Green Bay West is going to the WIAA football playoffs for the first time in 30 years.
The Wildcats beat Sheboygan South 28-14 at home on Friday, Oct. 16, in their final game of the regular season, removing any doubt about whether they would qualify. West last reached the postseason in 1996, the longest drought among Green Bay metro programs.
The decades in between were difficult ones for the program, which went through 10 head coaches and endured 11 seasons without a win. The turnaround has been built on stability: head coach Drew Brusoe and his staff are in their fifth season, and the school has kept the same athletic director for four years.
Senior linebacker Luke Rissling, a varsity player since his freshman year, stayed at West rather than transferring to a contending program. After the win, he described the result as the payoff for four years of work to change how people view West football and to set a new standard for the team.
