It’s the second quarter of a nail-biting football game: Whitefish Bay is up, 21-20, yet Homestead has the ball. All of a sudden, Eric Zoeller, senior quarterback, is tackled and falls to the ground, only to have an opposing player land directly on him. A moment passes and the fallen quarterback rises, clutching onto his left shoulder. Aided by teammates, Zoeller walks off the field. When he returns, Zoeller’s left arm is in a sling and he bears the news that he’s out for the rest of the season due to a clavicle injury.

“How you respond to that adversity reflects a lot of who you are. Similarly, it’s easy to be a leader to those around you when things are going well, but the true leaders are the ones who can step up during times of adversity and be a source of leadership,” Zoeller said. 

With half the game left and Zoeller out, the coaching staff had to respond to the adversity and replace Zoeller with other quarterbacks. Despite the situation, the team played their hardest and managed to pull out a tough 27-24 win against Whitefish Bay.

“We know everyone was down after Eric got hurt,” Coach Dave Keel said. “Our emotions weren’t where they were supposed to be, but we did what we had to do, we just kept playing.”

After their victory over Whitefish Bay, the boys will move on to play Monona Grove in the semifinals. Despite not having Zoeller playing, the team still has high hopes for another state championship.

“After winning state last year I still have high hopes and expectations for the team this year.  Although I will be out the rest of the year, I’m sure the team will be just fine. This program has always been about more than one or a few individuals, it’s been built by the whole team. So whenever somebody goes down, there’s been a whole group of guys ready to step in and I’m sure it’ll be the same way this time.  And it doesn’t hurt that we have as good of a coaching staff as you’ll find. So I still have high expectations for this team,” Zoeller said. 

While Zoeller is not able to play, he will still continue to lead the team and help prepare the next quarterback to play in this week’s game.

“I hope to continue to lead the team by essentially being another coach. My job this week is to help the next QB be as ready as possible to play.  Also, I need to help with the rest of the offense so they know their assignments.  Basically I’ll just do whatever I can to help and inspire the team the rest of the way,” Zoeller said.

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Sasha MIlbeck

Eric Zoeller, senior, prepares for the tough game against Whitefish Bay. The boys defeated Bay 24-7.