was named the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association Coach of the Year, in addition to the same honor by the Woodland Conference.

Senior inside linebacker Tyler Heinle and senior defensive end Max Glab were named to the WFCA large-school all-state honorable mention squad.

In the Woodland, Heinle was named Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season and Glab was the Defensive Lineman of the Year. Max Muilenburg was named Offensive Lineman of the Year. Offensive line coach and running game coordinator Mike Seefeld was named Assistant Coach of the Year.

Grafton’s first-team all-conference picks

Heinle made 92 tackles, including 17 for loss during the season  (34 and six in the Woodland), forced and recovered two fumbles, returned one for a touchdown and made an interception.

He is choosing not to play college football, but Norris said he fielded around 20 calls from multiple power conference teams inquiring about Heinle.

“He’s a high, high-level Division 1 linebacker. Week in and week out, he was one of the best football players on the field,” Norris said. “He never missed a beat for our team. I appreciate his leadership and his character.”

Norris said he could tell if opponents had game planned for Heinle. If not, “he would just run circles around them.”

Glab made 62 tackles, including 32 for loss with 12 sacks (23, 14, five in WC),  forced two fumbles and returned an interception for a touchdown. He recorded a state-record 17 tackles in the state semifinal against Catholic Memorial, along with catching the winning touchdown in overtime.

Glab moved from outside linebacker to defensive end this season in order to keep the most talented defenders on the field. He grew into the position and was a team co-captain.

“You could really see him dive into the technicality of playing edge — how to play against guys bigger and taller than him as tackles,” Norris said.

“I don’t know if I can put the right words together to describe what he’s done for the program. I’m super proud of him.”

Muilenburg, a senior tackle, has been a three-year starter on the offensive line and started more than 36 games.

“He’s an absolute force. He sewed up a lot in pass protection and made sure we were locking down some the backside stuff or at the point in our run game,” Norris said.

Muilenburg was also named to the first team as a defensive tackle.

On the defensive line, he had 73 tackles, including 16 for loss and 5.5 sacks (23, four and 2.5 in the WC). He will play defensive tackle in Division II for Northern State in Aberdeen, S.D.

Muilenburg played through a shoulder injury he didn’t tell anyone about for much of the season and had surgery two weeks after the title game.

“He’s just an absolute warrior, a team-first type guy,” Norris said.

Senior wide receiver Tyler Deer led the state and set a school record with 80 catches. He racked up 1,227 yards receiving with  12 touchdowns. He also ran 20 times for 198 yards and three scores. In the Woodland, he had 46 catches for 596 yards and six touchdowns, and 13 carries for 150 yards and two scores.

Deer is one of a few players who started 40 games for the Hawks and was a team leader.

“Our receiver room was always pretty crowded with (Gavin) Lempke and (Carson) Hildebrand. His senior year, he was by far the No. 1 target. We had to find ways to get him the ball,” Norris said.

On defense, Deer was named to the first team for the second straight season. He had four interceptions, six passes defended and 33 tackles.

“He’s one of the best corners to come through Grafton. He locked down guys the entire season. Teams were throwing to the other side of the field,” Norris said.

Colton Boehlke was named as offensive lineman and defensive end.

“Going into this year, we needed him to be a staple and essentially his job was replacing James Nellis (former offensive lineman of the year). He answered the call and did everything we could ask him to do. He definitely was the catalyst that got our run game going,” Norris said.

On defense, Boehlke made 55 tackles, including 27 for loss and 3.5 sacks (23, nine and two WC). He also forced a fumble.

“Two bookends. Between Max and Colton, it’s like kind of pick your poison,” Norris said.

Junior running back Jack Nelson had 1,931 yards rushing and 26 touchdowns on 265 carries, averaging 7.3 yards per rush. He caught 18 passes for 185 yards and a score. In the Woodland, he ran 92 times for 697 yards (7.6 average) and 10 touchdowns, and he caught 11 passes for 124 yards and a touchdown.

Tommy Lutz starred at running back last season, but Norris had to find a spot for the talented Nelson and put him at cornerback.

This season, Nelson took over as running back with plans for 25 carries a game. Coaches wondered if he would hold up.

“He definitely answered a lot of questions early on with our style of offense and what we want to do,” Norris said. “His top-end speed is as good as some of the best guys in the state.”

Senior Nick Schiller made 23 tackles and one interception at defensive back. He saw playing time in 2023 after Garrett Bonk got hurt. He learned the position and stayed on the field.

“He was the commander of that backfield,” Norris said. “People often say your free safety and safety are the quarterbacks of the defense. He was that and the starting quarterback.”

Senior Ian Cornelius was chosen as tight end/fullback. He had nine catches for 137 yards and a touchdown, and was key in run blocking. He also had 40 career starts and was the team’s scholar athlete.

“Within our offense, our tight end isn’t going to be our staple receiver or leading catcher,” Norris said. “We utilized him as best we could. He was very much a staple at the point in our run game. When he got the ball in his hands, it was an explosive play.”

Senior outside linebacker Jayden Smith-Kaylor made 48 tackles, including 10 for loss and 2.5 sacks (19, 14, one WC). He forced and recovered two fumbles each and scored twice, and he returned an interception for a touchdown.

“For a while he led the state in defensive touchdowns. He had a magnet on his hands,” Norris said.

Smith-Kaylor worked hard for years to get a spot on the field, and he handled playing in space and the mental load.

“He proved to us all he could do it, and he could do it at a high level,” Norris said.

Junior Hudson Miller earned a spot as a specialty/utility player. He was the long snapper and on kickoff coverage, as well as punt and kick returns, and he played a traditional fullback at times. He caught five passes for 116 yards and four touchdowns, and he made 15 tackles and blocked a punt that was recovered for a touchdown.

“He worked his butt off and earned a spot. He did a fantastic job all season,” Norris said.

Senior kicker Graysen Bollech went 47-for-51 (92%) on extra points (25-for-27 WC), 5-for-7 on field goals (2-for-2 WC), including the 32-yarder to win the state title with six seconds left. His longest sailed 45 yards. He had 71 kickoffs and 12 touchbacks.

“He’s just another guy who put the ball exactly where we needed him to put it and allowed our kickoff team to be dynamic,” Norris said.

Second-teamers

Schiller went 151-for-260 passing (58%) for 2,233 yards with 28 touchdowns and seven interceptions. In the conference, he went 78-110 (71%) for 1,109 yards with 18 scores and two interceptions.

After putting in offensive packages over summer, “He was able to put a lot more on his plate and get more diverse in what we wanted to do in the passing attack,” Norris said.

Schiller never started at field general before this year and was named the team’s most valuable player.

“He’s not the loudest, but he was always there in key moments, a very level-headed mature leader,” Norris said. “Without him, a lot of those other pieces wouldn’t be able to be successful.”

In the playoffs, Schiller led a 94-yard drive in the final minutes to save the team’s season in the semifinal, then a 49-yard drive to get into field goal range in the final seconds to win the state championship.

Senior center Noah King started 40 games for the Hawks after coming in with “cinder blocks for feet” as a freshman, Norris said. He would have loved to see him get first-team honors.

“If people saw our offense and how he is flipping protections and how he is adjusting run schemes on the fly — talk about the extension of a coach, that is Noah King,” he said.

Senior outside linebacker Jack Marti made 24 tackles and recovered a fumble.

“We identified early in his career that he would be a high-level contributor,” Norris said. “This year was a no-brainer. He was able to cover space.”

Senior defensive tackle Caleb Ernst finally broke into the starting lineup this year after fighting frustration last season among the Hawks’ talented interior defenders.

“We talk about pound the rock. Hhe embodied what pound the rock was,” Norris said. “He was excellent and a huge staple.”

Ernst had 41 tackles with 17 for loss and six sacks. (17, seven, two WC).

Senior inside linebacker Peyton Wissmueller made 46 tackles with five for loss and 2.5 sacks on the season.

He fought for a position opposite Heinle after not starting last year.

“Some kids will quit or move to another position,” Norris said. “He got significantly faster and stronger. That’s the type of mentality that he has. He embodies the pound-the-rock mantra. He would just grind and get better and learn football.”

Honorable mentions

Sophomore Sam Heery was recognized as an interior offensive lineman.

Norris said Heery worked hard to get better in the classroom and on the field starting in middle school. He’s now an honor roll student who “did everything we asked him to do.”

Senior defensive back DJ James made 33 tackles and recovered a fumble on the year. He also averaged 22.4 yards on nine kick returns.

“He didn’t start football until his junior year. Going into his senior year he was playing at a high level,” Norris said. “Now he has several Division 2 offers. His ceiling is extremely high.”

Coaching honors

Seefeld is Grafton’s offensive line coach and run game coordinator. He has been with the program since 2021. Norris met him at the Universtiy of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Seefeld was the right guard and Norris was the left guard.

“He built a friendship and a brotherhood that will last a lifetime,” Norris said.

At Grafton, Seefeld is “the architect behind the run game and the architect behind all of our pass protections and keeping our quarterback safe. He’s essentially assistant head coach,” Norris said.

Norris downplayed his statewide honor.

“It’s fine and dandy and everything, but it’s a team award,” he said. “I couldn’t do it every year with our players buying in and our coaching staff on a day-to-day basis. They are what make our program go.”

Grafton Athletic Director Kevin Moore did not downplay the achievement.

This prestigious honor is a testament not only to the dedication, leadership and expertise he brings to our football program but also to his profound impact on our student-athletes. Coach Norris embodies the spirit of our school, emphasizing work ethic, teamwork and collaboration with athletes and staff,” he said in a statement.