Head Coach: Scott Hilber
2025 Season: 14-0 (7-0 In Flyway Conference), Division 5 State Champions
While the Mayville football team graduated a talented senior class that led the Cardinals to the WIAA Division 5 State Championship game last fall, head coach Scott Hilber believes this year's squad has the athleticism and experience to once again compete for a Flyway Conference title and make a postseason run.
"Our goals are what they always are, which are to compete for a conference championship and make a deep push in the playoffs," Hilber said. "Our immediate goals are to make sure we are competitive in the first two games of the season, which will be great tests for us."
The Cardinals return several key contributors on both sides of the football, beginning with an experienced offensive line featuring Wes Teeters, Collen Ehlers and Kellen Schaeffer.
In the backfield, Joe Promersberger returns after rushing for 831 yards and 14 touchdowns on just 92 carries, averaging an impressive 9.0 yards per carry. He also added 83 receiving yards, scored twice on kickoff returns and intercepted three passes on defense.
Tanner Schneider also returns after a breakout sophomore campaign in which he rushed for 750 yards and eight touchdowns while averaging 7.3 yards per carry. Schneider added 27 tackles, five tackles for loss and forced a fumble while contributing on special teams as both a kick and punt returner.
Kevin Keller gives Mayville another experienced option after totaling 215 rushing yards and three touchdowns on just 27 carries. Defensively, he finished second among returning players with 63 tackles and nine tackles for loss while adding an interception returned for a touchdown.
Returning placekicker Owen Mlsna converted 63 of 66 extra-point attempts last season, connected on a 24-yard field goal, and recorded five touchbacks on 80 kickoffs.
Additional returning contributors include linebacker Paxton Decker, who rushed for 155 yards and a touchdown while adding 31 tackles, and Cooper Raddemann, who saw time on both sides of the ball and recorded two interceptions, including a pick-six.
Several newcomers are expected to step into larger roles this fall. Junior Jake Gourlie and sophomore Trent Conrad are slated to complete the offensive line, while junior Covyn Casper takes over at tight end. Junior Dominic Schuelke, who averaged 10.5 yards per carry on limited opportunities last season, joins the running back rotation. Cooper Raddemann is also expected to contribute at split end while competing for the starting quarterback position.
Finding the right offensive combination will be one of Mayville's biggest priorities this preseason.
"We like our athleticism and explosiveness on the offensive side of the ball," Hilber said. "We have several options in which to mold the offense, and right now we are just trying to find our best combination. Those combinations are predicated on who our starting quarterback will be."
Hilber said the Cardinals will continue to rely on a physical rushing attack while adding more versatility.
"We like to be a run-oriented, ball-control offense to keep the opponent's offense off the field," he said. "This year we hope to be more explosive, which may result in more big plays and less reliance on 12-15 play drives. We definitely plan to be more diverse offensively by running more option plays and passing the ball more regardless of who is at quarterback."
Defensively, the Cardinals return experience at every level.
"Kellen Schaeffer and Wes Teeters both have two years of starting experience in the front six of our 4-2-5 defense," Hilber said. "Wes may make the switch back to the defensive line this year after playing linebacker last year."
Teeters finished 2025 with 55 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, one sack and two forced fumbles. Schaeffer added 41 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble.
The secondary also returns an experienced nucleus.
"Joe Promersberger also has two years of starting experience in our defensive backfield, and he is joined by returning safeties Kevin Keller and Tanner Schneider," Hilber said. "Those three give us great speed and athleticism on the back end of the defense, and we expect Cooper Raddemann to join them. The rest of the defense is wide open in terms of who wants to play. We will likely rotate some athletes early in the season to find out who the remaining starters will be."
Stopping the run remains the foundation of Mayville's defensive identity.
"Our defensive philosophy first and foremost is to stop the run. If you can't do that, it's really hard to win," Hilber said. "We will look to rotate some defensive linemen this year more than usual to keep our big guys fresh and ramp up the competition."
Hilber expects another tightly contested Flyway Conference race.
"We think the conference is going to be extremely competitive this year," he said. "WLA returns the best lineman in the conference, and Lomira will return the most experience and offensive production. We expect all the other teams to improve on last year as well, so this year is going to be a tight race."
The Cardinals will receive an early measuring stick with a pair of perennial playoff opponents to open the season.
"Any questions we have regarding our team will likely be answered after our first two games against perennial deep playoff contenders," Hilber said. "We are very familiar with both Cedar Grove-Belgium and Lake Country Lutheran, and they are very familiar with us. We will find out what kind of team we are early, that's for sure."
The Cardinals will be opening the regular season Friday, Aug. 21, at home vs. Cedar Grove-Belgium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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