Greendale Panthers football team hoping for championship

GREENDALE (WITI) -- The Boston Red Sox are the 2013 World Series champions -- and are a team that went from worst to first in one year by bringing in guys who could play the game, but who also really care for one another. It is a formula one local high school football team hopes will lead to a memory that will last forever.

On Friday, October 25th, Mitchell Brees and his teammates on the unbeaten Greendale High School football team took Coach Rob Stoltz's message to heart.

The 10-0 Panthers sailed to a 44-7 win over outmatched Milwaukee Pius. Anything less than going to Madison for a chance to capture the Division 3 championship would be a disappointment.

It is hard to believe that 39-year-old Stoltz, a former star player at Greendale is in his 13th season as coach. Stoltz, who stays in shape by working out with his team, appreciates the remarkable support he receives at his Alma Mater.

What keeps the coach and his staff going is knowing that they continue to make a lasting impression on their young men on and off the field -- and that breeds lasting relationships.

This year's Panthers team is talented and fast. They're also close knit. The seniors make sure the underclassmen feel as much a part of the picture as anybody else.

Mitchell Brees -- a three-sport standout whose older brother Andrew starred for Stoltz personifies the success story at Greendale -- both on the gridiron and off.

Earlier this season, Brees was ejected from a game after an official thought he kicked a player in retaliation for a late hit. Turns out that never happened -- but by rule, Mitchell was forced to miss the next week -- the first of his career.

In typical fashion, the senior co-captain turned a negative into a positive.

The Greendale Panthers hope to take the next step to Madison on Friday night, when they play a Level 2 playoff game at Brown Deer.