VIDEO: Playoff Berth Adds to Falcons' Memorable Season

In what has been an incredibly memorable first season as head coach of the Whitnall football program, Jeff Wallack believes one moment stands out more than the rest:

The opening of Falcon Field.

“Opening up this place against rival Greenfield, I felt we could have played better offensively, but we’ll take that win,” Wallack told Patch on Wednesday. “It was a real surreal moment with the fireworks going off in the background.”

The Falcons won that game, 19-6, back in week three of the regular season. Since then, they secured a WIAA Division 3 playoff berth and locked up a share of the Woodland Conference East Division title, the school’s first championship since 2000.

“I remember when you guys came to talk to us in August, the big thing was it was a toss-up for anyone to win the conference title,” Wallack said. “We hadn’t done so for awhile, and if you had told me then that we’d have a share of the conference title, I would have chuckled.

“Twelve years Is a long time. There’s a lot of support in this community for the kids that play here, and this is payback for all the support the kids receive.”

In the accompanying video, Wallack talks about a pair of superstars that helped lead the Falcons to their 5-3 conference championship season — senior quarterback Zach Sutton and senior wide receiver Sam Mentkowski — and told Greenfield Patch what he expects when Whitnall visits top-seeded and undefeated Wisconsin Lutheran at 7 p.m. Friday.