Bill Turnquist, of West De Pere High School, has been named Green Bay Packers High School Coach of the Week, the organization announced Thursday.
Turnquist, a 42-year veteran of coaching, is in his 35th season as the head coach at West De Pere. Last Tuesday night, Turnquist led his team to its ninth straight victory with a convincing defeat of Clintonville in the first round of the WIAA state playoffs. West De Pere came out sharp, scoring 35 unanswered points through the first three quarters of the game en route to a 35-7 final. The Phantoms now travel to Notre Dame High School on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m to face the Tritons.
"Our players have really been playing some good football when our backs have been against the wall," Turnquist said.
A physical education teacher at West De Pere, Turnquist previously coached for six years in Hayfield, Minn., before being named to his current position. He earned a degree in physical education and mathematics at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. While at UW-La Crosse, he played cornerback under head coach Bill Vickroy. He is a native of Greenwood, Wis., and graduated from Greenwood High School where he appeared at both quarterback and halfback for the football program.
His assistant coaching staff at West De Pere includes Jack Batten, Stu Betts, Regan Budek, Chad Federman, Adam Janquart, Ron Jones, and Jeff Lutz.
Turnquist has one daughter, Tara.
*The Packers will recognize one outstanding high school coach as their 'Coach of the Week' winner during the 2009 high school football season. 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 packers.com.
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.*
