Twists and turns, up and downs, and even all-arounds proved how the Lodi High School football team were able to come together to pull off a quite remarkable season. Though the team ended up falling short to Platteville, in the first round of the WIAA D4 playoffs, 30-37, the team made a loud statement on their ability to win football games with a 7-2 record. Now, as the snow starts to fall and football slowly fades to a memory, let’s review this year’s Lodi High School football team’s season, and get some ending remarks from our seniors.
The 2025 football pre-season was full of what-ifs and possibilities that created a sense of uncertainty. It would prove slightly difficult, however, due to the year beginning without last year’s starting quarterback Kale Schneider, and instead utilizing senior Alex Breunig. However, this didn’t prove to be a challenge as the Lodi High School football team went on to win their first two games against Monroe and Edgerton. After falling to a very good Columbus team, they went on to win their next three in a row, with a very notable win against Lake Mills on homecoming night, 24-7. However, things wouldn’t go so well as they fell both to Darlington, and then finally Platteville in the first round of the playoffs. The team sustained multiple injuries during the season, such as losing running back Brody Ripp, and this caused the team to use unconventional tactics and incorporated different players into the offense and defense. In the end, the team made a very good stand, showing off the talent of many young players but eventually wasn’t able to come out with the win in the playoffs.
Senior Alex Breunig, the quarterback for the Blue Devils offense this year, gave his remarks. When asked what his favorite moment/experience was this year, he responded with, “Beating Lake Mills on Hoco,” and this game was extremely memorable and important for the Blue Devils. They proved their ability to win football games as Lake Mills was ranked #2 in the conference as compared to Lodi’s #3 ranking. They also boasted one of the best quarterbacks in the state and one of the most flowing offenses. However, Lodi was able to come out and take the win at home proving their strength. Alex Breunig also commented, “The team did really well at playing through adversity,” and this showed when the team travelled down to Beloit Turner to take on the Trojans. Tensions were very high, with many dirty plays and actions causing much anger and frustration on the sidelines. However, the team’s efforts and ability to fight allowed the Devils to come out with the win, 28-14. This was also projected during the playoffs, where multiple back and forth touchdowns and drives between the two teams created this need to fight back and win. Much of the team’s success can be attributed to Alex’s contributions as both the team’s quarterback and as one of the team’s senior leaders
This isn’t to say Alex was the only senior who contributed to the team. Senior running back Brody Ripp made many contributions to the team before suffering a hip injury against Horicon, where the Blue Devils won 35-0. “The only thing I think our team could have given out more of was effort when we are down. Some of the team would give up halfway through the game,” noted Brody. This was a big contribution to some of the struggles that the team faced early in the season, and caused lots of worry surrounding the teams capabilities to hang with tougher opponents due to their attitude and willingness to give up after big plays. When asked which of the underclassmen deserved recognition, Brody responded with, “I would like to give a call out to Casey. As a running back, he slowly built up his skills and towards the end of the year, you could see his improvements and how good he was doing.” This year, due to unforeseen circumstances in the team’s roster due to injury, underclassmen like Casey Fleischman took the stand against Platteville, which was his first ever Varsity playoff game.
The future of Lodi football is looking brighter than ever, with all the momentum for the Blue Devils. Next year, the young talent and roster that the team has will certainly show, as the football team is going to be looking for a way back into the playoffs to make a deep run in the postseason. Fans of Lodi football should bring their A game, because this team will certainly blow you away. Many thanks to all the seniors that made this year memorable, because it wouldn’t have been the same without them.
