ONALASKA — Coach Jeff Komay knows exactly where his Onalaska Luther High School football team stands on experience this fall.
It’s being built snap by snap during August practices as the Knights tackle tremendous turnover after an 8-3 season that included a WIAA playoff win for the second time in three years.
“We had some really good players last year,” Komay said of a group that played a big hand in Luther winning 21 games the past three seasons and beat Ladysmith before a 17-14 loss to Eau Claire Regis in the second round of the Division 6 playoffs last year. “It’s OK (for current players) to struggle a little bit, and this is where we correct it.
“We’ve had contact days, and now’s where we start to see who’s got it.”
The six players who earned first-team or second-team All-Coulee Conference spots last year were all seniors, so Komay has a big list when it comes to finding new faces for new spots on the field.
Senior linebacker and receiver Zach Luehmann and senior tight end and defensive lineman Max Huelskamp are the biggest returning pieces from last season’s success, and they are ready to lead a team that will largely be a question mark until it takes the field.
One thing Komay already understands about his roster of 46 is that he has a group of players that likes to hit.
“Every guy on our team wants to play defense,” Komay said with a chuckle. “It’s our eighth year in a 4-2-5, and they practice fast and have fun with it.
“It’s a fun defense to play.”
The defense emphasizes speed, and Komay said steps were taken to formalize work in the weight room and on the speed program. Both, he said, were attended well over the summer.
Luehmann ranked fifth on the team with 67 total tackles and made 6 stops behind the line of scrimmage last season. Huelkskamp matched that number on tackles for loss and had 4 1/2 sacks to go with a recovered fumble.
“I think we have a bunch of great guys who want to hit,” Luehmann said. “Once the pads come on, you really see who wants to play.
“If we can keep the intensity up, that’s going to be a huge thing.”
The Knights have also flourished recently through exceptional talent at offensive skill positions. Komay is starting over there after losing a quarterback — Jackson Kendall — who has thrown all but 6 of Luther’s passes and had 3,604 yards and 47 TD throws over the past three seasons.
Junior Johnny Holub steps into the position this fall, and Komay likes what he sees in the response of teammates. While the install moved slowly at first, its is opening up more with each practice.
Senior Ayden Livingston — a state qualifier as a relay sprinter — and junior Logan Pierce give Holub some speed in the backfield, and Huelskamp will have to be a factor after catching 16 passes for 237 yards and 2 touchdown last season.
Huelskamp and Livingston — 1 catch for 1 yard — are the only receivers on the team with receptions in 2024, so there will be some pressure on their shoulders to help Holub make his adjustment to starter.
“It’s going to take some getting used to because Jackson was there for so long,” Huelskamp said. “It’s a new feel for everyone, but Johnny is fitting in well.
“He’s a good quarterback who knows how to get the ball to people.”
There will be many adjustments made as the players on this Luther team continues to become familiar with one another, and those will continue through nonconference games against Blair-Taylor and Bangor before a tough Coulee Conference season begins at G-E-T on Sept. 8.
Luehmann said the team making the most of those adjustments and staying focused on the task at hand of continuing recent success is what he seeks as a teammate.
“Working hard is the bare minimum,” he said of expectations. “Outside of that, everyone’s body has to be right, nutrition has to be right, and our minds have to be right.
“All of that is needed to be a great player.”
2025 SCHEDULE
(7 p.m. unless noted)
x-August 22: vs. Blair-Taylor
x-August 29: at Bangor
September 5: at G-E-T
September 12: vs. Black River Falls
September 19: at Aquinas (UW-L)
September 26: vs. West Salem
October 3: vs. Viroqua
October 10: vs. Westby
October 17: at Arcadia
x-nonconference
