Dave Wills, of Southwestern High School, has been named Green Bay Packers Coach of the Week, the organization announced Wednesday.
“This award means a lot to me and our program,” Wills said. “The kids deserve a lot of the credit. They’re the ones who have to go out there and play. As a coaching staff we just tell them what we want them to do. They have to go out and execute it. I can’t say enough about how well we’ve been playing.”
The Wildcats (9-4) defeated Hillsboro, 42-7, on Friday night at Lancaster to advance to the WIAA Division 7 state finals next Thursday at Camp Randall in Madison.
“The kids have been playing excellent,” Wills said. “The defense has been outstanding. We’ve beaten four great teams, three of them were conference champions.”
Wills has been a part of the Wildcats program for 29 years and has experienced every single playoff game in the school’s history.
“I’ve been a part of all the playoff appearances as a player, assistant coach and (head) coach since we made it to our first playoff game in 1981,” he said. “It’s great to see the football program here at Southwestern is back up to where it should be. This means a lot to the community and to the school. The committee has been excellent. It was unbelievable the number of fans we had at the game Friday night at Lancaster against Hillsboro. The school is excited. I’m happy for this program.”
The Southwestern alum, where he played defensive and offensive tackle in high school, graduated in 1983 and attended Wisconsin-Platteville. While in college, Wills became the Junior High Assistant for the middle school football program. In 1987 he became a Wildcats assistant coach for the freshman and junior varsity.
Wills, who is assisted by Craig Siegert, Eric Lyons, Chad Cleveland and Brandon Cline, was promoted to head coach in 2004.
The Wildcats will face another tough test in the finals. They play undefeated Eleva-Strum (13-0) at 10 a.m. But Wills has faith in his players.
“It’s a great group of kids,” Wills said. “I can’t say enough about how they’ve played this year, especially this postseason. But whatever happens, it’s been a great year. I’ve enjoyed this group immensely. We hope to keep it going at Camp Randall on Thursday.”
The Packers will recognize one outstanding high school coach as their 'Coach of the Week' winner during the 2007 high school football season. A Brown County program has been honored with the award for each of the last nine years. Winners are awarded several items and privileges, including a $1,000 donation to the school's football program from the Green Bay Packers and the NFL, as well as recognition of the award on www.NFLHS.com, the NFL's high school football Web site.
Nominations for Coach of the Week should be submitted by 9 a.m. every Monday to Tim Schroeder, community outreach coordinator, at coachoftheweek@packers.com (e-mail) or by fax at (920) 569-7302. Please include the nominee's name, address, school, phone number, and reason he/she is deserving of the award.
