Hopes ride on arms of seniors

At 6-feet-5-inches, Joel Stave stands just a bit taller than the rest of his Whitnall football teammates.

Subsequently, his shoulders are slightly elevated above the rest of the pack, and it is on those broad shoulders that rests the weight of the Falcons' 2010 expectations.

In his first season as the Falcons starter, Stave led Whitnall to a breakthrough season that included a rare victory over Greendale and ended with a second consecutive playoff berth.

With the 225-pound, right-handed gunslinger back in the saddle, the Falcons have big goals in their crosshairs. Among them are winning a conference title for the first time since 2000 and making it past the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 1998.

"That's our plan, to try to win," Stave said. "I think our team looks pretty good. We lost a lot of talent from last year, but the way people are working hard, we make up for it well."

Stave is not the only senior quarterback in the area with loads of expectations on his shoulders. Franklin's dual threat Lance Baretz had his team within one win of the WIAA Division 2 state championship game a year ago and is ranked as wissports.net's second-best senior quarterback in the state, behind only Stave. As the center fielder, he was a key contributor on the Sabers state championship baseball team over the summer and wants nothing more than to bring home Franklin's second football title in five years.

Franklin's biggest rival, Oak Creek, is blessed with Kyle Veloz, who proved his worth a year ago by nearly leading the Knights to an upset of eventual Division 1 champion Marquette in the second round of the playoffs. And Greendale had Woodland Black Division-title hopes thanks to Ernie Valente, another talented signal-caller in the Panthers' system that has produced greats like Kyle Johnsen and Mike Hennessy over the years.

Stave's breakout campaign

As a junior, Stave passed for 2,155 yards with 15 touchdowns and three interceptions. He was a first-team all-Woodland Black choice, made the NOW All-Suburban Team with Baretz, and earned all-state honorable mention recognition. Two of his top three receivers have graduated, as has the school's all-time leading rusher and an all-state honorable mention lineman. But Stave still expects to deliver.

"He is 100 times the quarterback he was last year, which is very, very frightening, I think, for opponents lining up against him," Whitnall coach Rob Lebouef said. "He is extremely strong, and he's added dimensions to his game besides just throwing the ball."

Leboeuf said Stave is recovered from a knee injury that caused him to end his junior basketball season after just one game and that he is drawing interest from more than half of the Big Ten schools, including Wisconsin, but has yet to receive a scholarship offer. The assumption in Whitnall camp is that smaller schools have not offered him anything because they assume he'll land at a big school, and that the bigger schools are just waiting to see how his senior season unfolds.

Stave said he's trying not to think about it too much.

"I just try to prepare for every team we play, see what kind of defenses they run and what we can do to beat that and hopefully get myself ready to play some good games," he said. "I was more worried about (scholarships) this summer, but now that this season has started, I've set that aside and started focusing on my team and what I'm doing here."

Franklin's three-year starter

As of last month, Baretz (6-0, 185) had received offers from the likes of St. Cloud State, Minnesota State-Mankato and Illinois State, which should come as no surprise following the numbers he posted last fall. He finished with 2,339 passing yards and 21 touchdowns and was second on the team with 784 rushing yards and a team-high 11 TDs. He was a first-team all-Southeast Conference selection.

He's in his third year of running the Sabers' intricate offense as a varsity starter and is a threat to put points on the scoreboard every time he touches the football.

"Once we get into the season, a guy like him, even last year, a game plan can be more detailed because of his abilities," Franklin coach Jeff Klemp said.

Injured stars align

Oak Creek's Veloz (6-0, 200) was banged up for a good chunk of last season, suffering an ankle injury against Kenosha Bradford that kept him out for the final three quarters of that game and all but one series against Franklin and limited his abilities in three more games.

"If we have him healthy for nine games, we'll be able to play with anybody," Oak Creek's Mike Bartholomew said. "I think Lance Baretz is an awesome quarterback, and Kyle's right in that league. He's not going to have the stats from a passing standpoint that Stave or Baretz have because we won't pass as much, but I think Kyle belongs in that conversation."

Greendale's Valente (6-1, 215) missed time due to a concussion but was still seventh in the NOW area in points scored. He has earned the right to start at the position again this fall with junior Sam Brick waiting his turn.

"Ernie knows the offense a lot better and runs better," Greendale coach Rob Stoltz said. "It's Ernie's job. He's the guy right now, but he has to compete and show it's his offense. There were too many instances last year where it wasn't our quarterback's offense. But he's assumed a leadership role and is as fast as any quarterback we've had in years."