THE GREATEST GENERATION BEGINS TO SHINE…PART 1

NOTE: The following may be more of an in-depth look at this decade than others. Mainly, because of all the history here in the two blogs…Part 1 and Part 2. I want to pass on to you the best story I can.

NBC broadcaster, Tom Brokaw wrote a very good book in 1998 entitled The Greatest Generation depicting Americans who came of age during the Depression, went on to fight in World War II and forge a new and better life for themselves and their families. These people overcame tremendous hardships and those of us today owe much to them. The star players of the 1940’s were born in the 1920’s and 30’s. Most of their coaches had survived the First World War years and the post war years to direct classic teams. They were part of The Greatest Generation.

If you look at many of the yearbooks from high schools during the war years you will see tributes to former students who were in the services and an occasional tribute to former students who died. In my book I even mentioned that two players, team captains Dick Arndt and George Howard, for the 1943 Baraboo team were drafted before they had even graduated and following their next to last game that season, they left for basic training. Most of the time it was the January graduates who were first to serve. That was the same for many draft age teachers and coaches.

While I like to concentrate mainly on high school players and coach’s I want to mention a bit about college players and some coaches. In 1940 Elroy Hirsch of Wausau was the top high school player in the state. After graduating he chose to attend the University of Wisconsin in Madison and played there as a freshman and a sophomore. Following his sophomore season he enlisted in the Marine Corps and after being inducted he was sent to the University of Michigan as part of the V-12 navy College Training Program, and he played football for the Wolverines. Later, after graduating he played football for the Marines in Virginia and California. He was one of several hundred thousand recruits/draftees went through the Army, Navy and Marine programs to develop officers for the services. The military though football was a way to best develop physically men for future combat.

The Navy had special teams at four major colleges, Iowa, North Carolina, St. Mary’s in California and Georgia. The 1944 Iowa Pre-Flight team went 9-1-0 playing an independent schedule and ended up ranked #6 in the final college AP poll. Meanwhile, the University of Iowa Hawkeyes went 1-6-1, going 0-4-1 in the Big Ten. Even if you think you know a lot about Elroy Hirsch look at the Wikipedia page and you will be amazed at how good of an athlete he was: Elroy Hirsch - Wikipedia. The war interrupted the lives of millions of football players. Many entered the services and would finish their college education several years after the war. The NCAA relaxed eligibility rules for those student athletes and that proved to be a boom for some college programs who received returning players who were now older and stronger.

As mentioned, this was a time of great changes to the Wisconsin athletic landscape. Young teachers were inducted into the military, thus interrupting their civilian careers. Some returned as teachers and coaches and others, now older, moved into administrative positions. I alluded to some of those changes in my blog on Waukesha 1943-63: Waukesha 1943-63 (wihifootball.com)

The 1940’s had more than a number of GREATS…Teams, Coaches and Players. There are so many choices. Here are the great teams:

First, the honorable mentions (In no special order):

1942 Milwaukee Marquette (9-0-0), 1947 Appleton (8-0-0), 1941 Prairie du Chien Campion (9-0-0), Racine St. Catherine’s…4 Catholic state titles…1943 (7-0-1), 1945 (8-0-0), 1946 (8-0-0 and the #4 team, 1949 (8-0-0), Madison Edgewood…4 Catholic state titles…tied with St. Catherine’s in 1946 (8-0-0), tied with Milwaukee Messmer in 1947 (8-0-0), Individual championships in 1944 and 1945 (8-0-0 both seasons), 1947 Milwaukee Messmer (8-0-0) and 1943 Shorewood (8-0-0).

Now, for the top 10…well, actually the top 15 (there are three ties so let’s make it the top 13.

#13 Milwaukee South Division 8-0-0

This team had it all. Size, speed and ability. They conquered the Milwaukee City Conference for the second consecutive year under the direction of Art Krueger who spent nine seasons as South’s head coach, winning three city titles. This was the best of them led by one of the all-time great’s, John Strzykalski who was a versatile speedy halfback, a sure handed receiver as well as a devastating tackler. John was one of five 1st team All-City players on the Milwaukee Journal team. He went on to star at Marquette University and was the first-round pick in the 1946 NFL draft, taken by the Green Bay Packers but he never played for them. Instead, he spent seven seasons with the San Francisco 49’s. The team scored 286 points and allowed only 33.

# 12…Tie between 1949 Milwaukee Pulaski (8-0-0) and 1949 La Crosse Aquinas (9-0-0)

1949 was a classic season for football. Other than 1942, this season may have produced the best assortment of teams. Pulaski had a fine offense and a very tough defense. The school was opened seven years before and Coach Gene Wozny was blessed with a lot of talent. Six members of the team were named to the All-City team Heil Worden was the leader on the team and earned All-State as well as honorable mention All-America. He led the conference in scoring, and he would take his talents to Notre Dame, playing fullback. He later played in the NFL and the Canadian Football League.

Aquinas not only tied with Racine St. Catherine’s for the 1949 Catholic title. Aquinas, along with St. Cat’s they would have been a fine match for any of the public schools. The BluGolds waltzed through the season scoring 252 points and allowing 70. End Jim “Dumbo” Temp was the largest player on the team standing 6’3,200. No other player weighed more than 185 pounds and most starters were 145-170 pounds. Granted that there were only three high schools in La Crosse but seven of the All-City team (Named by the La Crosse Tribune) were from Aquinas. They were cousins Chuck Skemp, halfback, and fullback Mike Skemp, halfback Jim Skaff, guard Dick Coughlin, tackle Dick Pouzar, end Bob Gilbert and junior Jim Temp who is on my top players of the 1950’s.

# 11 Milwaukee Washington 8-0-0

Lisle Blackbourn would coach two more seasons at Washington, leaving after the 1947 season to coach Marquette University and later the Green Bay Packers but this 1945 team was one of his best. Powered by his son, Lisle Blackbourn Jr, who earned All-State honors on both the AP and UPI teams and was awarded a special trophy as the state’s top player. He scored 104 points as he crossed the goal line 14 times, kicked 18 extra points and two field goals. The Puregolders were held to 19 points, a season low by Madison East, in the season opener but after that they scored between 32-58 points in the next seven games. They put up 322 points on the season and allowed 50. Tackle Robert “Red” Wilson stared on both sides of the line.

#10 Marinette 1943 8-0-0

Playing tailback at 5’9,145, Earl “Jug” Girard guided the Marines to an undefeated season. Not a big size team, they used their speed and abilities to master their opponents. Girard latterly carried the team offensively passing for six touchdowns and rushing for 13. He was a good kicker, making 13 extra points, but he was a superb punter. On a soggy, mud-soaked field in near freezing weather he scored the only points in a 7-0 win over Menominee. He carried the ball 56 times (Another report I had read said 49 carries and that was listed in my book) for178 yards and the win. In 1993 he was named to the first team of the 1993 All-Century Football squad in the Milwaukee Journal as a punter. He would miss two seasons due to military service but return and after graduating from the University of Wisconsin he would play 10-seasons in the NFL.

#9 Whitefish Bay 1948 8-0-0

Champions of the tough Suburban Conference the Whitefish Bay Blue Dukes beat their three main contenders for the conference title: Shorewood, 26-0, Wauwatosa, 14-6 and Waukesha, 14-7. All had fine seasons going 5-2-1, 5-3-0 and 6-1-1 respectively as Whitefish Bay prevailed. Only the final game of the year against West Milwaukee, was the outcome really in doubt. West Milwaukee posted a 1-7-0 record, but they came into that battle fired up and though they lost they put up a good fight with the Blue Dukes coming out on to, 6-0. Coach Eddie Jankowski kept the team together as that season the weather was bad and there were a few injuries. The last three games against Wauwatosa, Waukesha and West Milwaukee were all played in heavy rain or with the field is poor shape due to earlier inclement weather. They scored 197 points at a clip of almost 33-points a game before the final three and only allowed 40 on the season. Five members of the team made the All-Suburban team.

#8, #7 and #6 Wausau 1945 (8-0-0), 1944 (8-0-0) and 1943 (8-0-0)

Combined, all three of these were very dominating as they held 16 of their 24 opponents scoreless. As you will read later, Coach Win Brockmeyer was the most successful coach of the decade. His 1945 team scored 184 points and allowed 41. During these three seasons the most points scored by an opponent was in the 39-21 win over Stevens Point in 1945. In all the other seasons no more than eight points was scored by the opposition and that was also in 1945. In 1944 the defense was very stout allowing only a single touchdown in a 31-7 win over Antigo in the second game. The Cardinals scored 203 points. 1943 was the better of the three teams offensively as Wausau scored 240 points, including a 1-0 forfeit by Nekoosa and allowed 19 points. For many seasons Wausau played only a conference schedule but when Nekoosa dropped out of the conference, they had to step out of their comfort zone. Being the largest city and then the largest school in the Wisconsin Valley Conference, Wausau dominated the region for many years.

#5 Marinette 1949 8-0-0

This was a top-notch team with many stars. Quarterback Jim Strem earned All-State honors passing for 897 yards and 13 touchdowns, scored four more himself and kicked 21 extra points. While 1943’s Earl “Jug” Girard was a tailback who threw and ran the ball, the offense changed when Strem arrived on the scene, and he was a very good quarterback. Many from the area thought he was superior to Girard as a field general. Any team would have been glad to have either. Sophomore fullback Allen Felch gained over 1,000 yards rushing. Hall of Fame coach Howard Stiehm preached defense as well as offense. Playing an independent schedule, the Marines beat two very good Michigan teams, an Indiana squad and opponents from Two Rivers, Watertown, Antigo, Rhinelander and Eau Claire.

#4 Racine St. Catherine’s 1949 8-0-0

Yes, the Angles tied with #12 La Crosse Aquinas for the state Catholic title but this team was even more loaded with talent. I think my blog on the team: THE GREAT 1949 RACINE ST. CATHERINE’S TEAM (wihifootball.com) says it all but I will state here that this team could play well with any other top team from the 1940’s. Passing, rushing and defense were hallmarks of this team.

#3 Milwaukee Washington 1942 8-0-0

Many thought that this team was even better than the 1939 mythical state championship team with the great Pat Harder. Halfback Don Kindt and fellow halfback Alex Karbowski were first team all-city backfield mates. Tackle Tom Trester, guard George Woracheck and guard Warren Stenkellner were all-city lineman. Five other players made the second team led by fullback Robert Schultz in the backfield, team captain Norm Hollenbeck at center, end/kicker Bill Cross, end Ron Pullan and tackle Charles Gumm. With a great defense and powerful offense, the team was never in any trouble of being defeated. Some in the Milwaukee area declared them to be the state champion but the power of Wausau’s undefeated, untied and unscored upon season and St. John’s season against opponents with an overall record of 45-17-2 won people over to their side. On offense they scored 326 points and allowed only 25 with five shutouts.

#2 1940 Wausau (7-0-0)

At the advent of and then the Wausau dynasty was Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch. He would go on to the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame with his success playing for both the University of Wisconsin and Michigan for college and with the Chicago Rockets and the Los Angeles Rams as a professional. While in LA he stared in movies (Watch “Zero Hour”. This was the movie that the David and Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams “Airplane” was based on. Hirsch plays the part that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played). He later became the Athletic Director at Wisconsin. In 1940 he scored 102 of his teams 299 points. The team allowed only 12 points and those were scored in the season finale in a 45-12 win over Merrill. Besides Hirsch who played left halfback, fullback Rodney Liljequist, and ends Henry Olshanski and Glen Gahnz were all All-Conference. The Cardinals rushed for 1,667 yards and passed for 1,084 yards as well as intercepting 17 passes. The eight wins started a then state record 46-game winning streak.

#1 Tie between 1942 Wausau (7-0-0) and Delafield St. John’s (8-0-0)

It was Win Brockmeyer’s 1942 team that really got the state’s attention. 1940 had been very good and 1941 was also an undefeated year but this team was truly outstanding. They scored 225 points, not as many as 1940, but the defense was even better by shutting out all eight opponents. Led by fullback Roger Trotzer, who scored 106 points. He was one of six players who earned All-Conference. The defense never allowed an opponent to penetrate beyond the Wausau 25-yard line and gave up only 15 first downs!!! On offense they averaged 312 yards per game and 13 first downs. Because of the war they dropped a non-conference game to only play a conference schedule. Brockmeyer was very liberal in his substitutions, so he was able to build on the current season and give experience to the younger player for the next.

1942 Wausau

The states press raved about this team and with their undefeated season they continued their winning streak (More about that in the next blog). However, some members of the press began to make suggestions of a “match” game with undefeated St. John’s, but two things stopped the matchup. First, St. John’s football season stretched into the beginning of Wausau’s basketball season. The second reason was that the WIAA wouldn’t allow it. It never reached the WIAA to make a decision, but it would have been a great battle.

For the first time in the school’s history since the 1884-86 seasons, St. John’s only played one college team in a season and that was the Ripon College freshman who were the only Wisconsin school they played. All the others were high schools from Iowa, Indiana and Illinois. The Lancers scored 217 points and allowed only 47 and were led by back Terry Lenz who scored 17 touchdowns. Again, they earned the National Prep Championship Trophy as the top prep school in the country. This was Coach Edison Lerch’s final season as the football coach. He was in the Marines Reserve Corp and was activated soon after the season was completed. In 11-seasons Lerch compiled a 70-20-2 record and coached the 1932 and 1933 state champions as well as the 1942 title that he shared with Wausau. This was also the last title St. John’s would win until earning the 1988 Class B WISSA championship.

1942 Delafield St. John's

Check out Part 2 for more on the 1940’s coming soon.

WHEN THE PACKERS WERE THE “PURPLE PLAGUE” PART 2

Two seasons before, in 1992, Coach Venne talked to the Cudahy principal after his first team went 0-9 and asked him if he could take his players to the 1992 state finals in Madison. He was looking to shake things up and he thought this might do it. The principal agreed and the team went to Madison. While at Camp Randall, as Venne tells it: “Our kids were out there with no shirts on forming a “C” in the north endzone. Some coaches I was sitting with said ‘Who are those idiots? and I said “Oh, that’s my football team.’” That’s when success began to spark for the Packers.

After a scoreless first quarter, quarterback Keith Miller of Menomonie scored after a short drive on a one-yard run. After the conversion Cudahy John Duglinski hauled in a pass from Chad Janos and took it 48-yards for the score The two teams were tied 7-7 at the half. Cudahy forced four Menomonie fumbles that the “Plague” recovered and one of them was in the third quarter which led to a second score with Janos tossing a short 4-yard toss to Steve Madden. Madden beat future Little All-American linebacker (UW-Stout) Jamie Spielman. On the returning kickoff Mike Morrow of the Indians took a reverse on the play and scored on the kick return going 84-yards. Morrow had scored in every game of his prep career and that record was intact. In the fourth quarter Menomonie again fumbled and three plays later Duglinski gave his team the lead for good as he took another Janos pass 22-yards to the endzone. Jeremy Guth recovered the short kick off for Cudahy and helped set up a crucial 37-yard field goal by Duglinski. Junior halfback Wes Jock iced the game on a 33-yard counter touchdown run. Duglinski kicked all four extra points and the Packers ended up 31-14 victors.

Cudahy’s defense held the Indians star tailback, Mike Morrow, who had been averaging 12-yards per carry, to 26-yards in 10 carries. Plus, they held Menomonie to only one offensive touchdown which was a knockdown from their 32-points a game average coming into the title game.

If you read my blog…(RUFUS) KINGS OF THE HILL…PART 2…you will remember how tough King’s defense was in the late 1960’s through the early 1970’s. Well, I think the Cudahy defense was just as tough. Maybe better. Defensive coordinator Tom Kujawa came up with the name, “The Purple Plague” for the way his defenders played. Let’s look at what they accomplished as they plagued their opponents going 13-0 and holding opponents to 69.6 yards a game on the ground. In the air they allowed around 75 yards per game. The Packer Plague scored 456 points and allowed only 40 points…six total touchdowns allowed and only six points in conference play. They probably needed to toughen up on the kick-off team as they allowed three of the six scores on returns. Nine shutouts in 13-games. In the Division 2 title game they gave up the most total yards in any single game to #1 ranked Menomonie, 209-yards. The defense recovered 28 fumbles including four in the title game. Menomonie had a 23-game winning streak coming into the final game and they also had a tough defense, but the “Plague” gained 233 offensive yards.

The champs had many stars. John Duglinski carried 240 times for 1,637 yards as he scored 31 touchdowns, kicked 48 extra points and three field goals for 243 points. The 5’8, 160-pound tailback led the state in scoring. He earned honorable All-State. Others also shone brightly. Linebacker/tight end J.J. Kotarak (5’11, 200), one of the few two-way players, made over 100 tackles and caught 23 passes for 357 yards and five touchdown’s earned 1st team All-State. Another 1st teamer was Steve Madden (5’11, 190), a defensive back and running back who led the team in interceptions and also had 100+ tackles plus 562 yards on th5 ground. Both Kotarak and Madden were seniors but center/defensive tackle Clint Grochowski, (6’3,215) a junior, was a standout earning 2nd team All-State. Offensive tackle Greg Kunstman (6’5, 270) earned honorable mention honors. They didn’t pass often but with Chad Janos at the controls of the offense they were very effective. Running the multiple offense that Venne and his coaches devised, Janos was 110-59-5-915-16 on the year and besides tossing to Kotarak and Duglinski he had a very capable wide receiver in junior Chris Samz. Samz, (6’3, 190) caught 22 passes for 345 and six scores. He would get a little bigger in 1995 and be switched to tight end where he would ern All-State honors.

Carey Venne learned from and worked with many fine coaches. In high school at Milwaukee South Division his coach was HOF coach Bill Bartholomew. While at South Corey had the distinct privilege of going 0-20-0 as a starter. Yes, winless. Despite that record Corey was named All-City, won the conference pole vault title and as a senior captained the football, basketball and track teams. He played one season as a freshman at UW-Madison and then transferred to UW-Oshkosh as a quarterback and flanker. The Titans were captained by Venne, and they won the WIAC title in 1968, their first since 1935. Again, he was tutored by a HOF coach, Russ Young. He was a graduate assistant at Oshkosh in 1969 and then moved on to Cudahy where he served under another HOF coach, Jerry Bowe. Venne stayed at Cudahy for 33-years as an English and Geography teacher, 23-years as an assistant before moving into the head coaching position. When the head coaching job in 1992 came up both he and assistant coach Jeff Cavanagh talked things over, and it was decided that Venne would be the head coach and Cavanagh would be the offensive coordinator.

Carey stayed as the head coach until 1999 when he retired, for the first time, as the head man. He was still teaching at Cudahy when Milwaukee Pius came calling. He coached there one season going 3-6 and finished with a 75-23 record. He was replaced at Cudahy by Cavanagh but before that he won six conference titles between 1992-99 and contributed to an additional five as an assistant. He and Cavanagh were co-coaches in 2001. Jeff Cavanagh himself would also earn HOF honors. The team used a 5-2 defense in what he called an “attack-style”. He also employed a creative set of “multiple” offensive schemes. He was inducted in 2004 into the WFCA Hall of Fame. BUT he couldn’t stay off the field for long although it wasn’t until 2008 when Waterford came calling and he stayed there two seasons going 8-3 and 9-2. Then he retired, again, until 2011 when he coached Waukesha North and went 3-6. He finally coached at Palmyra-Eagle in 2020 and again went 3-6. I recently talked to Carey, and he said he was through.

BUT we’ll have to see. someone else may call and he will get the itch again to lead a team.

Did you see a pattern in Venne’s career? Even if you don’t have great success at time’s, you can work hard and learn from the best and succeed.

FINAL NOTE ON THE 1994 TITLE CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES:

While I was doing research on Cudahy and the title game, I noticed something very unique. The coaches of ALL the teams in the final are in the WFCA Hall of Fame. I don’t know of any other final to have 12-HOF coaches in the same finals.

Division Winning Team Coach Final Score Losing Team Coach

1 Arrowhead (12-1) Tom Taraska 19-16 vs. Muskego (12-1) Dennis Johnson

2 Cudahy (13-0) Carey Venne 31-4 vs. Menomonie Joe LaBuda

3 Monroe (13-0) Pat Martin 7-6 vs. Waupaca John Koronkiewicz

4 Mayville (13-0) Alex Hilber 47-0 vs. Baldwin-Woodville Wade Labecki

5 Fall Creek (13-0) Ron Schultz 10-7 vs. Darlington Douglas McArthur

6 Hilbert (12-1) Mark Jonas 34-6 vs. Thorp (11-2) Eric Larson

This indeed was a true matchup in the championship games of a group of super coaches

POSTSCRIPT: As far as I can figure there are only two teams in Wisconsin nicknamed “Packers”. IN 1919, while working for the Indian Packing Company in Green Bay, Curley Lambeau started the Green Bay Packers. The Indian Packing Company was absorbed by the Illinois based Acme Packing Company. The two companies were involved in the canned meat industry. Through their support for uniforms and equipment the Packers were born and a nickname of the company that got the team started was used.

In 1888 John Plankinton sold his Milwaukee meat packing company to Patrick and John Cudahy and they operated the business in the Menomonee Valley of Milwaukee. A need for a larger facility pushed their move to Bucktown, a small town two miles south of Milwaukee. In the process they also acquired large tracts of land in the area. If you are on the corner of 6th Street and Howard Ave, in Milwaukee you will see a water tower. That building was on a tract of land that Patrick Cudahy owned, and he gave it to the city. The tower is on the highest point in the city and from the top you can see for many miles. The area where the new plant was built was incorporated in 1896 and Bucktown became Cudahy, miles south and east of the tower. The local high school took the nickname “Packers”. In 1971 the Patrick Cudahy company was sold and after several buyouts a Chinese company bought Smithfield Foods and with it, Patrick Cudahy Meats was obtained. Cudahy High School still uses the nickname Packers but instead of green and gold they are purple and gold. But, in 1994, for that one season, they went by another nickname. The “Purple Plague”.

WHEN THE PACKERS WERE THE “PURPLE PLAGUE” PART 1

1994 was the season of the “Purple Plague”. The “Plague” was all over southeast Wisconsin, and it was fierce. The “Plague” started in Cudahy effecting everyone from Greenfield to Brookfield, over to Wauwatosa, down to Racine and finally, over to Madison. The “Plague” was a force that couldn’t be stopped. Nearby South Milwaukee, Franklin and Greendale were also “plagued”.

In 1992, Carey Venne took over as head football coach at Cudahy. While he didn’t reach the heights of Louisiana’s J.T. Curtis of John Curtis Christian Academy (America’s second all-time winningest coach) or Bob Hyland at Fond du Lac St. Mary’s Springs (Wisconsin’s all-time winningest coach) all three suffered early failures before achieving great success. Venne’s came quicker than that of Curtis and Hyland. Both Curtis and Hyland had to wait several seasons after they started their careers to have a winning season and several more before they would win a state title.

That first season at Cudahy was a disaster going 0-9 with only two seniors from the 1991 team. but 1993 was a complete turnaround. Venne knew he had a talented JV team, but he resisted moving any of them up to the varsity. He kept that group intact so they would blend better as juniors with the experienced varsity players. And they did. The Packers went 10-1 and lost in the second round of the playoffs. He also kept the JV team of 1993 intact as well, though a few moved up. That JV team went 8-1 so with that incoming talent and the experience the varsity gained, they were ready to “Plague” their opponents in 1994. Venne chose not to move any of the JV’s up to the varsity in a way to build confidence and pride.

Carey Venne

The 1994 Cudahy Packers were loaded with talent as they had eight returning offensive starters and 10 defensive starters. They joined the Woodland Conference in 1993. The Conference has changed many times over the years. Besides Cudahy, the members were Brookfield Central, Brookfield East, Franklin, Greendale, Greenfield, South Milwaukee, Wauwatosa East and Wauwatosa West.

Cudahy opened the season against conference foe, Greenfield, and as the newspaper said,” they didn’t just overpower their opponent but the” Purple Plague” destroyed the Hawks”. Greenfield was the first to feel the force of the “Plague”, losing 35-0. Returning star back, John Duglinski opened with 183 yards on 15 carries. John was also the kicker. He scored a touchdown and kicked five extra points. Next up was Brookfield Central and the Lancers also went down to defeat, 28-0 but Duglinski was held to a season low 60-yards but kicked four extra points.

Week three brought the teams only regular season non-conference opponent, Racine Park a 27-14 victim. Case was held to 19 yards on the ground in 22-rushes, but they gained 131 yards through the air. The 131 yards in the air was the second most the defense would give up that season. John Duglinski carried for 174 yards on 25 carries and scored three touchdowns and three extra points. He opened the scoring early with a 65-yard sprint to the end zone. Later, with the game tied he plowed over the goal line on a one-yard score to push the Packers into the lead for good. Two fumbles by the Panthers quarterback, both recovered by Cudahy, in two crucial series was the difference.

The next three games were blowouts, especially the 55-0 win over Wauwatosa West. Duglinski was in full rushing/scoring mode as he piled up 435 yards and scored 10 touchdowns, kicked 13-extra points and a 22-yard field goal against Brookfield East. At the South Milwaukee game there was a great halftime show as the University of Wisconsin Marching Band. The band was on the way down to Evanston IL. To play at the Wisconsin vs. Northwestern football game on Saturday. Against Wauwatosa East the Packers were in for a battle. Going onto the game both teams were tied for the conference lead with 5-0 records. It was a tough battle and the two teams played to a 14-6 hard fought Cudahy win.

After being held to 79-yards on 18 carries while scoring one touchdown against Wauwatosa East, John Duglinski came back with a great game against Franklin. Yes, he didn’t gain huge yardage against Franklin (103-yards) but he scored three touchdowns and kicked four extra points to lead the team to a Homecoming victory. This was their warmup of the regular season finale against Greendale. The Panthers were hoping to move from the conference tie with Wauwatosa East for second place and with a win over Cudahy they could tie for the Woodland Conference title. Greendale entered with a 6-1 record while Cudahy was 7-0. The “Plague” was ready and produced a 42-0 win. Now the playoffs began.

First up was Westosha who had lost in the season finale to Burlington, the Southern lakes Conference East champion 46-13. The Cudahy defense was devastating bur so was the offense. Duglinski powered for 125 yards and four touchdowns, but it was a coming out party with the pass as quarterback Chad Janos finally got a chance to throw the ball, going 8-10-0-144-1. Tight end Chris Samz caught four balls for 70 yards and the score. The defense held the Westosha Falcons who ended the year with a 7-3 record to a total of -3 yards in the crushing 54-0 first round win.

Four days later the Packers matched up with HOF Coach Don Dalton and his Burlington Demons, who would end the season with a 10-1 record as Cudahy prevailed 27-6. Coach Dalton had produced several very good quarterbacks including Tony Romo and this season’s edition was Ryan Dussault who stretched the Cudahy defense with 17-34-2-155-1 with the short passing game. He did throw a short 10-yard pass that turned into a 47-yard touchdown in the third period. The Demons only gained18-yards on the ground but Janos came through with another fine day passing as he went 9-15-1-149-1 with 2-conversion passes.

Round three was a 28-0 win over Menomonee Falls (9-3). It was back to the ground game almost exclusively led by Duglinski who carried the ball 24 times for 171 yards and two touchdowns. This set up a showdown with nationally ranked and defending state champion Menomonie. The Mustangs had a 23-game winning streak heading into the final and they were favored against Cudahy even though they had lost some great stars from the 1993 team. This season’s team would be no pushover but then, Cudahy wouldn’t be one either.

Cudahy had a 12-0 record going into the championship game. They had played great defense and scored a lot of points offensively. The question was, could they stop the power from the Northwest? About that and more in the next blog.