April 28, 2014 at 2:48 p.m.
Tri-County Timber Wolves ready to kick off inaugural season
Tri-County Timber Wolves ready to kick off inaugural season
The group, which started as a handful of potential players and coaches, is now large enough to field a team and the final preparations are under way.
At the helm of the Timber Wolves is Michael Burke, who's forced to act as a jack-of-all-trades during the team's infancy.
"I'm the team's president, head coach and I'm the GM," he said. "Unless we have more players, I'll also be one of the middle linebackers. We're still growing. It's not as great as we would have liked, but it's getting there."
Before the team's leadership could turn its attention to assembling its roster though, there were plenty of matters to tend to. First, they had find a place to play.
"I talked with the (School District of Rhinelander) activities director Brian Paulson and I told him about us, what we're about and what we're trying to do," Burke said. "He checked with a few people, made sure we had insurance and made it happen."
The Timber Wolves will call Mike Webster stadium home this season, but Burke and his friends knew they needed to start recruiting if they were going to put together a team capable of defending it. Burke said he's already got a few positions nailed down.
"Darrel Lafferty is our starting quarterback," he said. "No one has beaten him out for the position. We have a couple linemen set in Mike Myers and Jesse Franklin. Those are our core guys right now."
Building a roster is only part of the job though. They needed equipment too and to help their players with the cost, that meant fundraising. Unfortunately, Burke said with everything going on, they haven't been able to dedicate as much time to it as they'd like.
"I want to do some fundraising, but time is really tight now," Burke said. "It's about looking for sponsors at this point because between practice and work, we don't have a lot of time, especially now that we have so little time until kickoff on our first game."
With the opener only a week away, the Timber Wolves are working on finalizing the lineup. They'll trot out somewhere between 14 and 20 players against Marshfield, meaning most players will have to play both ways. That's why Burke has his guys working hard in practice to get everyone on the same page.
"We're basically running through plays and getting the guys up to speed," Burke said. "We're keeping the playbook pretty simple for the guys that don't have any previous football experience. The ones that do have that experience will grasp it pretty quick. I just don't want to go into the first game with any communication issues, so we're keeping the game plan fairly simple."
Because plenty of players will be on the field for the entirety of the game, Burke has opted to mold his game plan to keep his guys fresh as long as he can.
"We're running a lot of West Coast-style stuff," he said. "That's running the ball, screen plays, slot routes and just enough deep plays to keep the defense honest. I think that's the best fit for right now unless our numbers grow. A lot of the guys are going to be playing both sides of the ball, so keeping the field a little shorter will really help them out and keep them fresher."
The scouting report on Marshfield doesn't look good for the Timber Wolves. They're an established team with a lot of games behind them.
"Marshfield is a little bit bigger team," Burke said. "They have more numbers. There guys are going to be coming off the bench fresh. Basically, what we have to do to be successful is have a high completion rate and execute our plays. That's why we're running through them so many times."
When the final whistle blows though, no matter the score, it will have been a major accomplishment for the Timber Wolves. They built a brand new program from nothing and there are brighter days ahead.
Anyone interested in joining the Timber Wolves are invited to attend a practice for more information.
Andy Hildebrand may be reached at [email protected].
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