Schedule for North, South football teams is out

Opening Day is March 26.

No, not for the Milwaukee Brewers.

It’s when Sheboygan’s North and South football teams will play their first game after skipping the fall season because of the Coronavirus.

“It’s super exciting, right?” Golden Raiders coach Joe O’Brien said. “Through all of this, I’ve just been kind of trying to keep my guys as focused as possible on the fact that there will be a game. Now that the schedule is out and there is a date that we can actually put on a calendar, that certainly is exciting for me and the entire program here.”

According to USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin, North opens its season at Green Bay East and South gets to travel to Kimberly, winners of five straight state championships before a runner-up finish in 2018.

On April 16, South will host North.

“You definitely want to make sure Sheboygan South is on the schedule ever year,” O’Brien said.

North and South are part of a 20-team spring conference called the Fox Valley Classic that features four groups of five teams.

In addition to North and South, Green Bay East, Green Bay West and Oshkosh North are in Group D. Those teams play one another as well as another school for a five-game regular-season schedule.

All 20 teams will also have two playoff games (April 30 and May 7), with the top two squads in each group advancing to the semifinals.

“Having Green Bay East and Green Bay West in the spring is great because they’re going to be teams that we play in the future years in the new conference alignment,” O’Brien said. “So we’re kind of getting a sneak peek at them. And we played Oshkosh North in scrimmages – this would have been the first year we wouldn’t have done it – for the last seven years, so they’re a team we’re very familiar with.”

North’s other three games are Appleton East on April 1 (away), Green Bay West on April 9 (home) and Oshkosh North on April 23 (home).

The rest of South’s schedule is Green Bay West on April 1 (home), Oshkosh North on April 9 (away) and Green Bay East on April 23 (away).

“I like the concept,” Redwings coach Jason Harder said. “We get to play teams we normally wouldn’t, it makes the seven games meaningful and every week is kind of an important week. So I like that part of it.”

Other teams that are in the conference include: Bay Port, Fond du Lac, Green Bay Preble, Neenah, Stevens Point (Group A); Appleton East, Appleton North, Ashwaubenon, Kimberly, Pulaski (Group B); Appleton West, De Pere, Green Bay Southwest, Manitowoc, Oshkosh West (Group C).

The first day of practice is March 8.

“However it’s set up is better than nothing at this point,” O’Brien said.

SCHEDULE
March 26
North at Green Bay East
South at Kimberly

April 1
North at Appleton East
Green Bay West at South

April 9
Green Bay West at North
South at Oshkosh North

April 16
North at South

April 23
Oshkosh North at North
South at Green Bay East

April 30, May 7
Playoffs