Dominant Robert Windsor
named
“Defensive Player of the Year”
Mike Gnewuch said it best. When asked to describe what senior Robert Windsor meant to the Fond du Lac football team’s defense, the Cardinals’ head coach pointed out that, of course, it wouldn’t be the same without him. That’s a given. But maybe even more telling to just how dominant Windsor was as a defensive lineman and all-around football player this past season was the fact that Gnewuch talked about the opportunity he had as a coach to work with an athlete of his stature. Windsor isn’t a run-of-the-mill player who just happened to have a great season. He’s a physical freak that has motivation, work ethic and a will to win. He’s the complete package. His message: when a player like Windsor comes around, enjoy it while you can and just let him do his thing. “He’s such a dynamic player and you don’t get the opportunity to coach kids with the physical capabilities of Robert very often in your career,” Gnewuch said. “When they come by, you’ve just got to kind of unleash them and let them go play. That’s what we did with Robert.”
Robert Windsor is the Action Reporter Media 2014 All-Area Football Defensive Player of the Year after a senior season in which he posted 38 tackles and five sacks and was an integral part of a defense that allowed just 15.3 points per game. In addition to being named the 2014 Valley Football Association South Defensive Co-Player of the Year and Defensive Lineman of the Year, Windsor was also a Wisconsin Football Coaches Association first team all-state selection.
Robert Windsor is the Action Reporter Media 2014 All-Area Football Defensive Player of the Year after a senior season in which he posted 38 tackles and five sacks and was an integral part of a defense that allowed just 15.3 points per game. In addition to being named the 2014 Valley Football Association South Defensive Co-Player of the Year and Defensive Lineman of the Year, Windsor was also a Wisconsin Football Coaches Association first team all-state selection.
Standing 6-foot-5 and weighing 260 pounds, Windsor has the physical size needed to become a dominant force along the line of scrimmage. Along with athleticism rarely seen at the high school level for someone that big, Windsor has the drive to get better — which he’s certainly done. “I’m always striving to get better and I have motivation,” Windsor said. “This summer, coming in early, working hard all the time. Always trying to get better. That’s another thing — going 100 percent every play is another big thing.” After Windsor earned All-VFA South second team defensive honors last year as a junior, Gnewuch had high expectations for him coming into his senior season. Speaking with him throughout the offseason and learning what some of his goals were as a player, which included continuing his career at the college level, Gnewuch and the rest of the coaching staff worked on making sure Windsor’s relentless effort mindset was in place by the time the season started.
“We had huge expectations for Robert,” Gnewuch said. “We knew the potential that he had. We saw the streaks that he had last year and our whole goal through the offseason going into this season was to make sure he played every down with 100 percent effort. Through conversations with him and understanding what his goals are for the next level, he really understood that he had to play every single down with 100 percent effort. “When it came to that, it was really easy to coach Robert because we know his physical skills and what he was able to do on the field and if we could convince him that doing that every single play was not only going to make him an unstoppable player, but also give him a chance to play at the second level, we’d be in pretty good shape.”
As a defensive lineman, Windsor knew he couldn’t take any plays off. Any defense’s success starts with controlling the line of scrimmage. He made sure he did his part each and every play. “It’s one of those positions where you can’t take plays off,” he said. “It’s the line of scrimmage and you have to dominate the line of scrimmage. If you’re getting blown back, then they’re going to be able to run.” Amazingly, Windsor’s spectacular senior season almost never happened. Suffering a fracture in his foot prior to the season, there was the distinct possibility he’d miss out on his final year of football. Not surprisingly, he played through the pain and put together a season to remember.
“At times we weren’t sure we were going to have him at all for the football season,” Gnewuch said. “He got healthy and he played with pain through the whole year, but he’s a football player. He’s a tough kid so he sucked it up and was an integral part for our defense.”
As the year went along and Windsor got healthier, he began to garner a lot of attention from opposing offenses. Whether it was double teams, running the play in a different direction or other strategies to neutralize him, the opposition tried its best to keep Windsor at bay. Like he did with his injury, Windsor played through it. “I just keep doing what I do,” he said. “Be relentless and that frees up my teammates. I’m taking the attention away from my teammates, so they can make the plays.” Added Gnewuch: “I think he kind of thrived on (the added attention). He knew that everybody was going to put their best efforts into stopping him, double-teaming him. But he’s so explosive off the ball and he plays with his hands so well that double teams were extremely hard to come by when it came to trying to double team Robert.”
Division I college programs also began to take notice of Windsor’s abilities on the football field. As of mid-November, he’d gotten scholarship offers from Purdue, Illinois, Eastern Michigan, New Mexico and North Dakota State. One of his goals prior to the season was to put himself in position to continue his football career beyond high school. The product was not only an extraordinary senior year, but also an opportunity to do just that — play in college. While he acknowledged his game needs serious improvement before its ready for the Big Ten or any other high-level college competition, he’s excited about the chance he’s being given — one offered to only the best of the best. “It feels good to be wanted and it’s been my dream to play football at the next level.”
Workhorse Justin Maratik
named
“Offensive Player of the Year”
Helmets crack as linebacker meets running back. The ballcarrier won’t go down. His legs keep on churning, feet never stopping. He drags the linebacker another three yards before a defensive back comes into assist, aiming to strip the ball. Both hands secure it and finally the running back goes down five yards after initial contact. A similar play occurs after that. And one after that. Only 30 carries later does the running back call it a night.
Meet Justin Maratik, workhorse running back for the Fond du Lac football team. Following that script nearly every week of the 2014 season, the 6-foot, 185-pound junior ran through, around and over opponents until they could stomach no more. And then he ran 10 more times.
Maratik is the Action Reporter Media 2014 All-Area Football Offensive Player of the Year after a season in which he ran for an astounding 1,918 yards and 21 touchdowns on 310 carries. A unanimous All-Valley Football Association South first team running back, Maratik both absorbed and handed out beatings on a weekly basis like it was nothing.
Tough is an understatement. “He’s a tough kid and we knew he was tough and I think his durability really goes to show what kind of a football player he is because he runs really hard and takes a lot of hits and pounds,” Fond du Lac football coach Mike Gnewuch said. “But to be able to sustain health through the entire season, even though he wasn’t necessarily always healthy, he came out with that workmanlike attitude every day.”
First there was the game against Marshfield where he ran it 30 times for 259 yards and five touchdowns, scoring a school-record six TDs on the night. A couple weeks later, he carried it 37 times against Neenah, scoring the go-ahead TD late in the contest. 30 carries against Hortonville, 37 vs. Janesville Craig, 35 against Middleton on a frigid October night. This was a kid that could take a beating. All part of the game plan. “I take pride in my coaches trusting me and the offensive line throughout the whole game, giving me the ball 37 carries and plus (quarterback) Jack (Nejedlo) having his dozen or so,” Maratik said. “I took some pride in it, but that was kind of our philosophy throughout the year was ground and pound. Wear defenses out and stuff.”
Possibly the most impressive part about Maratik’s year is the fact that it was his first as the unquestioned, no-doubt No. 1 tailback. As a sophomore he rushed for just under 500 yards on 116 attempts. This year, he seemingly got the ball every other play, maybe more. With Maratik becoming the featured runner — paired with the offensive system the Cardinals operate out of — did Gnewuch think he could have a breakout year? You bet. “We knew that he’s a good downhill runner,” Gnewuch said. “We knew that he’s a pretty good I (formation) back, which is what we do. We were thinking if he could remain healthy, he had horses up front, he could have a pretty successful season. If you would have asked me at the beginning of the year how many yards Justin would have, I would have predicted he’d get at least 1,500. Based on how he progressed in the offseason, we had big plans for him and we knew we were going to feature him as the I-back in our system.” As Gnewuch pointed out, Maratik had a great offensive line in front of him, which included two first team all-conference performers in Peter Andrew and Aaron Wehner and a second team selection in Wyatt Holzman. Running behind that kind of line is a treat for any tailback. “I love it,” Maratik said. “Not only that they make wide-open holes for me during the game, but even just watching them on film. Peter (Andrew), Wehner, all of them making a huge surge on people and pancake blocking people. It’s really fun just watching them and playing behind those guys.”
Jack Nejedlo, wideout Brian Luteyn and a number of other players on the Fond du Lac roster also gave the Cardinals plenty of options on offense, preventing defenses from homing in on Maratik too much. That said, Maratik was the engine for an offense that averaged a little over 34 points per game. He credits his breakout season to — who else — the offensive line, but also pointed to the fact he was physically and mentally prepared for the kind of workload he’d be getting coming into the season. “Physically I gained weight and gained a lot of muscle throughout the offseason and put my time in during then,” he said. “Mentally, I put a lot of work into the film and I really paid attention to what the offensive line was doing as well. Those are the guys that are making the holes for me. I’ve got to pay attention to what they’re doing so I know what I’m doing.” Added Gnewuch: “He’s very driven. He knows that the football season is predicated on how much work goes into the offseason and that’s exactly what he did. He worked his tail off in the offseason and was able to put on some weight and gain some strength. As a result, it really benefitted him for this past football season.”
Fortunately for the Cardinals, they’ll get to hold onto Maratik for another year. You can bet he’ll bring that same mindset, durability and drive into the 2015 season. “Without Justin, who knows where we’re at (offensively),” Gnewuch said. “We needed a durable kid to possess the ball, not to fumble the ball. “Without Justin, we wouldn’t have had the success we had because he was so reliable and we knew the kind of effort we’d get week in and week out.”
2014 All Area Football Team
Offense
Pos Name School Yr.
QB Jack Nejedlo Fond du Lac Sr.
RB Justin Maratik Fond du Lac Jr.
RB Sam Spranger St. Mary’s Springs Jr.
RB Adrian Harmsen Waupun Sr.
E Brian Luteyn Fond du Lac Sr.
E Mitch McFarlane WLA Jr.
OL Peter Andrew Fond du Lac Sr.
OL Matt Busse St. Mary’s Springs Sr.
OL Aaron Hepp Campbellsport Sr.
OL Wyatt Holzman Fond du Lac Sr.
OL Aaron Wehner Fond du Lac Sr.
P Noah Greve Laconia Sr.
Defense
DL Dominic Belisle St. Mary’s Springs Sr.
DL Tyler Miller Fond du Lac Jr.
DL Robert Windsor Fond du Lac Sr.
DL Luke Wulber Fond du Lac Sr.
LB Mark Austin St. Mary’s Springs Sr.
LB Matt Norton Laconia Sr.
LB Lucas Raube Fond du Lac Sr.
LB Alec Strigenz Fond du Lac Sr.
DB Anthony Grebe St. Mary’s Springs Sr.
DB Zach Hintze St. Mary’s Springs Sr.
DB Jake Walgenbach Fond du Lac Jr.
K Zach Hintze St. Mary’s Springs Sr.
Honorable Mention
Campbellsport: Shaun Beisbier, sr., qb. Fond du Lac: Jason Toshner, sr., lb; Jacob Stadler, sr., lb. Laconia: Brett Wittchow, sr., wr; Jack Propson, sr., qb; Brett Merten, sr., lb. Lomira: Jordan Michael, jr., rb. Mayville: Teague Nadolski, sr., wr; Connor Johnson, jr., db; Kody Priesgen, sr., dl. Oakfield: Griffin Anderson, sr., dl. St. Mary’s Springs: Mason Steffes, soph., ol; Lucas Gellings, sr., db; Brennen Ottery, sr., de. Waupun: Danny Harmsen, jr., ol; Brady Beekman, sr., lb; Jake Murphy, sr., lb. Winnebago Lutheran: Tanner Haase, soph., ol; Joe Herrewig, jr., db; James Huey, jr., de; Eric Schmitz, soph., qb.