Dynamic duo set to lead Eagles
It didn’t take Bill Belichick to figure out how to game plan for the Sauk Prairie offense a year ago.
Returning second-team Badger Small Conference wide receiver Boden Frosch was on every defensive coordinator’s hit list when preparing to attack the Eagles’ offense.
“He’s pretty much basically ‘Mr. Always Open,’ ” senior quarterback Landon Schultz said of Frosch. “Sometimes it takes two or more people to cover him, but he still gets open.”
But it didn’t take long before opposing defenses also had to prepare for another difficult task.
Schultz quickly emerged as a dual threat with his ability to do damage with both his arm and his legs.
“I’ve always known he could do it. We’ve been best friends since we were little,” Frosch said of Schultz. “We played football in the backyard growing up. He knows the game pretty, well. I know he’s able to get the job done. I have a lot of confidence in him. I call him Rodg, he’s like Aaron Rodgers out there.”
The Eagles’ dynamic duo — who have been named team captains for this season along with senior defensive end Mason Betley and junior lineman Jake Buckles — return for their senior season bent on creating even more damage to opposing defenses this fall.
“They’ve played together since youth football,” fourth-year head coach Randy Wallace said. “The only year they wouldn’t have played together was their sophomore year when Boden was on varsity, and Landon came up for the last few games to play on defense.
“They have a special chemistry, but a lot of it is Boden understanding the game plan and being patient. Just knowing he will get his touches because Landon does a great job with his reads and making plays.”
Frosch said their chemistry on and off the field is one based on a long friendship.
“We go to the China buffet a lot, they know us pretty well, there,” Frosch said with a laugh. We just like hanging out together. We like to think we’re the best connection in the Badger Conference.”
Frosch said he wasn’t surprised about the success that he and Schultz have shared on the football field.
“When we were younger, everyone on our team expected like when we got to high school we were going to succeed a lot,” he said. “We always had that high expectation once we got to high school we were going to be on a good team. It was our mission when we were little.”
Added Schultz: “We’ve always known we had a good team. I feel we’ve always known we had a good group of guys if we stick together.”
It just took the leader of the pack, Schultz, a little longer to take charge on offense.
Schultz began last season as the backup quarterback and a defensive back before Wallace inserted him into the lineup as the starting quarterback the second week of the season.
Wallace later admitted that decision was a no-brainer.
Schultz completed 115 of 249 passes for 1,566 yards with 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions to earn all-conference honorable mention recognition. Schultz also proved to be a workhorse running the ball, rushing 61 times for 303 yards (5.0 average) and five touchdowns.
Wallace said the Eagles are looking to take advantage of Schultz’s versatility even more this season.
“We’re looking to get a little more opportunity to get him outside and use his legs more this year,” Wallace said. “He had plenty of drives last year that he kept alive with his legs.
Wallace added that where Schultz has shown the most growth is in his confidence in his abilities and understanding the Eagles’ spread zone offense.
“As we were going through camp this year, there were times we just let Landon run the offense and call the plays,” Wallace said.
With the addition of newcomers Casey Brickl and Nick Keyser at wide receiver, the added depth at the position will make the Schultz-to-Boden connection potentially even more deadly this season.
“Boden is one of the best receivers in the state,” Wallace said of Frosch, who is on the wissports.net senior watch list. “But we have another senior who came out this year who also plays basketball in Casey Brickl, who is 6-4, and senior Nick Keyser, who also decided to play.
“When we played Mount Horeb or against the stronger teams in the conference, they did a real, good job of locking Boden up last year so the big catches and yards might not have been there. But I really feel those catches and bigger games will be there this year.”
Frosch earned unanimous Badger Small Conference first-team honors a year ago after he caught 63 passes for a monster 1,047 yards and 12 touchdowns.
That included a career-high 10 catches for 101 yards and two touchdowns in a 34-7 win over Oregon, and four catches for a career-high 184 yards and two scores in a 34-0 win over Reedsburg. He tallied 100-plus yards in five of nine games last season.
“I expect him to have another breakout season this year,” Wallace said of Frosch, who is hoping to play football in college. “With the addition of Nick Keyser and Casey Brickl, the game will be totally different for him this year. Teams are not going to be able to key on him the whole time.”
Senior linebacker Lawson Maier, who will also be in the mix at running back for the Eagles this season, said Frosch and Schultz will play a major role in the Eagles’ future success.
“They’re just so efficient,” Maier said. “They don’t make many mistakes. They will be fun to watch this year. They have awesome chemistry. They’ve been playing together forever. It’s automatic.”
Buckles, a returning starter at right guard, said the dynamic duo make the offense go.
“Landon Schultz at quarterback is an amazing leader. He is very calm and explosive,” Buckles said. “Boden can score on any play. He has put so much work in to become a great receiver.”
Wallace said the emergence of Schultz as the Eagles’ starting quarterback last year and Frosch’s tremendous playmaking ability has him excited about Sauk Prairie’s potential for success this season.
“Landon stepped in and is more of a quiet leader. He understands what we’re trying to accomplish, and he’s able to keep drives alive, too,” Wallace said. “Boden really stepped into his role and even played in the backfield. He invested a lot of time in himself, and his route running, and his catching. He takes a lot of pride in what he does as a football player. While he displayed a lot of numbers, he was also a team-first guy, too.”
When the season began a year ago, senior Jackson Breunig was the starting quarterback in the Eagles’ opener, a 34-7 loss to Baraboo.
But Schultz, who took the snap for 10 plays against the Thunderbirds, was the starter in week two against Reedsburg and lit a fire under the Eagles’ offense.
Schultz’s first varsity touchdown pass was a 71-yard bomb to Frosch. The duo later connected on an 81-yard touchdown to spark Sauk Prairie’s shutout of Reedsburg.
“Landon always puts the ball where it needs to go. It’s always in a perfect spot to catch,” said Frosch, who admitted he was eager for Schultz to take over as the team’s starting signal caller. “I was chirping in coach’s ear to give him a chance.”
After Schultz passed for 215 yards and ran for an additional 36 yards against Reedsburg, he never looked back.
“That game did a lot for my confidence,” Schultz said. “I just kept trying to improve each week.”
The soft-spoken Schultz also believes actions speak louder than words.
“I get loud when I need to. On the football field is a different story. I’m a lot more energetic on the football field, more amped up,” he said. “Every year we’ve been going in the right direction. That’s the goal, to keep getting better every day.”
Frosch said Schultz’s ability to make plays with his feet, too, was a big part of the Eagles’ success a year ago.
“It helps out a lot, especially when the pocket breaks down, he can easily get outside and still put a perfect ball out there on the run too,” Frosch said. “It’s nice that he can extend plays like that.”
Schultz said while he likes hooking up for long plays to Frosch, he won’t hesitate to scamper to daylight to move the chains.
“I don’t mind getting hit, sometimes,” Schultz said with a grin. “I will lower my shoulder, I don’t care.”
Wallace said Schultz has made tremendous strides since last season, which was evident during the Eagles’ contact days and first week of fall training camp.
“He was making his reads and progressions, so Boden wasn’t always the target,” Wallace said. “Sometimes Boden’s the third target depending on how the defense is playing us. So, it’s just patience on his part, but he’s going to have a great year.”
