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The 20's
In 1920, after two years without a team, Mayville's first game was against Horicon, who would again become our fiercest rival. Mayville took it's worst beatings ever in consecutive games, a 60 to 0 loss to Horicon and a 136-0 whooping at the hands of Waupun. From there it's all uphill, as Mayville develops into a football powerhouse by the end of the decade. In 1922, MHS alumnus and former Wisconsin Badger team captain, Berthold Mann returned to Mayville as an assistant coach. The team's only loss came at Oshkosh, who at the time boasted being the best team in the state. Within two years, Mayville had built the reputation as a tough team to beat on the gridiron. In 1925, school representatives from Beaver Dam, Berlin, Columbus, Horicon, Mayville, Portage, Watertown, Ripon, & Waupun met in Beaver Dam to organize what would become the Wisconsin Little Ten Conference, one of the first conferences in Wisconsin. The first conference play began in 1926. Shortly after, Watertown and Portage dropped out to join other leagues. West Bend and Oconomowoc High Schools joined the league in 1929, and Hartford joined in 1933. Waupun claimed the first Little Ten Football Championship in 1926. The Cardinals won their first title in 1929, en route to becoming the Little Ten's first football dynasty. After a losing 1928 campaign, Coach Ray Dunn's Cardinals put together an unbeaten streak of 28 games that would last nearly four years, to the final game of the 1932 season, when they lost in a tightly contested match to, who else, Horicon.The 30's
With unbeaten seasons in 1930 and 1931, Mayville became a football powerhouse under coach Ray Dunn, and boasting some of the state's top football talents in future University of Wisconsin players Nick and George Deanovich, Emil and Bronko Malesovich, Eldridge Hintz, and Johnny Loehrke. The Cardinals dominated opponents winning conference titles in 1930 and 1931 and tying Beaver Dam & West Bend for the title in 1933. By November 11, 1932, Horicon had not beaten Mayville in twelve years. Both teams came in undefeated and wanted the Little Ten Championship outright. On the cold, rainy Saturday afternoon, Horicon stopped the powerful Cardinal team and managed the only score of the game. The unbeaten streak had ended, but Mayville continued its domination of the Little Ten Conference. The first game of the 1934 season was played at the team's new home, Firemens' Field, on the southeast corner of the city in what was once Ziegler Park. It was boasted as one of the finest football fields in the state. This would be home for the next sixty years. Under Ray Dunn, Mayville also won conference championships in 1935, 1936 and 1938, hoarding seven of the first twelve Little Ten titles. The 40's The 1940's were a roller-coaster ride for the program. An untimely infantile paralysis quarrantine epidemic Mayville in 1940, and some of the students were exposed and subsequently quarantined. Opponents feared contact and Dunn was forced to forfeit four games, resulting in an 0-6 record. The lost playing experience hurt the efforts of the 1941 team as they failed to win a game, but did manage a tie. The Cardinals won their last Little Ten Conference title in 1944 and finished 2nd in 1943 and 1945. Mayville's dominance declined in the post-war era, and the conference power shifted to faster growing communities, Beaver Dam, Oconomowoc and Berlin. The 50's Ray Dunn coached his last team in 1949, but remained as the industrial arts teacher and athletic director at MHS. A successful replacement was difficult to find as the team had several one-season leaders, before Dennis Riley stayed on for a few years. Dick Zenz coached the team for seven seasons, but never managed a winning season. The Little Ten began to split, as some communities in the conference enjoyed massive post-war growth. The cities of West Bend, Oconomowoc, Hartford and Beaver Dam grew to twice the size of Mayville, Horicon, and Columbus, making it difficult for all schools to compete for the Little Ten title. Perhaps this made it more important to claim the annual Mayville-Horicon game. Since its been said often that If Mayville wins only one game a year - Horicon, the season is a success. The one-win wonders of 1947, 1950, 1952 and 1961 did just that. Local businessmen from the two communities created a traveling trophy - the Marsh Bowl - that would spend the year in the winner's trophy case. The 60's Changes came in conference re-alignment in 1962. The Little Ten split into two divisions. West Bend, Hartford, Oconomowoc, Watertown and Beaver Dam formed the Southern Division, and Mayville, Horicon, Columbus, Waupun, Ripon and Berlin made up the Northern Division. Mediocre finishes continued until, in 1965, new coach Jack Omer brought the program back from the dead. The roaring perfectionist brought a new attitude and returned pride in Mayville football. In 1968, Mayville won it's first conference championship in 24 years. The whole town celebrated, and real football was back in Mayville. The 70's Mayville began the 1970 season as a new member of the Scenic Moraine Conference, joining the schools from Germantown, Grafton, Hartland, Kewaskum, Pewaukee, Slinger, and Kettle Moraine. The Cardinals began the era by dominating conference opponents, going undefeated in 1970, and losing just one game in 1971. The Cardinals enjoyed the prowess we had not seen in decades. Only one losing season dotted this era. After only a few years, imbalance of school size, once again, struck. The Milwaukee suburban communities grew incredibly fast. Mayville soon became the smallest member of the conference, again making it difficult to compete. Change was, again, necessary. The 80's In 1980, Mayville was on the move again. With the complete break-up of the Scenic Moraine Conference, Mayville joined the Wisconsin Flyway Conference. The Cardinals would compete against teams from Campbellsport, Horicon, Lomira, Markesan, North Fond du Lac, Oakfield, and Laconia. Reuniting with Horicon as conference rivals brought a new meaning to the schools' annual Marsh Bowl clash, and the 1980 Marsh Bowl was a classic. A huge crowd was on hand in Horicon as the Cardinals beat their rival with a late field goal. Mayville once again enjoyed dominating, as we did fifty years earlier, over conference opponents. The Flyway often gave little competition in football. The Cardinals entered the WIAA playoffs, which had been instituted five years earlier, for the first time in 1980. The Cardinals were unbeaten against Flyway opponents, but could not beat their Division 3 playoff foe, DeForest High School. The two would meet again in the playoffs in 1982, again with the Norskis moving on and the Cardinals season ending. Mayville won Flyway Championships in 1980, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1988 & 1989. The Cardinals shared the crown with Lomira in 1981. In ten years, Mayville lost only 5 conference games. In 1984, coach Jack Omer became stricken with lung cancer. He passed away just weeks before the football season. Game programs in 1984 stated Jack Omer is the name of the coach of this team. Hundreds of former players came out to pay tribute to the coach during halftime of the season's final home game. 1985 marked the first time Mayville won a WIAA playoff game, defeating Sheboygan Falls. They lost to Seymour in the Division 3 semi-final game. With several capable teams by the end of the decade, the goal of competing for a state championship was so close, but not yet realized. The 90's With the missing link being a state championship, the Cardinals, led by coach Alex Hilber, seemed to turn up the heat. Mayville went unbeaten by regular season and conference opponents for four consecutive years between 1991 and 1994. In 1991, Mayville played in its first-ever state championship game. The Cardinals came out strong and took a 14-0 lead in the second quarter. With just seconds remaining in the half, opponent Stanley-Boyd scored on a long desperation pass play. In the second half both teams gave up little ground, but as time went on, the Cardinals lost momentum. Stanley-Boyd scored again in the fourth and tied the game, and took the Cardinals into overtime. Mayville's first attempt to score in overtime failed. Stanley-Boyd scored easily delaying Mayville's hopes for a State Title for another year. The '92 Cardinals breezed through its competition and returned to Madison to face Baldwin-Woodville in the title game. A closely battled game ended in disappointment for the Cardinals, as 8 turnovers plagued the offense. Lancaster spoiled the hopes for the '93 Cards in a 35-33 semi-final loss to the eventual state champs. From '91 to '93, the only teams to beat Mayville carried home the golden trophy. In 1994, nothing stood in the Cardinals way. Nothing!! After plowing through perhaps their toughest schedule in years with no real challenge from opponents, the Cardinals again met with Baldwin-Woodville in Madison. This time was different. After soundly defending B-W's first possession, the Cardinals quickly scored, and then again, and again, and again... The Colin Gassner-led offense racked up a 40-0 halftime advantage. After another 24 minutes of solid "D", Mayville would finally own it's first state football championship. The Cardinals played serious defense, moving back B-W's rushing offense 21 yards, which set a title game record. Since coming to Mayville in 1985, Alex Hilber continuously put an outstanding, well-prepared team on the field. That reputation carried well beyond the boundaries of the Flyway Conference. "When you talk about programs and coaches, you talk about Pat Martin and Monroe, Alex Hilber and Mayville, Bob Hyland, at Fond du Lac Springs, and now Joe La Buda over at Menomonie," said Ken Golomski, football coach at Ashwaubenon and TV analyst for the WIAA state playoff games... "Those four jump out at you right away. They've displayed over a period of time, they're some of the best programs in the state, if not the best. Every year you can bet a paycheck on them." (Prep Focus: La Buda sparks a revival at Menomonie by Cliff Christl, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; 8/24/96) . By 1999, Hilber's Cardinals competed in nine consecutive playoffs. On October 8, 1999, Mayville beat Waupun, Earning the coach his 200th career win. His 200-40 record (.833) was compiled in just under 23 seasons at Cassville and Mayville. 2000's The non-conference rivalry with St. Mary's Springs that was established in 1994 became an important test in deciding the East Central/Flyway Conference - Lakes Division championship, until Springs moved to the Rivers Division in 2003. The game quickly became one of the area's best rivalries, pitting two of the most successful programs, year-in, year-out. In 1999, Mayville rejoined with Waupun, Ripon and Berlin as conference rivals, along with Wautoma, Omro, and Winneconne in the East Central Flyway Conference - Lakes Division. Alex Hilber retired from coaching following a loss to Waunakee in the 2001 state semifinal game. Steve Brickson took over in 2002, going 6-3 in his first two seasons. The 2004 Cardinals put an exclamation point on the Brickson era by beating #1-ranked Ripon, ending the Tigers 20-game winning streak and 20-game home field winning streak. The season ended with an absolute heartbreak at St. Francis, when the Cardinals, who battled the Mariners to overtime, lost 42 to 35. Steve Brickson left Mayville after the 2004 season to pursue his teaching career, and became the head football coach at Sheboygan North High School.
