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Under the lights: off the radar

Kinsley Ernster and Trey Raph

October 7, 2025

(Photos used with permission by Noah Blotske & Katy Burggraf)

As the football season begins, it is hard to believe how much truly goes on behind the scenes. It is not all thanks to one coach; there are many coaches on the LHS football team making the magic happen. These coaches devote themselves to the sport for months, giving up their time and energy to make their players into not only champions, but impressive leaders.

Assistant Football Coaches

(Photo used with Permission by Noah Blotske & Katy Burggraff)

Kyle Stegeman- Offensive and JV Head Coach

Kyle Stegeman has been a coach for the LHS football team for the past six years. He is the offensive lineman coach for varsity and the JV head coach. His favorite part about being a football coach is getting to know new students at LHS.
“[One of my favorite parts about coaching at LHS is] getting to interact with all the different kids. They’re different kids from those I have in class teaching freshmen, so I get to interact with upperclassmen and maybe kids who already took biology,” said Stegeman.
Because Stegeman has been part of the team for six years, he has a lot of insight into what makes a strong player.
“[The best player is] someone who’s coachable [and shows] they really care. They give great effort, they’re dependable and they’re kids you can trust. They [also] do things the right way, on the field, in the classroom, in life and [they are] good kids [overall],” said Stegeman.
When it comes to football, effort is a big piece of the puzzle. Stegeman knows a lot about effort and what to do when a player is struggling with it.
“A lot of times, there’s not a kid out for football that doesn’t want to be out for football. They’re doing [football, so] they want to give good effort, usually. Sometimes a kid needs some tough love, and that works pretty well,” said Stegeman.
The offense is always working hard to score touchdowns and make the best plays to win each game. It is up to the coaches to develop game plans and adapt strategies for the team.
“We meet every week to talk about [how the] previous week went: [We talk about] what the kids did well, what we did well, what we could fix and what the kids can get better at,” said Stegeman.

(Photo used with permission by Noah Blotske & Katy Burggraff)

Travis Schafer-Quarterbacks and Coordinator

Travis Schafer has been a football coach at LHS for six years. He coaches the quarterbacks and is the offensive coordinator for the varsity team. He has had many years to decide what his favorite part of coaching is.
“My favorite part of coaching is seeing the improvement from a kid when they’re freshmen until they become a varsity athlete,” said Schafer.
In order to be a successful football player, you must be committed, be a good person and be able to put your best effort into every practice and game.
“[An excellent football player is] someone who works hard, understands what’s going on, someone who is always going to do what’s right for the team and put forth the effort to be great. If a kid’s not giving effort, they’re probably not going to be able to play in our program. We really stress effort, and it’s one thing that is not negotiable for us,” said Schafer.
When the offense creates game plans, they observe how their opponents’ defense plays, and they create strategies to beat them on game day.
“We look at what the defense plays like and what they do. Then we try to adapt that to make it so we have advantages within [their plays]. During the game, we will make little adjustments to try and give ourselves a little more of an advantage,” said Schafer.

(Photo used with permission by Noah Blotske & Katy Burggraff )

Joel DeHaii-Defensive

Joel DeHaai has been at LHS for three years and has been a defensive lineman coach for the football team during that time. He has many reasons why he admires the LHS football team and the players he coaches. One main reason he enjoys coaching is that he gets to know students more and watches them grow.

“Not only are [the LHS football players] good athletes, but they’re good people as well. Our kids behave well, and they’re very respectful. They also want to work hard and do well in the classroom,”said Dehaai

There are many aspects to being an excellent football player. To DeHaai, discipline is a huge part of becoming an exceptional football player.

“I would say you have to be disciplined. You have to be willing to go above and beyond, whether it’s staying after practice to do extra or taking your role [as a leader seriously, as well as] being the ultimate teammate and being able to be trustworthy,” said DeHaai.

DeHaai tries to work with players who are not putting in the effort, but when it comes down to it, it is up to the player to decide if they are willing to give their best.

“I tell my players all the time, ‘I’m not gonna coach your effort.’ Effort is your decision. I can’t put effort into you. I can give you the tools to be successful, but when it comes to effort, that’s a personal decision,” said DeHaai.

LHS football watches hours of film to adapt strategies and create a game plan to defeat the next team they play.

“We take all the stuff we learned from film, and we go run that through in practice, so when we step out on the field, that’s not the first time they’re seeing it,” said DeHaai.

DeHaai has made many memories over the last few years and has had an amazing group of players to make them with.

“I’ve had just an awesome group of d-linemen [while I have been at LHS]. They make it fun to be in practice every single day. Yes, winning games and winning State championships is awesome, but what people don’t see is Monday through Thursday and how much time we spend together. If you can’t enjoy Monday through Thursday, you won’t enjoy Friday,” said DaHaai.

(Photos used with permission by Noah Blotske & Katy Burggraff)

Trey Naasz-Wide Receiver

Trey Naasz has been coaching for a total of nine years. He coached one year at Harrisburg High School before he became the receivers’ coach for LHS. LHS holds a special place in Naasz’s heart because he graduated from LHS and had always wanted to get back into teaching and coaching, so when the opportunity arose to coach here, he took it.
“Being able to build a relationship with students and be there for them in tough times, awesome times and everything in between [is one of my favorite parts about coaching at LHS],” said Naasz.
To Naasz, an excellent football player should have a good work ethic and be able to put the time in during and outside of practices. It also means being able to listen to your coach and pay attention to detail.
“When it comes to the receiver position, being able to not take everything so personally, but being able to take in all the coaching [is important and then also] taking all the little pieces and putting it all together,” said Naasz.
Usually, when a player is struggling with effort, it is due to something going on outside of football. When Naasz realizes a player is struggling, he will get on their level and ask questions to get to the bottom of it.
“I just try to have a conversation with them. A lot of the time, it’s not football that’s making them struggle, it’s stuff outside of [football]. I try to help them clear [their mind] and just enjoy being in practice, the game or being a part of a team,” said Naasz.
Part of being a coach is developing strategies and adapting a game plan for their next opponent.
“The offensive staff meets every Sunday for the following week to [create a] game plan. [We do have] to tweak some stuff within our game plan throughout the week,” said Naasz.
Winning two championships in a row is awesome and creates many memories, but having amazing, hardworking players also creates a great environment to be a part of.
“Our kids have been awesome. They [work] their tails off and do more than what we even ask of them. The culture we have right now is really good at LHS, and we have a bunch of kids that are hungry and want to continue to push that bar further and further,” said Naasz.

About the Contributors

Kinsley Ernster, Feature Editor

Kinsley Ernster is a senior, second-year staff member and a Feature Editor for the Statesman. Ernster is involved in NHS and manages the LHS wrestling team. She loves to watch and learn more about the sport. Outside of school, Ernster enjoys listening to music, watching movies, going to concerts, binging old TV series, spending time with the people she loves and going on late-night drives while blasting Taylor Swift. In the future, she dreams of having endless amounts of money to travel the world.

Trey Raph, Staff Writer

Trey Raph is a second-year staff writer for Statesman who loves writing. But usually, you can catch Raph at a soccer tournament. Raph is always busy with soccer either for club or for school. Raph loves traveling and spending time with friends and his family. Raph is an avid flyboy enthusiast and loves a good maple donut. In the future, he plans to be an architect, to support his fast food addiction.

Lincoln High School Statesman

Lincoln High School Statesman

Lincoln High School Statesman

Under the lights: off the radar

Lincoln High School Statesman

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