After a somewhat successful, somewhat 6-4 disappointing 2023 football season, the Greendale football team is looking to improve. Although they finished with a winning record, they were unsatisfied with their playoff results, losing in the first round to level 4 runner up, the Stoughton Vikings. 

With a good amount of seniors leaving such as Concordia St. Paul commit, Tanner Johnson, and UW Oshkosh commit, Gabe Torres, it will be a challenge to see if the players who will replace them can live up to the guys before them. 

With the team feeling that they underachieved in 2023, the Panthers feel that they could do a better job to achieve their goals. 

“Our goal is to meticulously train our student-athletes for every game, with the ultimate aim of clinching the conference title and securing a state championship victory,” head coach Jermaine Murry said. “These expectations have been set because it presents a significant challenge for our program to achieve both of these milestones, particularly winning our first gold ball as a football team. The thought of achieving such feats is truly exhilarating and drives us to work tirelessly towards these goals.” 

With every new season passing, there are certain things coaches are excited to see coming into each year. The importance of leadership in any sport is crucial as the actions of the leaders reflect on the rest of the team. “I look forward to observing the growth and development of our returning players from last season as they mature and step up to become leaders within the team,” Murray said. “Identifying these leadership qualities early on is crucial, as it establishes the foundation for the type of successful season we are capable of achieving.” 

With a tough conference slate every year there are many formidable opponents such as Division 3 state runner up Grafton, and playoff qualifiers Greenfield and Wisconsin Lutheran. “[I think] the most formidable opponent on our schedule this season will undoubtedly be Grafton. With [the] majority of their players returning from last season, they pose a significant challenge for us,” Murry said. “Overcoming this hurdle is crucial for our team, especially considering that they have emerged victorious the past two seasons. I am ready to face this challenge as it will serve as a true test for our team and will provide a gauge of our resiliency heading into the playoffs.” 

As Murry said, the Blackhawks have bested the Panthers in their last two meetings and have been proven to be one of the Panthers biggest roadblocks into obtaining the Woodland conference crown. 

Players have mixed opinions on how the last season went, but some felt that last season was a good growing season as in team chemistry. “I feel like last season went very well. I think the team chemistry was at an all time high,” junior Greysen Doersching said. “Everyone was happy to be around each other.” 

The Panthers motto for the season was “We Ball”, which is implying that no matter the circumstances, they’ll try their hardest which helped the team get so close because they had one collective goal. 

Although the team was close, that’s not saying there weren’t any roadblocks that held the team back. There was a lot of improvement to do because in a highly emotional sport like football, sometimes your emotions can get the best of you and could rub off on people in negative ways. “I think that we could improve as players and teammates by picking each other up,” Doersching said. “Sometimes we would yell at each other for doing something wrong instead of saying it’s ok and we will get it next time.” It’s a great thing that leaders like one of last year’s team captains, Greysen, are able to identify the struggles with the team and have the right idea of how to fix them. 

With some of the team going into their last year, there’s some things to look forward to, “[I’m] excited because I get to be a senior on the team,” junior Landon Lopez said. “Being a senior comes with a lot of responsibilities that I’m happy to try to get.” With players looking forward to overcoming challenges, it’s a good sign that the Panthers will have a strong team this year. 

The Panthers look to achieve their goals of capturing another conference championship and a golden ball. The team is looking forward to the challenge and it’ll be exciting to witness how they do.