For this weeks edition of MaxPreps Game of the week Matt Peck and I will be traveling up north to Neenah as we have a really exciting game to call between the (3-0) Kaukauna Galloping Ghosts, #4 ranked in Division 2 on the road taking on the (3-0) Neenah Rockets ranked #8 in Division 1.
Preview
After three weeks of the WIAA football season both of these teams come in undefeated and (1-0) in conference play from last weeks games. From looking at the stats on the previous weeks of the season this Neenah team is looking very run heavy with already over a thousand rushing yards as a team through three games and 13 rushing touchdowns as well. Clearly this is Neenah’s “bread & butter” on their success on the offensive end, and Kaukauna is looking into trying to stop this run heavy team on Friday. On Kaukauna’s end they have kept it very balanced in their first few games, passing/running the ball. The thing that makes me believe the Galloping Ghosts have a great chance to upset is because they did just that in week 2 vs West De Pere as they were at the time #3 ranked in Division 2. Both teams are gonna want the win bad to take over a big spot in the Fox Valley Association Conference with the leading powerhouse Kimberly team on top.
Players To Watch From The Kaukauna Galloping Ghosts
QB: Finnley Doriot– The Ghosts QB1 has had lots of previous experience at the starting role and is not shy when it comes to playing big in crucial moments. The senior had a career junior season with 2054 passing yards, 19 passing touchdowns on the season. To put up those numbers in 13 games is really good as he lead the Galloping Ghosts all the way up to the sectional final which ultimately lead to them losing to West De Pere on the game to punch a ticket to state. Doriot in three games this season has 768 passing yards and 8 touchdowns, including a big revenge game on the team that eliminated them from a chance for the D2 State Championship game in West De Pere as he had 304 passing yards and 3 passing touchdowns which lead them to a 25-22 W. This is the biggest name to watch for Kaukauna because he shows he can play his best even when its a top ten opponent in the state. Excited to see how he does against another top ten opponent Neenah (#8) Friday night.
DB: John Neumann- The senior D-back is off to a heck of a start to the 2023 season. Neumann leads the team in tackles with 14 as well as a forced fumble, and interception in three games. He can intimidate an offense anywhere by doing it all on the field at once. He’s gonna get a put to the test in Fridays contest against Grant Dean and the highflying Neenah run game.
WR’s: Nolan Hall & Parker Schuh– This is a very Dynamic wide receiver duo to pair with their star QB Finnley Doriot. The duo has combined for 482 out of the 778 receiving yards on the season and both of them have two receiving touchdowns on the year. These are the weapons Finnley Doriot could work really well with when one has an off game he can rely on the other player to step it up and if both are having big games, that Neenah defense could be in trouble come gameday. Very exciting to see the very talented WR core come to play against a dangerous Neenah defense this week.
Players To Watch From The Neenah Rockets
RB: Grant Dean– The opposite of what Kaukauna is known for the Neenah Rockets have the really talented run game to work with. After three weeks of the season the Rockets have rushed for 1022 yards and 13 touchdowns. This core is lead by Grant Dean who is in his junior season trying to make some noise for his team to make a push for state this year. He can get you the much needed touchdowns at the right time as he had a big week 2 against De Pere with 282 rushing yards and 5 rushing touchdowns. He has 8 rushing touchdowns in two games. That is the craziest fact about him to do that in two football games, and now he looks to help the Rockets plow through Kaukauna’s defense in a much needed conference win to keep up with Kimberly.
OLB: Connor Briones– This is a very exciting player to watch especially when he contests the run & pass game. Connor Briones is a senior leading linebacker for this Neenah defense, and whenever he can give his guys a spark to get going he does just that. So far in three games Briones has 24 TTK along with 3 TFL and is not shy to pressure the offenses with 13 of them already in his season so far. Can he keep the pressure up against a Kaukauna team that likes to pass in this big matchup.
OL/DL: Hudson Tamulion- He can block, sack, and pressure: Hudson Tamulion is the guy that leads the Rockets up front on both sides of the line of scrimmage. So far Tamulion has appeared in all three games for Neenah and has a wide variety of stats on the defensive end of the field with, 16 total tackles 3 tackles for loss, and 10 ATCK. This is quite the pair to put Briones, and Tamulion together on the pressure on the pass heavy Galloping Ghosts, as most teams have had trouble stopping them so far this year, and this might be Kaukauna’s most challenging defense since their Matchup with West De Pere week 2.
How To Watch The Game (Time, Place)
The game will be hosted at Neenah High School@7Pm CT, and I was told the crowds are going to be big for the game tomorrow night and tickets are selling fast, so if you can’t make it out me and Matt Peck once again will have the radio call of the game live on MaxPreps. Link is right below!
Kaukauna Vs Neenah MaxPreps Radio Broadcast