2025 CLOVERBELT PREVIEWPredicted Order of Finish1. Regis (Eau Claire)
2. Mondovi
3. Fall Creek
4. Stanley-Boyd (Stanley)
5. Elk Mound
6. Neillsville/Granton (Neillsville)
7. Durand-Arkansaw (Durand)
8. Osseo-Fairchild (Osseo)Players to WatchBode Falkner, QB, Mondovi: Falkner didn't take over the starting quarterback spot until midway through last year and still passed for 977 yards and nine touchdowns with another 688 yards and 12 scores on the ground, all as just a freshman.
Willy Graham, OL/DL, Stanley-Boyd: Graham is a returning First Team All-Conference offensive lineman in the Cloverbelt and a key player up front on defense as well.
Carter Heike, RB/LB, Mondovi: Heike is a returning Second Team All-Conference running back and expected to be the team leader on defense.
Cullen Kramer, RB, Fall Creek: Kramer was a First Team All-Conference selection last year when he ran for 1,216 yards and eight touchdowns.
Parker Rhude, QB, Elk Mound: Rhude spent most of last season at running back, earning Second Team All-Conference accolades there, but also saw time at quarterback, where he's expected to play this season.
Austin Rideout, RB/DB, Regis: Rideout is the top returning rusher for the Ramblers with 545 yards on the ground a year ago, adding First Team All-Conference as a defensive back.
Brody Tarbox, RB, Regis: Tarbox rushed for 518 yards and eight touchdowns in just nine games last season.
Ethan Westrate, RB, Fall Creek: Westrate was a nice compliment to Cullen Kramer, rushing for 639 yards and eight touchdowns in just nine games.
2025 Team Previews1. Regis was the outright champion of the Cloverbelt Conference last season, going a perfect 7-0, including some hard-fought victories over Mondovi and Stanley-Boyd. The Ramblers lived on the edge the first two weeks of the playoffs, beating Fall Creek by one point and Luther by three, before falling 31-8 to Grantsburg in a sectional championship. Veteran head coach Bryant Brenner brings back 40 letterwinners from last year, with four starters back on offense and eight on defense. "We have a large number of players out for football," said Brenner. "It will be a good and bad thing. It will be hard to decide on who plays as they are all similar in ability." On offense, Austin Rideout and Brody Tarbox are experienced ballcarriers in the team's double-wing attack that utilizes a large number of players in the backfield.
2. Mondovi finished tied for third in the Cloverbelt last year, but there is some "what if?" around the season, which ended in Level 2 against Grantsburg. "I'm dumb enough to think we'll always be the best," said head coach Craig Loscheider. "Last season was very disappointing. We lost close games to some really good teams…couldn't make plays when it mattered most. We have had a great off-season, and our coaching staff has worked hard to make some adjustments that will hopefully help our kids out. We have to replace all but one of the offensive linemen, so that's a potential weakness. Strength is senior leadership. We don't have a lot of them (six), but they are all committed, hard-working kids who treat their teammates the right way. Their leadership has made a difference this off-season." Bode Falkner took over the starting quarterback job as a freshman midway through last season and showed some nice potential. He could be really good this year. Carter Heike will play a bigger role in the running game and is also the team's defensive leader. Keep an eye on sophomore receiver Beau Spinder as well. The Buffaloes welcome back a total of six starters on offense and six on defense.
3. Fall Creek saw a coaching change last year, with Marcus Wahleithner taking over. It took a bit to get going, but the Crickets made some noise late in the season. They knocked off Mondovi in Week 9, then narrowly lost to league heavyweight Regis in the first playoff game, 29-28. It was a young group, returning a lot for 2025, as the Crickets are a sleeper team to watch in the conference race. Josh Wright is back after manning much of the quarterback duties. Cullen Kramer ran for more than 1200 yards while Ethan Westrate added 639, and both returned. Leading receiver Braylen Prorok is back as well.
4. Stanley-Boyd had an excellent season, coming up just short against Regis for the Cloverbelt Conference race and dropping a narrow 26-21 decision against Northwestern in Level 2 of the playoffs. It ended up being the swan song for longtime successful head coach Jeff Koenig, who retired in the off-season. Former assistant coach Brody Mahr takes over, with a new-look roster coming in. "We have a lot of experience and talent to replace with 12 seniors graduating, six of which are headed to play college football," said Mahr. "We will be inexperienced, especially on offense, but several juniors were able to gain valuable snaps in nearly every game." The team returns just two starters on offense and five on defense. Willy Graham is a two-way standout up front and one of the league's top linemen.
5. Elk Mound tied for third with a couple of other teams in the Cloverbelt Conference last year, as the Mounders were able to qualify for the postseason, though they'd exit against Saint Croix Falls right away. "Our strength this year will be with our defense and bringing back seven starters and others that got a lot of minutes the last few games of the season," said head coach Dave Lew. "Our offense will be junior-dominated, and with a new quarterback and running back, it will take some time to gel, but we are confident in all their abilities." The team returns four starters on offense, including Parker Rhude, who spent most of last year at running back, earning Second Team All-Conference recognition, but is expected to play at quarterback this fall.
6. Neillsville/Granton made the playoffs in 2023 but boasted a very young roster last fall, when they won just one game on the field, a 33-16 decision over New Lisbon in the first non-conference game of the year. "We had a very young team last year with only three players that had significant varsity experience, but this year we return the majority of our varsity players from a year ago," said head coach Reed Lehman, who returns 25 letterwinners with eight starters back on offense and seven on defense. "We will still be a young team with many sophomores and juniors who will likely be varsity starters. Our off-season training has been better than years past, so hopefully that will help our guys stay healthier and compete better on game days." Andrew Hoeser is back after taking over the starting quarterback job in the second half of the season, and Landon Rakestraw is a promising young receiver for him to throw it to.
7. Durand-Arkansaw knocked off Neillsville/Granton in the first conference game of the year, but struggled after that, finishing 2-7 on the field. Longtime head coach Rod Rosemeyer returns the key pieces of the team's passing attack, quarterback Brett Breidung and top receiver Jaxson Weiss.
8. Osseo-Fairchild did not field a varsity team last fall but is returning to varsity competition this year. Tim Serum is the team's new head coach, as the Thunder look to crack into the win column for the first time since 2020.
