MANITOWOC — F.A.M.I.L.Y — Forget about me. I love you.
That motto has propelled the Manitowoc Lutheran Lancers football team to a place they have never been before.
“We treat everyone like they’re equal. No matter if they’re the third string or first string, we’re all family. We play for our brother on the field or on the sideline,” senior running back and linebacker Isaac Wagner said.
When Ryan Hulse took over the Lancers program three years ago, they hadn’t had a winning season since 2017. Now, they have done so two years in a row. The Big East conference champions are currently undefeated at 12-0 and have made it to Level 3 for the first time in program history.
“That was my goal, just to build the numbers and put a team out there that was competitive, and we were proud of,” Hulse said.
WATCH THE LANCERS TALK ABOUT THEIR MAGICAL SEASON!
But to be competitive, besides having good players, he knew they needed to have good culture. He was inspired by Minnesota Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck, who emphasizes family with an acronym meaning “Forget about me I love you.”
“I just thought, you know, if I’m ever going to be a head coach, I want that,” Hulse said. “It’s about what we do. Football is the ultimate team sport. If we forget about myself and my accomplishments and do what I need to do for the guy next to me, we’re going to be successful—and these boys have bought into that.”
Hulse pairs players into groups made up of seniors all the way down to freshmen. The more they do together, the more points they earn. The highest-scoring group wins the Lancer Cup. Doing that has built cohesion and selflessness within his squad.
“It kind of just makes us focus on being servants for each other and putting your teammates above yourself. Sometimes I might not have great stats, and my teammates are going off, but I love to see that,” senior quarterback and linebacker Jaymen Ott said.
Recently named the Green Bay Packers head coach of the week, Hulse knew this senior class would be special when they were freshmen, and he would love to see them get to enjoy a trip to Madison.
“Making it to state is our final goal. We’ve checked every (other goal) off, so we’re hopeful,” said Wagner.
“They’ve established a culture here that, for years to come, I think Manitowoc Lutheran football is going to be one that people will listen to and read about,” Hulse added.
The No. 1 seed Lancers host No. 2 seed Cedar Grove-Berlin with a trip to Level 4 on the line Friday night at 7. Manitowoc Lutheran took down the Rockets 47-14 in Week 4.
