(From left) Sevastopol quarterback Reid LeClair scrambles while being rushed by Gibraltar’s Jake Larson during the Aug. 14 scrimmage at Fish Creek. Photo by Kevin Boneske.

After qualifying for the WIAA playoffs last season for the first time since winning the state championship in 2018, Sevastopol’s eight-player football team will be looking to continue to raise the program’s standard.

“We want to be uncommon in our preparation, effort, and commitment to one another, improve every week, and see where that takes us,” said head coach Dan Judas, who is in his third year leading the Pioneers.

Last season, Sevastopol advanced to the third round of the playoffs, finishing 8-3 overall. The Pioneers also went 4-2 in their final year in the  Across the Bay Conference, tying for second with Algoma in league play behind undefeated conference champion Lena/St. Thomas Aquinas.

Sevastopol will try to do it without the conference’s Offensive Player of the Year, Logan Schuh, lost to graduation. They’ll also be replacing Austin Pagels, a first-team offensive lineman, and Reid Kacmarynski, an honorable mention offensive end.

Fortunately, the Pioneers return four players who received all-conference honors in 2025. They include: the team’s leading tackler, senior linebacker/running back Ray Johnson, who had 107 total tackles; the leading receiver, junior Cash Kuehn, who caught 26 passes for 455 yards with seven touchdowns; junior running back Bo Tanck, who rushed for 368 yards on 69 carries with five touchdowns, and senior defensive lineman Harry Schartner, who had 74 total tackles.

Other returning players of note include sophomore quarterback/linebacker Reid LeClair, junior running back/defensive back Roman LeClair, and senior offensive/defensive linemen Jaxon Rankin and Anthony Estevez.

Judas said this year’s team is strong in experience as it returns “numerous players who have been multi-year starters and have played in big games.”

“We have some experienced players back, but we also have guys stepping into new and bigger roles,” he said. “How quickly we come together, develop consistency, and learn to handle adversity will be important.”

Sevastopol will join the Packerland 8 Conference, which still includes Gibraltar and Algoma. Lena/St. Thomas Aquinas, Suring and Gillett are no longer the Pioneers’ conference opponents.

Oneida Nation has formed its own team after splitting from the cooperative with NEW Lutheran/Providence Academy, which is still in the league. New conference opponents include Valley Christian and Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah.

Judas said he is looking forward to seeing what the Pioneers can accomplish this season in the new conference.

“There really aren’t any weeks where you can afford to overlook an opponent,” he said. “It’s a competitive conference with a lot of good teams and good players, and we’re going to have to be prepared to play every week.”

The Pioneers’ first game, a non-conference contest, is scheduled for Aug. 21 against St. John’s Northwestern Academy in Delafield. Their first conference game is Aug. 28 at Valley Christian.

2026 Pioneers Football Schedule

Games begin at 7 pm, unless otherwise listed

Aug. 21 Away vs. St. John’s Northwestern, 3:30 pm

Aug. 28 Away vs. Valley Christian

Sept. 3 Home vs. NEW/Providence

Sept. 11 Away vs. Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah

Sept. 18 Home vs. Niagara

Sept. 25 Home vs. Oneida Nation

Oct. 2 Away vs. Algoma

Oct. 8 Home vs. Gibraltar

Gibraltar’s Wyatt Bultman (front) catches a pass during the Aug. 14 scrimmage against Algoma at Fish Creek. Photo by Kevin Boneske.

Vikings Again Playing Numbers Game

Gibraltar’s eight-player football team finds itself in a numbers game once again with a roster of around 15 players.

The roster disparity was on display Aug. 14 when the Vikings hosted scrimmages against Sevastopol and Algoma, teams with double the number of available players.

The Vikings bring back senior receiver/defensive end Wyatt Bultman, who made the all-conference second team on the defensive line. 

Also back is junior Jake Larson, a defensive lineman who could also see playing time at running back or quarterback, along with senior offensive lineman Xavier Gaddes and junior offensive lineman Kaleb Hummel. Junior Hobbs Emerson also returns.

They will aim to replace running back Sean Neal, who ran for more than 1,000 yards, and quarterback Giovanni Mercier, who made the second team at defensive back. Other big losses include lineman Owen Dannhausen and defensive back Bairen Lhost.

Leading up to the Aug. 14 scrimmage, Gibraltar head coach Mike Peck said the team had been doing some fine tuning to see where the players fit in the lineup.

“We’ve had some kids that have played quarterback that I don’t think normally we’d put there, but they’re having fun,” he said. “They’re figuring out if they can do it or not.”

Peck noted freshmen accounted for close to half of the players who came out for football this season at Gibraltar.

Another round of conference realignment puts the Vikings into the Packerland 8. Peck said he doesn’t think too much about the WIAA’s conference changes. 

“We can’t do anything about it,” he said. “There is nothing we can say that is going to change their mind. Put us where you’re going to put us, and then we get to play.”

Though last year’s undefeated Across the Bay champion, Lena/St. Thomas Aquinas, is no longer in the conference, the Vikings will still have that opponent on the schedule this year as a non-league road game Sept. 11.

Gibraltar is scheduled to open the season at home Aug. 20 against NEW Lutheran/Providence Academy, which is in the Packerland 8, but will play the season opener as a non-league game as the first of two contests between the two teams this year.

The Vikings will also host their first conference game Aug. 28 against Oneida Nation, which formed its own team after splitting from the cooperative with NEW Lutheran and Providence Academy.

Algoma and Sevastopol are still in the same conference as Gibraltar, with Valley Christian and Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah joining the seven-team league. 

2026 Vikings Football Schedule

Games begin at 7 pm, unless listed otherwise

Aug. 20 Home vs. NEW/Providence

Aug. 28 Home vs. Oneida Nation

Sept. 3 Away vs. Algoma

Sept. 11 Away vs. Lena/St. Thomas Aquinas

Sept. 18 Home vs. Valley Christian

Sept. 26 Away vs. NEW/Providence, 11 am

Oct. 2 Home vs. Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah

Oct. 8 Away vs. Sevastopol