Football practices begin this week

The pads will be popping soon enough as high school football teams in the area and throughout the state begin practicing this week.

The players won’t wear pads until a few practices are under their belts, but Tuesday marked the official start of the 2025-26 Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association year and the beginning of the football season. For three area teams, that means looking to build on last year’s playoff appearances, with the first games set for Aug. 22.

Derek Updike began his 22nd season leading the Arcadia football program as the team made a return trip to the playoffs last season after a recent slump. Last year, Arcadia went 5-5 overall and 3-4 in a tough Coulee Conference. The team lost to Marshfield Columbus in Level One of the playoffs, its first appearance since 2021. Arcadia kicks off its 2025 season at home against Webster. 

Seth Dale is in his second season leading the Blair-Taylor program, which won the Dairyland Conference last season and qualified for the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season. The Wildcats went 7-3 overall and 6-1 in the Dairyland Conference before losing to Glenwood City in Level One of the playoffs. B-T graduated several key contributors but will look to continue its success, starting with a game at Onalaska Luther.

Whitehall broke through, qualifying for the playoffs in its third season under coach Tyler Bortle. The Norse went 3-4 in Dairyland Conference play and 4-6 overall, losing to Spring Valley in Level One of the playoffs. Whitehall begins its season at Colfax in a few weeks.

The Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau football team will have a new look as Paul Anderson stepped down after leading the Red Hawks for the last three seasons. Luke Oliver will serve as G-E-T’s third coach in the last five seasons, after the program was led by Wisconsin Football Coaches Association Hall of Famer Jon Steffenhagen for more than 20 years. G-E-T begins its season at Mondovi after going 2-7 overall and 2-5 in Coulee play last season.

The Independence/Gilmanton program hit a high note toward the end of Austen Whitwam’s first season last year. After losing its first six games and extending its overall losing streak to 19 games, Whitwam’s Indees defeated Augusta, 28-6. That was the team’s only win last season, but it hopes for more this year, beginning with a game at Boyceville.