MEQUON — Homestead High School's football team is entering the season with state title aspirations, led by sixth-year head coach Drake Zortman and a strong returning group on both sides of the ball.
The Highlanders are setting their sights high this season, with players and coaches alike focused on peaking when it matters most.
Head coach Drake Zortman said the early returns have been encouraging.
"I'm excited we're off to a good start. We got a nice returning group coming back. We got some questions to answer; of course it's only day one, guys. We just asked them to get a little bit better every play every day," Zortman said.
On offense, the Highlanders return senior quarterback Lee Zortman, the head coach's son, who threw for over 1,500 yards and 23 touchdowns last season.
The younger Zortman said the offense is focused on keeping opponents off balance.
"We're looking to be very explosive, also being kind of quiet with everything going on, like kind of deceptive. You'll be watching the wrong guy and the other guy have the ball, and he'll be all the way 80 yards, and you'll never know it; it's kind of our goal," Lee Zortman said.
Senior cornerback Dom Ganju leads the defense and said team chemistry will be the key to success.
"Everyone's have to be together a lot to become one on the team because if someone's not doing their job, you're only as strong as your weakest link, so you're gonna have to bond with them. Make sure they know what they're doing and kind of like spread positivity," Ganju said.
Senior outside linebacker Jasper Lidstone said the coaching staff has been a driving force behind the team's preparation.
"He pushes us in the room, on the field. He pushes us everywhere to be better. The coaches push us. He just helps us all around," Lidstone said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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