Madison Mustangs wide receiver Jesse Schroeder reels in a pass during a practice last Wednesday. Schroeder is a starting wide receiver for the team.
Will Smith, left, breaks up a pass during last Wednesday’s Madison Mustangs practice. Smith is a defensive back and punter for the semi-pro football team.
Will Smith and Jesse Schroeder are a pair of old hands at football.
Standouts at Oregon High School, the duo are now teammates with the semi-pro Madison Mustangs football team.
For Schroeder, a 1991 graduate of OHS, it is a triumphant return to the field after suffering an injury during his playing days with the Racine Raiders, another semi-pro team in Wisconsin.
"Doctors said I wouldn't play again, but here I am," he said.
A starting wide receiver for the Mustangs, the 36-year-old is relishing the chance to be a part of a growing organization.
"It means a lot to me," Schroeder said of the chance to play football again. "The first season they were getting everything together but they've ironed everything out."
Smith, a 1996 graduate who didn't play football for eight years before getting enticed back onto the gridiron, has gone from new guy on the team to veteran leader.
He joined the Madison team when it was known as the Seminoles in 2004, and has seen the team go from a "team" to an organization.
"I had some friends that played for the Seminoles. I went to one of their games, watched it and got that hunger again," he said of his journey back to football. "The competition was lighter back then. The league has gotten better, the competition has definitely stepped up.
"Now it's more business-like. It's so much more organized."
Now surrounded by a group of players who are growing as a team and possess varying skill levels, Smith and Schroeder have both become vocal leaders on the Mustangs.
"I grew up around football, I know so much about the game, so when these younger guys come out I try to help teach them," Smith said.
Adds Schroeder, "It's very important for everyone to play as a team instead of as individuals, you can't win rings like that."
Though Smith said he was looking towards his retirement from the football life, Schroeder was still enjoying the resurgence of his playing career.
"I'm not feeling it," he says of his body. "It really is just a matter of taking care of your body, and eating the right foods."
Smith, who has seen the Madison team grow since 2004, is simply enjoying the newfound success and reinvention of semi-pro football in the Madison area.
"It's awesome; just like where we were in '04, it wasn't taken too serious with the team and the league," he said. "Now people are seeing the posters, T-shirts, news stories and newspaper articles. People are seeing it and saying, 'wow, I'm going to go try out.'"
The team has two home games remaining this year - on July 19 versus St. Francis Monarchs and July 27 against the New Berlin Panthers. Ticket prices are $6.
