Wolverines eager to put last season behind them with lots of new elements, but the same lofty goals
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN – By all measurable standards last season was not a good one for the Woodstown football team. It was a bad dream the Wolverines would just as soon forget.
Their first losing season since 2018 left them out of the playoffs for the first time in 15 years. They had no first-team all-stars within the division and just two senior honorable mentions. There were injuries that put nine starters on the sidelines and disrupted any consistency they hoped to develop. As a result, they were ushered out of the WJFL’s top small-school division for the first time in league history, relegated to the Independence Division for the next two years.
All that to say it’s a new year and a new approach in the house. Call what happened last year a wakeup call for a team that had been a South Jersey contender for the last four full cycles of senior classes.
| WOODSTOWN WOLVERINES |
| Aug. 27 – at Pennsville, 6 p.m. |
| Sept. 3 – at Clayton, 6 p.m. |
| Sept. 11 – Schalick, 6 p.m. |
| Sept. 19 – at Woodbury, 11 a.m. |
| Sept. 25 – Buena, 6 p.m. |
| Oct. 3 – at Salem, noon |
| Oct. 9 – Overbrook, 6 p.m. |
| Oct. 17 – at Penns Grove, 11 a.m. |
| Oct. 23 – Pitman, 6:30 p.m. |
Like most coaches, Woodstown head coach Frank Trautz will tell you each season is an entity unto itself and what happens one season has no bearing on the next. But to the returning players who endured the pain of last season – literally and emotionally – it’s the motivation to return the program to the form they all remember.
“It’s definitely was like a reality check for me, experiencing that after two years of playing really good football,” defensive back/tight end Noah Chiu said. “Now coming into my senior year I don’t want to lose again. That just kind of rubs off on the whole team. I can look at the guys next to me and we can just see the intensity and desire to play that we didn’t have last year. I don’t want to say it’s anger. There’s a lot more energy, there’s a lot more want to be out here and do great things. We all want to get our get-back from last year. We want to go out and make the school proud.”
From the moment you walk into practice you can tell the Wolverines are trying to put last season as far behind them as possible. Upbeat music from either Bradley Snitcher or Cole Ware’s playlist blasts from the rolling speaker on the sideline during drills (but not during line ball scrimmage periods).
That never used to happen.
“I’ve always wanted music,” Trautz said. “When I played, when I coached previously at Haddonfield, we always had music at practice. I like it. I didn’t want to be the one carrying the speaker out here, so I would kind of get upset when the kids wouldn’t bring it. We’ve got two speakers now, so we have one designated just to come out on the field. I like it because I like the energy being up and I think music helps with that, especially in these summer days.”
“It kicks our mood up,” junior quarterback Mason Middlemiss said.
They’re also wearing new white helmets with the blue W, replacing the blue helmets and orange W they wore last season. Another Trautz call. “I just wanted to do something different from last year,” he said. “New season. Fresh start.”
“I actually like them; I think they’re pretty cool,” Middlemiss said. “Coming in here I kind of liked the blue-and-white helmets combined, but last year was obviously new with just all blue. Now, we have all white, which I really like because my favorite NFL team is the Denver Broncos and they have the white alternate helmets and this is kind of that.”
But the differences go beyond the tangible. The players say they are more connected this year and have adopted the motto “One Team, One Sound.” To that end, they do all their practice activities to a 14 count, representing the 14 games it takes to win a state championship. Additionally, the offensive line has devised a chant when the team approaches midfield — “All Aboard, Choo Choo” – that can be interpreted as the Wolverines are approaching the scoring zone, climb on the train to Touchdown Station.
“We all sat down and talked with one another and said we were each going to take responsibility for everybody,” Middlemiss said.
“This team this year, we’re all friends,” junior lineman Rax Hannah said. “Last year I feel like the whole team we dreaded coming out here; when a team doesn’t want to succeed they’re never gonna succeed. it was crazy coming into this year. We felt we were going to be good, but we didn’t know what we were going to have. Once we got the pads on and starting working out I was really like, Oh my God, this is gonna be a great year. It’s a new division, a new team. I think it’s a good reset for us.”
What they have is a roster of players who gain earned their experience through tough times. Last year they were forced into situations because of the injuries without much prior experience. The returnees who might not have gotten in the game otherwise, are now among the most veteran.
The offense rests in the hands of Middlemiss. The junior shared the role last year with Frankie Hoerst, a freshman with a lot of potential who has since transferred to St. Augustine. Middlemiss rushed for 177 yards and brought the Wolverines a win at Clayton to end the season on a high note. And he’s surrounded by athletes at all the skill positions who are interchangeable so they’re versatile. Expect a lot from Ware and receiver Andrew White.
“I’m ready to take over and ready to lead this team to where we aspire to be,” Middlemiss said. “I got a lot to take in last year. It wasn’t the kind of season we wanted … but we’re coming into this season with a mentality that we’re going to forget about what happened last year, we’re going to forget about everything and start our own rebuild and nothing is going to happen like last year.”
“He’s a natural leader,” Trautz said. “He’s completely taken ownership; he’s taken this role seriously. Listen, the kid can flat out play. I’m excited for him because a lot of people are going to know his name at the end of this season because of what he can do. I’ve coached a fair share of quarterbacks (and) he’s up there with some of the hardest-working guys that I’ve had.”
A lot of the offensive starters also play on defense. Trautz said he was “excited” to see what this year’s defense can develop into and believes it will return to playing “traditional Woodstown defense.” Chiu will be one of the players to watch, having gone through a dynamic growth spurt since last season and is now 6-1, 170 pounds of intensity.
From the look and sound of things, the Wolverines are firmly focused on looking forward.
“This is a new year, this is a new team and we’re going to face a new set of challenges and highs and lows; that’s all were focused on,” Trautz said. “To be successful in this sport you always have to operate that way. If you’re hanging on things you’ve done in the past, it’s gonna hurt you in the future.
“They’re hungry because they want to prove themselves and show everybody what we can do. I agree with that. We’re excited to get the season started and make a new story for ourselves this year.”
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