Tosa West had 'exciting' football season

"Exciting."

That was the one-word answer that the soft-spoken Wauwatosa West football coach Matt Good used when asked to describe this season.

"From the first play of the year - a 60 to 70-yard run - to the end of the year playoff game against Greendale, it was exciting," he added.

The Trojans finished the year with an overall 7-2 record, which included a second-place finish (7-1) in the new and improved Woodland-West Division behind unbeaten Pewaukee (8-0).

Good had 15 seniors on his team and he credits them with turning the program around.

"They're the reason we got things turned around," Good said. "They did everything they possibly could to put us in a position to be successful. They deserve a lot of credit."

The Trojans ran away with their first three games, beating St. Francis (50-7), Whitnall (46-15) and a New Berlin West team (46-13) that made the playoffs.

Then came newcomer Pius XI and what Good calls the "turning point of the season."

The Trojans whipped the Popes, 55-30, to improve to 4-0.

"The Pius game gave them the confidence they were looking for," Good said. "They were from the Classic 8. The kids went on a mission. You could see the difference in their confidence."

The Trojans, however, suffered their first loss, a 27-6 defeat to eventual-champion Pewaukee.

"I'm not sure if we were quite ready for an opponent of that magnitude," Good said. "We were a little bit intimated. After that game, we watched the film, and said 'that wasn't us.' Then they got after it and took a lot of it out on (New Berlin) Eisenhower (42-0), Greendale (37-30 in OT) and Greenfield (28-21).

While the season ended in Level 1 of the playoffs, there were plenty of talented Trojans who made this season special.

Offensive MVPs were Jameson Brock and Mickey Morgan; the Offensive Lineman of the Year was Ron Brown; the Offensive Iron Man of the Year went to Greg Lewis.

Jon Doolen was the Defensive MVP and the Defensive Iron Man of the Year. The Defensive Linemen of the Year were Khaled Salem and Sam Clough.

The Most Improved Award was shared by Niko Lewis and Shawn Connors and the Special Teams Players of the Year went to Michael Nowakowski and Zach Veit.

Captains were Lewis, Tom Fossell, Doolen, Morgan and Adam Polivka.

Tosa West also had several Woodland Conference honors.

First-team offensive selections were Morgan and Brock at running backs, wide receiver Develyn Ferguson and Brown and Polivka, offensive linemen.

Honorable mention selections were offensive linemen Craig Egle and Dakota Kolatski, quarterback Jared Morzinski and Lewis at running back.

On the defensive side of the ball, first-team selections were Salem as an interior defensive lineman, Doolen, as an inside linebacker, and Brock and Morgan at defensive back.

Honorable mention picks were interior linemen Shawn Connors and Clough, Greg Lewis at inside linebacker, Lewis at defensive end/outside linebacker and Morgan as a punter. Morgan was also recognized as a scholar-athlete.

When asked if this success will carry over into next year, Good wasn't sure.

"I'm not sure we're there yet," he said. "They need to realize this is a 24-hour, five-days-a-week job. They need to work as hard as this year. We need to get the kids to continue to work to be successful.

"We are not some powerhouse; we can't take things for granted. We have to work even harder now to have the same kind of success next season."

TROJAN SENIORS

Elijah Banyard-Johnson, Ron Brown, Sam Clough, Shawn Connors, Jon Doolen, Craig Egle, Tom Fossell, Dakota Kolatski.

Mickey Morgan, Mike Nowakowski, Adam Polivka, Jimmy Reynolds, Khaled Salem, Andre Santiago and Ayinde Smith.