The Westby Football team had high hopes going into their season. They started in their annual scrimmage at Prairie Du Chien and unfortunately lost a key member of the team, Blake Sutton, to a season-ending leg injury. The first two summer games went well. The team led off at home against Richland Center winning 41-0 and continued on to beat Benton 29-14 the week after. They hit their first roadblock against West Salem ending in a 44-7 loss. After that loss, they left that game in the past and prepared for the Mega Bowl. 

Continuing their long rivalry, the team traveled to Viroqua for the annual Mega Bowl. They came out on fire on both sides of the ball and set the score 47-7 in the first half. The second-string team played the remainder of the game on both sides of the ball. The game concluded with Westby winning 47-15 in a spectacular show of what they had to give.

The team continued their season beating Arcadia at home 40-0. Aquinas was next on the schedule at UWL’s stadium. Aquinas was another great team, like West Salem, and a highly anticipated game. Aquinas came out shooting and immediately took a 40 point lead going into the 4th quarter. The game ended 51-14 and the team took their second conference loss.

They shot back the week after as Black River Falls challenged them at home. The team quickly pulled ahead and beat BRF 49-14. The next week, they traveled to GET with lots of excitement. In the first half, they brought the energy but couldn’t pull away with the win. The team lost 34-12 and felt the pressure of playoff eligibility tightening.

After that tough loss against GET, we were revved up going into the Altoona game. This game was also necessary for Altoona to be playoff eligible. This game came down to who wanted it more. Westby immediately came out firing, starting the game 20-0. As the game progressed, they let up and Altoona came back into the game. In the third quarter, the score was 20-12, when Coach Hulst got everyone on the team in a huddle and motivated them. The team brought the energy back and went on to score, finalizing the game, 27-12 and punching their ticket to the playoffs. The team then traveled to Belleville, the #3 seeded team, and couldn’t pull away with a win. They lost 27-20 ending their season.

As a team member, I would like to thank all of our seniors involved in football this year. Many times in tough situations, these guys held us accountable and got us through tight games. They understood what the team needed from them and showed us what leadership meant. I would also like to recognize and thank our senior Cheer captain, Chasity Ezelle and our senior Team Manager, Anna Dregne for your relentless support to the program. 

I would also like to thank our coaches for their willingness and commitment to prepare us week in and week out. They guided our team through rough spots and praised us in our successes.