The anticipation is still ramping up for the first game of the new WIAA football season, and the Northland Pines varsity squad is ready to attack the year. Depth and leadership are at the forefront as second-year Head Coach Justin Nimsgern leads the charge.
With official practice starting last week for teams around the state, Friday nights under the lights are just a few short weeks away.
Nimsgern brought a much-needed jolt to the program last season and the Eagles won their first three games of the year. After that, Northland Pines finished the season 1-5 and missed qualifying for the playoffs by one game.
After losing just five seniors from last year’s team and a large junior class becoming seniors, the returning athletes worked hard throughout the offseason to prepare for the start of the season. That includes buying into the offseason training program and/or participating in other sports.
“This offseason has been great for a majority of the group and are seeing positive results from their dedication. During the school year, we have a very high percentage of the team that competes in another sport or two, and others that have committed to our offseason training program. With the WIAA summer contact rule change from last year, we saw our non-mandatory organized practice double in participation from last summer,” stated Nimsgern.
Nimsgern also said the senior group wanted to be challenged this season, opening the program to many opportunities this summer.
“Our senior group came to me asking to be challenged for this upcoming season, so we were able to schedule a team padded camp at Minnesota State-Mankato in June, and a joint practice at Rhinelander in July, which went very well.”
The 2026 roster will not only benefit from that but also be able to consume a similar coaching style and playbook to what they saw last season. The players can feed off of the successes of last season and learn from their mistakes within the same system. Northland Pines has rotated coaches every year over the last handful of seasons before Nimsgern’s arrival.
“The benefit of having a consistent coaching staff and program standard will only help our athletes continue to grow and be more confident in themselves. Participation numbers are huge, especially at smaller schools. With more participation, we can create more competition in practice, and depth can wear down an opponent where guys can stay as fresh and healthy for the whole season,” explained Nimsgern. “Our senior class makes it easy on our coaching staff because they love to compete and truly care about the team.”
The Eagles will have key returners on both sides of the ball, with familiar faces lining up on the offensive and defensive lines, at running back, tight end and in the secondary. The team does have to replace the absence of Aiden Minx and Jacob Beer, a key connection at quarterback and wide receiver last season.
Key returners include offensive linemen senior Dylan Kleffman and sophomore Chase Seeger. Senior Tucker Brock will lead the backfield as he did as a junior, where he posted 395 yards and three touchdowns.
Brady Dumovich returns as a pass catcher at tight end. On defense, Brock and senior Ethan Wirth will lead the linebacker core, and seniors Bryan Droby and Xavier Gaffny will lead the DBs as cornerback and safety.
After many years of switching back and forth with different coaches, Nimsgern is hopeful that year two will be a season of consistency.
The Northwoods Conference that Northland Pines plays in had a little shake-up, as defending conference champion Oconto Falls moved to another conference this season. Preseason polls have been released, with the Eagles predicted to finish third this season behind Coleman and Crivitz. That is something Nimsgern talks to the players about to try and limit the outside noise.
“We address the media/coaches polls that come out. We often discuss how outside noise, positive or negative, should not affect our preparation that we put in as a team because they do not know what we actually do to prepare,” noted Nimsgern.
The Eagles aren’t going to let that distract them from the goals they have laid out for the season. One of those goals is to return to the playoffs after missing it by one game last season. It would be the Eagles’ first time back in the dance since 2019 (excluding 2020, when every team made the playoffs).
“We create goals for ourselves and as a team that we can accomplish weekly and the entire season. One of those realistic goals is to get back to the playoffs. We were very close last year to turn the corner, but we came up short in our last game to qualify,” mentioned Nimsgern. “I believe our team has prepared very well this offseason to have the opportunity to compete in the playoffs this season.”
Pines held a blue/red scrimmage this past Saturday for the players’ families. The team now prepares for its preseason scrimmage at Merrill this coming Friday, Aug. 14, at 7 p.m. The season opener is set at Antigo on Friday, Aug. 21, at 7 p.m. The home opener is scheduled against Ashland on Friday, Aug. 28, at 7 p.m.
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