MUKWONAGO – After Muskego captured its first conference title in three seasons, acting Muskego coach and current defensive coordinator Ryan Lucchesi reminded that in this particular scenario, a little selfishness is OK.
“We didn’t wanna share a damn thing,” Lucchesi exclaimed to the Warriors after a 38-21 victory over rival Mukwonago to clinch the outright Classic 8 Conference football title and keep possession of the Traveling Crowbar trophy.
Star running back Jackson Niemiec stole the show in the showdown, accounting for four of Muskego’s five touchdowns, all of which came in the first half in three different ways. Niemiec scored twice on the ground, once through the air on a 46-yard catch-and-run on third-and-18, and then returned a punt for a score, breaking multiple tackles and racing down his own sideline to pay dirt with 1:54 left before halftime to make it a 35-0 rout at the break.
“He’s got heart, man,” Lucchesi said. “He’s a warrior. That might sound cliche, but he’s one of those kids you go to war with forever. The amount of injuries that he plays through I don’t think are documented, but he cares. He’s passioniate. He’s an incredible leader, 4.3 student. He’s just got a heart of gold and he checks every box under the sun.”
Mukwonago mustered a fairly quick 14-0 spurt of its own out of the break, courtesy of a 30-yard pitch-and-catch from George Molitor to Max Baehman and then Colton Lynch’s 10th touchdown run of the season from a couple yards out to make it a three-score game after three. A late touchdown toss from Molitor to Connor Janke pulled the home side as close as it had been since the end of the opening quarter.
Lucchesi, a longtime assistant under Muskego coach Ken Krause, was in charge of the Warriors for the colossal showdown in Krause’s absence. Lucchesi didn’t dive too deeply into Krause’s absence and Muskego athletic director Ryan McMillan declined to comment on the reason for the absence, but the defensive coordinator passed credit down to many within the program that helped keep the ship afloat while its leader was not present.
“We train for this. In this program, we put a lot into mental training and our mental toughness. We talk about how adversity is an opportunity, and we always preach next man up,” Lucchesi said. “That’s every phase of this thing. There may be a day where I’m not here. The show is going to go on. We expect the leadership on this team and this program to carry us. We’re gonna continue to attack every opportunity we got with enthusiasm, and we know what gets us here and we know what makes us our best.
“That’s a credit to this staff. I’m so proud of our offensive staff for the way that they came together and for the way they executed tonight. It’s pretty special. It says a lot about Collin Smith, Eric Hetzel, Larry Meeks and Paul Smith. What those four guys did tonight is special.”
With the victory, Muskego moves to 8-1 on the season, winners of its last eight games following a Week 1 loss to Neenah on the road. The Warriors are the outright conference champions and a virtual lock to be a No. 1 seed in Division 1 once the WIAA playoff brackets are revealed Saturday, Oct. 18.
“We’re sure hoping so,” Lucchesi said when asked about Krause’s status for the postseason. “He’s just not here tonight, and that’s really all we know at this time. We love Coach Krause. He’s the reason I’m here and we’re gonna leave it at that. I’m just so damn proud of these kids tonight.”
Niemiec’s massive night brings home Muskego’s eighth conference title since 2014
Krause has somehow not ran out of adjectives when describing Niemiec over the last couple seasons.
The senior star battled shoulder injuries throughout the 2024 season, one that somehow ended a victory shy of Muskego’s third state title in program history against Bay Port in the D1 state title game last November. The Warriors were beaten, battered and struggling to get through the regular season with a sub-.500 mark in Classic 8 play last season for the first time since 2016 with a laundry list of injuries. Despite the uphill climb that included matchups with No. 1 and unbeaten Franklin, Neenah and Mukwonago for a second time last postseason, Niemiec and the Warriors got healthy and hot at the right time as the temperatures continued to fall.
The senior even had a nice bloody gash that was bandaged up on the lower portion of his forehead near the top of his nose for good measure during one of the best and most important performances of his career.
“I did some recovery over the offseason,” Niemiec said regarding the labrum issues he faced last season. “You know, bumps and bruises here and there, but we’re sticking in there and I’m glad to be out here with these guys.”
This season, it’s about finishing the job.
“We put so much into this. Football’s a sport where you get so close with the guys around you,” Niemiec said. “We put so much into this that it’s nice when it’s rewarding like tonight and you get some touchdowns. I got a great O-line blocking up front and that’s what’s gonna happen. It’s amazing to be a part of this team, but we’re not done yet.”
Niemiec’s been arguably the most important piece to the puzzle for the Muskego attack. Coming into the Week 9 matchup with Mukwonago, he had been averaging nearly 11 yards a carry (10.9) on just 65 runs this season with eight scores. He also became the team’s leading receiver against Mukwonago with the 54-yard touchdown catch on Muskego’s second drive of the night and nearly halved his total receptions on the season with a key third-quarter reception on third down in the red zone that set up the game’s lone field goal from Jack Tschudy to put Muskego back up by four scores.
There’s much still to be decided for Muskego as the playoffs arrive, but one thing’s for sure: the Warriors aren’t planning on leaving any doubt they’re one of the teams to beat as the calendar soon shifts to November.
“We came up a little short last year and it’s really driving us this year,” Niemiec said. “Our team wants (a state title). We want to get there again. We want that trophy. Conference champs is nice, but definitely more to get for sure.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Muskego captures outright Classic 8 crown for first time since 2022
