KIMBERLY ? Fans of the Kimberly football team will have to wait a week longer to see their team play its first game of the season.

For the second consecutive season, the Papermakers had an opponent drop out of their Week 1 matchup. Last season it was Milwaukee Marshall. This season it is Milwaukee Vincent, as that recent cancellation means the Papermakers will play their first game at Bay Port on Thursday, Aug. 29.

"Sadly, we have experience with it," Kimberly coach Chad Michalkiewicz said of not having a first-week game. "The hardest thing with Week 1 is that the bordering states don't have games until our Week 2. So that's not an option. We've scoured the state ... and we do have a solution in 2026 in that we'll play Pulaski, and we do have our (nonconference games) with Bay Port through 2027. But next year, we're facing the same thing."

Offense will have new faces

On the field, the Papermakers are expected to field a squad that should be in contention for the Division 1 state title. Kimberly was 10-2 last season and reached the state semifinals, falling to eventual state champion Milwaukee Marquette.

The Papermakers have a few question marks, mainly on an offensive line that only returns senior center Nathan Rathkamp, a University of St. Thomas verbal commit.

Quarterback appears to be settled with senior Braedon Ellefson expected to be the primary signal-caller with junior Cam Wong filling in when needed. Ellefson (6-foot-3, 215 pounds) is also one of the team's top defensive players and led the team in total tackles (75) last season, including five for loss. Top senior receiving prospects include Carter Howard, Aaron Cullen and Ayden Lom.

Balancing the two-quarterback situation will be a challenge for the coaching staff, according to Michalkiewicz.

"Braedon is just too good on defense to pull him exclusively to offense," Michalkiewicz said. "With Cam, he had a fantastic sophomore year and he's been impressive in contact days, so I expect him to play. In my mind, it's what is Cam's growth and how much can we put him on the field? And the other tip of that scale is anytime you bring Braedon off the field, you do it. He's the unquestioned leader of our team and we knew what he brings defensively and what kind of leadership he provides offensively. It'll be a day-to-day situation where we have to balance his practice reps on both sides of the ball and see where it goes."

Doing double duty won't be an issue, according to Ellefson, who accepts the added responsibility.

"That's something that I talked with them that I'm willing to take on and kind of wanted to take on," Ellefson said. "It's going to take a lot more from me, but it's also a lot of other people stepping up and filling in spots if I'm on one side of the ball or the other. So it's just everyone coming together to make it work. I know I'm going to have to put a lot of extra time and effort, whether it's taking reps after practice or watching more film. It was definitely something I was willing to do and knew the challenges that were going to come with it."

Marcus Doucette (5-11, 200) had a strong junior campaign for the Papermakers (720 yards, seven touchdowns) and he is expected to shoulder most of the rushing attack this season. He will follow a stellar Kimberly legacy of top running backs over the past 15 seasons.

"I've been watching the running backs my whole life," Doucette said. "I've always wanted to be one of those Caleb Frazers, Blake Barrys, DJ Stewarts, Blair Mulhollands. I just want to be up on their level.

"It means a lot to me because I've been working towards this my whole high school career. In the offseason, I've been going harder this summer. Giving it 100% and all I have every day. And also bonding with my teammates, my linemen and making them my friends too."

Ellefson, Hanlon lead strong defense

Ellefson will have help on defense with Sawyer Hanlon, Landen VanOfferen and Benny Kieffer all earning all-Fox Valley Association honors a year ago.

Hanlon had seven sacks and is one of the top defensive lineman in the area. VanOfferen (31 tackles) and Kieffer (21) are returning at linebacker and defensive back, respectively.

"I'm really happy with where we're at," Hanlon said. "We have a couple of returning starters and obviously losing some starters and a three-year starter is tough (from last year), but we're looking for guys to step up and fill in the gaps."

Kimberly's expectations are lofty each season and a state semifinal appearance last year underscores how consistent the program has been since 2007. And that starts with daily improvement each respective season.

"We don't talk about getting to state championships, we talk about our daily process and our 1% growth," Michalkiewicz said. "If we do that, we can be in position. But as a staff and with the players coming back, you bet we use growth opportunities not just in the Marquette game from last year but a one-point loss to Kaukauna which cost us a one seed and an outright conference championship.

"You have to look at it and say, 'Man, we put another number on the board with the conference championship and we reached a sectional final.' But there are areas we can improve on, tangible things we can clean up. Doesn't guarantee you'll reach the championship. But if you see growth opportunities, you take them."

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Kimberly High School football team confident for new season