June 11th 2010
-Jake Klipp
The Foundation
A strong house starts with a solid foundation. The beautiful exterior, the most stable roof, the biggest, brightest windows, the most expensive building materials - all for naught if the foundation isn’t sturdy. The same can be said for the 2010 West Bend Junkyard Dogs. The mouthy defensive backs, the big-name wide receivers and running backs, the well-known linebackers – all ride atop the mighty shoulders of their linemen, and the early results have been fantastic. During a hectic summer of scouting, the Dogs knew that to compete with the big boys of the IFL, they would need to have plenty of big boys of their own on both of their lines. While recruiting wars raged for the divas of the league, the Dogs staff and players targeted the very best of the linemen.
The West Bend offensive line has looked dominant after two regular season games. The left side of the line is a reunion of former college teammates, Ryan Kozey and Tristan Manvilla. “Ryan Kozey,” according to Offensive Assistant Coach Tom Karthausser, “could be the best offensive linemen in the IFL.” Kozey is an imposing 6’7” and 300 lbs, and moves around like a tight end. He was a Pioneer Football League First Team selection twice in college at Valparaiso University, was ranked as one of the top 50 Offensive Tackles in the 2009 NFL draft, and looks forward to continuing his success in the Ironman Football League. Playing alongside Kozey at Left Guard is Tristan “The Vanilla Gorilla” Manvilla.
Coach K says, “Tristan is a big, strong, fundamentally sound player who just plain wins his matchups.” He calls the left side of the West Bend line a “nightmare” for opposing defenses, and with Kozey and Gorilla on the field, the blind side has never looked safer. Anchoring the unit at Center is long time IFL veteran, and savvy leader Scott “The Porch” Schreiner. The Porch has made his mark on many teams, from his days as a middle linebacker with the potent Milwaukee Venom, to the years he spent owning and playing for the West Allis Predators, to last season on the Hitmen of Muskego. His intimate knowledge of both the game of football and his IFL opponents makes him a crafty veteran, and an able leader of the Junkyard Dogs O-Line. The right side of the Dogs line is the yin and yang of the team. Smaller, quicker, quieter Warren Diedrich is the Right Tackle that partners with “Big Paul” Jones. Diedrich comes in with plenty of IFL experience, but lacking the football resume of many IFL players. He has adequate, but not imposing size. His athleticism would be described the same way. He is as fundamentally sound of an OT as you will find in the IFL, and that it what makes him special. Big Paul, on the other hand, carries around a list of accolades proportionate to his size. He is a veteran of numerous semi-pro teams. He played college ball at the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire and Concordia, after turning down an offer to play for LSU in 2000 due to family reasons. Coach K says, 
“If Big Paul gets his hands into your chest, you can write yourself out of the play because he will win every time.” When you look at the field and you see 450 lbs of hustle lead-blocking downfield on a running play that’s broken loose, whooping and hollering (and doing an awkward, gyrating, celebratory dance afterwards), that’s Big Paul. When you look at the field, it’s the third quarter, and you suddenly realize the other team’s star DE hasn’t done a thing all game and looks extremely frustrated and average, the guy across from him, silently breaking his will, is Warren. Their strengths complement each other, and while their personalities are polar opposites, they’ve developed the type of bond that defines the West Bend Junkyard Dogs. The only time Warren has ever gotten loud in a game was when an opposing player took a cheap shot at his partner-in-crime, Big Paul, and the entire field heard the tongue lashing that followed. Capping either side of the line is Junkyard Dogs Tight End Mike Hicks. 
Hicks continues his evolution from all-star Wide Receiver to TE this season, and has been the consummate professional and team player during the transition. Although he still will split out on occasion, and though you still see him soaring over defensive backs for touchdowns on passing plays on a weekly basis, Hicks play at TE has been the untold story of the year so far, for West Bend. On one play he’ll jump right into the trenches and maul with the big boys, then the next play he lines up wide and shows off his speed and hands. RT Warren Diedrich said, “I’m completely surprised at what Hicks brings to the table as a Tight End. When he started taking snaps there during the preseason, I thought he would be just another soft WR we would have to cover for, but I was totally wrong. He will mix it up with anyone.” The league has already taken notice of West Bend’s TE, and he promises to do even more as the season progresses. The first man the Dogs bring into the game when one of the line goes down or needs a break is Aaron “Handsome Ohly” Ohlsson. New to the IFL, Ohly has proven his versatility in both practice and game situations already this season. Having taken reps at all five of the Offensive Line positions, Ohly is the type of young developmental player a team grooms to be a leader on the line down the road. As tenacious as he is handsome, Ohly shows much promise as an IFL O-Lineman. New to the team, and working himself in to the rotation is semi-professional football veteran Jason Strobel. Strobel has worked as Quarterback Mikey Bernal’s center in the past, and Bernal says, “He’s a beast. He’ll put in his work, and make an impact in short order.” West Bend knows their offense will only go as far as their linemen can carry them, and with players like these manning the interior, the team’s potential knows no bounds. Hicks said it best when he said, “Our unity and communication are the best things about us, and separate us from the rest of the league.” According to Team Captain Eric Treske, “There isn’t a play we can’t run, a scheme we can’t match, or a team we can’t beat. Our linemen give us an incredible advantage mentally, physically, and schematically. Our jobs as ‘skill’ players are easier because they are so good at theirs.” The IFL has been put on notice.
The Junkyard Dogs defense has looked stellar early in the season, and it all starts with the Defensive Tackles. Scott Tyrcha comes to the team with one of the best pedigrees in the IFL. In 2000, he was Valparaiso’s team captain and voted their Best Linemen while paving the road to their first conference championship in 69 years. His college career was followed by years of professional football experience. The 
list of pro teams he’s played for reads like the history of arena football. The Louisville Fire, the Green Bay Blizzard, the Peoria Pirates, the Quad City Steamwheelers, the LaCrosse Night Train, the Battle Creek Crunch, the Fort Wayne Freedom, the Milwaukee Bonecrushers, and the Wisconsin Wolfpack. He has earned paychecks from more teams than most of the guys in the league will ever play on for free! MLB Mike Porter says, “Tyrcha plays very big, and he’s very physical. He is always in the right spot, and the best compliment I can give a football player is saying he plays assignment-sharp football. That describes Tyrcha perfectly.” Playing alongside Tyrcha is IFL vet “Diesel Dan” Simniok. Simniok might be the nastiest DT in the league. He revels in pushing the pile, and anchoring the middle of the field, and there is no play too dirty for him, as long as it falls within the rules of the game... Team captain, and starting SLB Jake Klipp says, “Diesel is one of those quiet, unsung hero types. Most of our linemen are. I’m sick of it, because the guys we play behind are better than every other DT in the league. I want people singing about them.” Klipp and Porter lead a crew of linebackers who have dubbed themselves “The Untouchables” due to the limited amount of offensive linemen they contend with during game-play. “Every time one of us [linebackers] makes a play, or gets voted player of the week, or gets mentioned on the league website - that belongs to our D-Line,” says Porter. A recent addition to the team, DT/NT “Big Todd” Smith promises to bolster an already exceptional interior. After playing for Michigan State University for three years, he spent time with Milwaukee’s professional Bonecrushers, the Wisconsin Wolfpack, and played semi-professionally for the Milwaukee Marauders. Big Todd adds to the incredible talent the Junkyard Dogs stack the interior of their defensive line with, and the team looks forward to working him into the rotation. The Dogs’ Defensive Ends are two of the absolute best in the game, and the third man in the rotation is a sack-machine. 
Superstar DE Dray Norwood is a man who needs no introduction, as he is constantly beating OT’s and introducing himself… to QB’s and RB’s deep in their own backfield. His unparalleled athleticism is only matched by his personality. Jake Klipp said, “I wasn’t sure what kind of guy Dray would be. He had the accolades and awards, so I thought he might be one of those ego-guys, but he’s really the opposite. One of the coolest teammates I’ve played with, plus he let me teach him to dance when we were out at a club.” After playing at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Dray spent time earning paychecks from the Tulsa Talons and Everett Hawks of AF2 and Milwaukee’s Bonecrushers. He played with several current Junkyard Dogs on the Milwaukee Marauders, and is currently terrorizing QB’s opposite DE Justin Stuebs. Stuebs began playing IFL ball with the West Allis predators in 2008, and showed early signs that he had the potential to be a special player. His 2009 campaign was spent with the Muskego Hitmen, and he started on a tear, but a knee injury ended up sidelining him midway into the season. Mike Porter says, “Stuebs can’t come off the field. His motor never stops. He weighs 250 lbs, but plays with the speed of a guy 50 lbs lighter and the strength of a guy 50 lbs heavier.” Justin walked with the captains for the coin-flip in the second game of the season after being elected to represent the D as the Defensive Player of the Game for his shellacking of the Fond Du Lac Crusaders. The third man in the DE rotation “lives in the backfield,” according to Head Coach Dan Greene. Danny Hamilton played college ball at Concordia, and adds a serious speed element to the West Bend front line. His instincts for making plays behind the line of scrimmage are special, and his natural athleticism lets him slide back to linebacker if the team needs it, at any time. New to the team, but not to the IFL, longtime veteran Chris Thompson has recently joined the Dogs. Thompson has played just about every position for just about every team in the IFL, and the Dogs welcome him with open arms. Klipp describes Thompson as, “a guy you can plug in at any position, on either line, and not worry about him. He’s talented enough to do it all, and humble enough to do what’s asked.” The team’s strength comes from its line, and the line is made of guys with as much character as talent.
No one knows how the season will unfold, but after the first few games of the year, it is becoming clear that the West Bend Junkyard Dogs are well equipped to win the games in the trenches. The Dogs are made up of many individuals, but they are gelling into a cohesive unit behind the best linemen in the game. If they can continue to win games they way they’ve been winning them, soon their “unsung heroes” will have their names shouted by fans, and muttered under the breath of opposing players. The West Bend linemen would love to hear a song like that!
