Young Green Bay East squad coming together
GREEN BAY – Every coach knows how vital it is for their team to come together to have success.
Shaun Behrend figured one of the best ways at accomplishing that was to have them all spend a night together.
The Green Bay East football team stayed overnight at the high school gym prior to its last contact day practice in July.
Coaches grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, while the players spent time with each other joking around, sharing stories, watching movies and playing video games.
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“We got a lot of guys from different places and different cultures. I love that,” East football coach Shaun Behrend said. “These guys just have to learn how to come together. I don’t care where you come from. How do you come together? Get comfortable with the guys around you.”
The Red Devils have 56 players on the roster this year, which is a big increase from last year when the team went 2-7 in Behrend’s first season as head coach.
The boost in numbers is in part due to a large freshmen class of 18 players coming in.
“We get kids from all over the place,” Behrend said. “It’s not like some of these smaller towns where these kids have been playing together since fifth grade. They come in as a nice, huge class, but we’ve got to get them playing together and learning the system.
“We’re going to be young a little bit unpredictable. We’re probably going to start three freshmen this year, which I’ve never done, and one at quarterback. But they’re good. They’re good football players and great competitors.”
Riley Jensen is the freshmen that will be at quarterback for East, which returns only four players with significant varsity experience from last year, including seniors Christian Toonen, Keng Lee, Jacob Zellner and junior Alex Aoki.
Despite the inexperience, Behrend likes the makeup of how the team is coming together.
“We’re going to be solid once we figure out where we’re at,” Behrend said. “The future here is bright and we just have to keep these kids out with football and in the books to keep this group together. We’re really excited about this year and our future going forward.”
G.B. East at a glance
Coach: Shaun Behrend, 2nd season
Last year: 2-7
All-conference players to replace:
Jeremiah Flowers, RB/OLB, 2nd team
Chris Morris, RB, HM
Mason Nohr, WR/K, 1st team/2nd team
Seth Zellner, OL/DE, 2nd team
Eli Sergott, OL, HM
Carter Writt, DB, 2nd team
2019 Schedule
Aug. 23 Seymour
Aug. 30 Appleton Xavier
Sept. 6 at Shawano
Sept. 13 West De Pere
Sept. 21 at G.B. West
Sept. 27 Clintonville (NC)
Oct. 4 at Waupaca
Oct. 11 New London
Oct. 18 at Menasha