North Eastern 2026 Football Preview

Over the next several weeks, we’ll be previewing every conference in the state as part of our preseason preparations.

Check out all of our Football Conference Previews for every league in the state, here.

2025 Recap: Little Chute finished a distant third in the league standings in 2024, but took a big step forward last year, claiming an outright North Eastern Conference title and going all the way to the D4 championship game, finishing as runner-up. Freedom was second, advancing to a sectional final. Luxemburg-Casco and Wrightstown also made the playoffs and won a postseason game.

Note: The Bay Conference is a seven-team league that is paired with the Bay, and each team will play one crossover against the Bay. Two Rivers departs the North Eastern for the Eastern Wisconsin, while the Kohler/Sheboygan Lutheran/Christian co-op moves into the North Eastern from the Eastern Wisconsin.

2025 North Eastern Season Information:
Standings
Stats
All-Conference

2025 Eastern Wisconsin Season Information:
Standings
Stats
All-Conference

2026 PREVIEW:

Predicted Order of Finish:

1) Little Chute
2) Freedom
3) Luxemburg-Casco
4) Wrightstown
5) Denmark
6) Sheboygan Falls
7) Kohler/Sheboygan Lutheran/Christian

Players to Watch:

Eli Derenne, QB, Luxemburg-Casco: Derenne earned First Team All-Conference recognition in the North Eastern Conference last year, completing 60% of his passes for 1,598 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Axzil Eggert, RB, Freedom: Eggert led the Irish in rushing last year, going for 1,039 yards on 141 carries, averaging 7.4 yards per carry. He scored 10 touchdowns on the ground.

Owen Henkel, QB, Freedom: Henkel had an impressive sophomore season, throwing for 2,106 yards with 16 touchdowns.

Jaden Hermsen, QB, Little Chute: Hermsen ran the flexbone offense brilliantly, finishing second on the team with 921 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns, adding 470 passing yards and five scores through the air.

Reece Joten, RB/LB, Little Chute: Joten ran for 1,793 yards and 22 touchdowns last year, adding a team-high 98 tackles. He was Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year in the conference, and a WFCA All-State pick on defense with Honorable Mention accolades on offense.

Sawyer Vande Hey, OL/DL, Wrightstown: Vande Hey was a First Team All-Conference defensive lineman last year, adding Second Team recognition on the offensive side of the ball.

Trevor Verhagen, WR/DB, Little Chute: Verhagen was a First Team All-Conference choice as a utility player on offense as well as a First Team all-league defensive back.

Carter Zimmerman, WR, Kohler/Sheboygan Lutheran/Christian: Zimmerman was one of the more prolific receivers in the state last year, catching 60 passes for 883 yards and 15 touchdowns as a First Team All-Conference pick in the Eastern Wisconsin.

2026 Team Previews

1) Little Chute opened the year with a 14-6 loss to a very good Winneconne team in Mark Krommenacker’s first year at the helm, but would win the next 12 games of the year, capturing the North Eastern Conference title and advancing to the Division 4 state championship game. They’d match up with Winneconne again, holding a late lead before falling 28-22. It was an incredible turnaround, and they are the only D4 semifinalist returning this year, as Baldwin-Woodville and Winneconne move up to Division 3 while Columbus drops to D5. The Mustangs have seven starters back in the prolific flexbone rushing attack, led by 1700-yard rusher Reece Joten but also 900-yard rusher Jaden Hermsen, the quarterback, and Charlie VandenHeuvel and Tyler Hietpas, who combined for more than 1200 yards. While the backfield is well-stocked, there are a few more holes to fill up front, including replacing both guards, Gavin McInnis and Noah Faccio. The defense brings back six starters, with Joten an All-State linebacker.

2) Freedom dropped just one regular season game, a close one against Little Chute, and advanced to a sectional final before going out against Winneconne. The offense brings back four starting linemen plus junior quarterback Owen Henkel, who threw for more than 2000 yards as a sophomore, as well as 1000-yard rusher Axzil Eggert, another Class of 2028 standout. Just four starters return on defense, though Mason Van Groll is one of the league’s best defensive linemen. There is a lot of talent in the junior class that could lead to a special season in Freedom.

3) Luxemburg-Casco started the year hot, winning the first seven games of the season. However, they’d drop the final two games of the year to Little Chute and Freedom, settling for a third place finish in the North Eastern Conference. The Spartans rebounded to beat Fox Valley Lutheran in the opening playoff game, but fell to Plymouth the following week. Bringing back talented senior quarterback Eli Derenne is a big boost to the offense. He was a First Team All-Conference pick last year, and welcomes the return of talented pass-catcher Tatem Klaubauf, the second-leading receiver from a year ago.

4) Wrightstown was 4-3 in the North Eastern Conference last year, but all four defeats were very competitive matchups. Unfortunately it was a North Eastern team that knocked them out of the playoffs, as they’d fall a second time to rival Freedom. Veteran coach Steve Klister brings back 18 letterwinners from a year ago, though only three starters on both sides of the ball. “We have some excellent skill players but lack experience at quarterback as well as size and experience on the line on both sides of the ball,” Klister said.

5) Denmark went 3-6 overall last year but it wasn’t quite enough to make it into the postseason. Former Seymour coach Jason Bins takes over this year. “Our 2026 season will be focused on building the program and establishing a sustainable culture,” Bins said. “We compete in a very tough Northeastern Conference, so we will be tested each week. Thus far, our athletes have done everything that we have asked of them with a unified goal of making Denmark football an elite program again.” The Vikings return nine starters this season, including three up front on the offensive line.

6) Sheboygan Falls hasn’t been able to put it together the last few years, missing the playoffs sine last qualifying in 2022. It’s been tough sledding in the North Eastern Conference the last two seasons, as they have just one league win in that time. Last year, the Falcons went 0-9 overall and scored just 32 points on the season. They played two different freshmen quarterbacks much of the year, which served as valuable experience, but isn’t a pathway to success in a tough conference like the North Eastern. They’ll need them, and many other young players forced into duty, to learn from it and form the foundation of the group moving forward.

7) Kohler/Sheboygan Lutheran/Christian moves to the North Eastern Conference from the Eastern Wisconsin, though it wasn’t a smooth move necessarily. The team explored not playing its conference schedule and instead picking up replacement games, but that did not get approval from the WIAA. After finishing 2-7 overall last year, there is a new coach leading the way, with Remi Michael replacing Corey Girdaukas. He does bring back 17 letterwinners and a total of 15 starters, including some talented skill guys in receivers Carter Zimmerman and McCoy Michael as well as quarterback Aiden Oldenhoff, who threw for more than 1800 yards with 23 touchdowns. “The players have had a great offseason of workouts and team building,” said Michael. “It will be a challenge moving to a new conference and being a first year head coach.”