- Howards Grove, Head Coach: Mark Maranell; 2021 season record: 4-5 (3-4)
The Tigers fell just short of the playoffs in 2021, despite starting the season 3-1 and Howards Grove lost their final three games of the season. That included a hard-fought loss to neighbor and rival Ozaukee High School in their final game, 31-22.
Head Coach Mark Maranell has made great strides with the program since taking over in 2019. Maranell was definitely put in a difficult spot as the team was coming off back-to-back playoff berths in 2017 and 2018 under previous head coach David Schmid (who is now the principal of Valders High School), but the growing pains seem to be trending towards being over.
The Tigers most prominent offensive weapon is a hybrid quarterback, running back, and linebacker due the smaller player pool at Howards Grove, junior Tyler Rittenhouse, who rushed 1,313 yards and 18 rushing touchdowns in 2021.
On the other side the Tigers’ defense will have a major hole to fill with the departure of Jack Schroeder, who lead the Big East conference with 13 sacks, more than double the second-place finisher in the category.
Another major loss due to graduation for the Tigers is their former starting quarterback Payton Danen. He threw for 778 yards, 9 touchdowns and just three interceptions – production that could be a challenge to replace given the aforementioned smaller class size of Howards Grove. However, such limitations should create a great opportunity several freshmen joining the team if they desire such a role.
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