RIVER FALLS — With UWRF defensive coordinator Jake Wissing stepping into the head coaching role on a team looking to defend a National Championship, the team is using its championship mentality to tackle a difficult schedule.

River Falls’ 59-22 win over Eau Claire on Saturday brings the Falcons to 5-2 this season with a 2-2 WIAC record. Wissing said the community embracing him has made the transition significantly smoother.

“It’s been really awesome,” Wissing said. “It’s definitely a different view, a different kind of stress than it has been in years past, so there’s a little bit of that, but it’s been really awesome to see our guys grow.”

There may be some new faces on the roster from that title team a year ago, but the returning players have carried the torch in setting the expectations.

“That’s something that’s hard to replace. You get that experience, and you’ve got an idea of, hey, this is how we do things and this is what it’s gonna take,” Wissing said. “You also have a bunch of new guys that have got to learn how to do that. That’s something that we’ve been able to try and keep progressing this year.

“Every year is a little different, but that experience definitely is carrying over, and it’s definitely making it easier to say, ‘Hey, this is how we do things here,’” Wissing said.

There are no breaks in the WIAC schedule, and the Falcons know that. In addition to the Eau Claire win, they beat Oshkosh in overtime 34-31. The losses have come 24-16 against No. 6 UW-Whitewater and 42-0 against No. 3 Platteville. To stay prepared for that difficult road, the team takes advantage of every hour of the week to prepare for the upcoming opponent.

“There’s so much every week to work on. As a growing football team, for us, each week’s a different challenge. To be completely honest with you, we have just had the injury bug this year. We’ve had so many different guys in and out of the lineup. Literally, you have to sit down each week and say, ‘Who’s playing this week, and what can they do?’”

Every team in the conference experiences that same difficult schedule. Wissing said the team that remains the healthiest usually takes the crown, and this year the injuries have struck the Falcon lineup.

“You’re playing games every week with huge physicality and huge playoff implications. You just don’t get out of it. Congratulations, you got a win. You take a deep breath for about six, seven hours or so, and you’re right back at it.”

Wissing said while the mentality does bleed over to this season’s roster, this team is also remaining grateful and celebrating each moment. Wissing joked that that mentality showed on a trip home after a game, when the players were given two sandwiches instead of the usual one.

“They’re like, this is the best thing ever. I’m like guys, it’s just two sandwiches,” Wissing said.

He has also enjoyed being a part of the offensive conversations. Wissing spent nine seasons as the team’s offensive coordinator and offensive line coach before swapping to defensive coordinator for five more seasons.

River Falls has three remaining regular season games: Oct. 31 at home against UW-Stout, Nov. 7 on the road against UW-La Crosse and Nov. 14 at home against UW-Stevens Point.

Wissing has enjoyed the ride, and said his goal is to make sure the team’s hard work pays off down the stretch.

“Just trying to give back as much as I can to our guys,” Wissing said.