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If somebody wants to take a few off his hands, that would be fine with Kiefer.
“I wish I wasn’t the leading tackler in the conference,” Kiefer said. “That means the defense is on the field too long and we don’t want that.”
The Eagles (0-4, 0-1 WIAC) play UW-Eau Claire (3-1, 0-1) at 7 p.m. today at Maxwell Field in Winona, Minn.
The year has been an outstanding one personally for Kiefer, a
senior from Abbotsford, Wis. He has 46 total tackles, an average of 11.5 per game, including 17 against Azusa Pacific on Sept. 20.
But UW-L’s defense as a unit hasn’t been as tough. The Eagles have allowed an average of 365.2 yards and 28.2 points per game in four losses.
“It’s been a thing here or there,” Kiefer said. “We’ll put together three or four or five good plays and make a stop, and on the next series somebody will have a lapse that gives up an explosive play, on third down especially, where if everyone had done their job we’d be off the field and getting the ball to the offense.”
That’s why it’s hard for Kiefer to puff out his chest about all those tackles he’s made.
“I’m playing well, but there’s always room for improvement,” Kiefer said. “I had the most tackles in the Azusa game but I feel I actually played my poorest game of the year. I missed a couple I should have had.”
Kiefer stepped into a starting outside linebacker role halfway through his freshman season in 2005 and has been a defensive fixture since then.
In 2006, he led the defense with 11 tackles as UW-L opened the season with a 17-3 upset at NCAA Division I-AA South Dakota State. Last year, he made 67 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and four sacks and was named All-WIAC honorable mention.
He was a natural choice for defensive team captain this season.
“He’s a leader and he’s always around the ball,” Eagles coach Larry Terry said. “The good players are the ones that are spending time in the weight room and spending time watching film, so he’s a great role model for our younger players in terms of what it takes to succeed.”
Some of those younger players are being pressed into service because of a series of injuries to UW-L’s defensive front seven. Out are tackles Chris Anicete and Nick Matthews, end Donovan Winter, and linebackers Jon Boyle, Jon Vitkus and John Rozek.
Junior Blake Roemer will make his first start at linebacker this week alongside Kiefer and Aaron Johnson.
“You’ve got to remind them that maybe this is their first start, but they made this roster for a reason,” Kiefer said. “We don’t take just anybody on this team. Blake played well in the preseason and got slowed down by an injury, but he’s worked really hard and improved his game a ton.”
Kiefer admitted that being a captain of an 0-4 team — especially one that is used to winning — has been a challenge.
“It’s a tough situation; I’ve never been in one like this before,” Kiefer said. “I was a team captain in high school, a lot of the guys here were, and we had a successful team. I didn’t know what it was like to lead a team with a losing record and that’s what we have right now.
“We’re trying to turn it around. It’s a character check — it gets tough, do you quit? I don’t think so. We take it very seriously. We may not be where we want to be right now, but everybody on the team still wants to win every ballgame we have left. It’s not like I have to get them motivated.”
