Elmwood/Plum City football closed its season against an 8-1 Chetek-Weyerhaeuser team Friday, Oct. 17. At 1-7 entering the game, the Wolves were eliminated from the playoffs already. Head Coach Mike Birtzer said a lot of teams would have quit without seeding to play for, but that is not how this EPC team operates.

In fact, the Wolves were about to enter the half trailing just 7-0 until a blocked punt got the Bulldogs a second touchdown. EPC ended up losing 28-8 to the Top 10 ranked opponent.

“This team never quit,” Birtzer said.

EPC had five seniors: Brett Kopp, Owen Kober, Jack Steinmeyer, Kale Rud and Drew Peters. The class led by example, had three captains, four four-year players, two previous All-Conference players in Kopp and Steinmeyer and more. It was Peters’ first year playing for the team, and Birtzer was impressed with the way he was able to plug in and play.

“Phenomenal leaders. They showed up for everything. They understand the concept of community. They understand the concept of hard work, and it was a blessing to have kids like that,” Birtzer said.

EPC also has some returning talent. Logan Auth has led the conference in tackles twice in his high school years. Birtzer was also impressed with some guys that rapidly improved as the season went along including Lucas Hartung, David Kopp, Teigen Bauer and Brewer Link.
“We saw some kids that got thrown into the fire that improved as the season went on,” Birtzer said. “It started to click for them, and you could see them getting better as the season went on.”

He hopes seeing themselves improve can be the biggest motivator of all.

“We need a commitment to success… We need that commitment to the weightroom. We need that commitment to the offseason,” Birtzer said. “You can’t come in in August throwing a football for the first time or trying to catch it and expect to be successful.”

To be successful, the weightroom has to be a year-long passion, not just during the season. EPC’s coaches know that, and they hope the players see it too as the offseason looms. Regardless of the results, Birtzer said this was a roster that he was proud to coach from the way they did not give up to the way they conducted themselves off the field.

“They’re an amazing group of young men. Sometimes the success on the football field wasn’t there, but their success as humans, they volunteered for things, they helped out,” Birtzer said. “Being around them is something I truly enjoy.”