Woodmore players couldn't see this coming.
Then, they could hardly see it as it was happening. Prior to a 39-13 victory over defending league champion Margaretta in Week 8, the Wildcats didn't truly believe they could take the throne.
The win over the Polar Bears on the road emboldened Woodmore to finish the regular season with two more victories. The unblemished campaign is the second in program history, following 1995. The Wildcats have a bye in the first round of the postseason in Division VI — in one of the most difficult regions in the state.
High school football You had to be there to see Woodmore's win over Gibsonburg in heavy fog
Woodmore defeated Gibsonburg 45-14 in Week 10 in a matchup to determine the outright champ in the Sandusky Bay Conference. The entire game was played in a fog that thickened as it progressed.
"I've never seen anything like that," senior receiver Wesley Kayser said of the lingering cloud. "I thought it was amazing, and on the night of the league championship; I don't think you could make that up. We had the opportunity to win a league championship and go 10-0 and for all the hard work to pay off on a night so interesting."
Fans at the game told Kayser they couldn't see the players on the field. Despite limited visibility, Kayser had no trouble catching the ball. He opened the scoring by taking a catch near the line of scrimmage 16 yards up the sideline. He returned an interception 21 yards for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter, and then plucked another pass. He saved his best trick for last, catching a ball Calvin Lipstraw sent flying 53 yards high into the smokey white haze.
"I didn't see the ball come out (from Lipstraw)," Kayser said. "It got close and I could see the shadow coming toward me."
Coach Scott Stecher actually mixed in the pass as much or more so than usual. Kayser had four catches for 90 yards. Lipstraw typically throws on a line.
"I could see almost across the field," Stecher said. "We knew (Kayser) had to be able to see something. Lipstraw kept asking to throw a 'dagger.' (Kayser) said, 'I ran full speed, held my hands out and it dropped right in. I didn't even see it.'
"It had perfect arch, over the top like it dropped from the heavens."
Kayser is nearly 6-feet, 3-inches tall and weighs more than 200 pounds. He could be the focal point of an offense. However, not a Stecher offense. Stecher favors the run, and he has a sophomore to carry the load in Lucas Caldwell. More than one program tried to poach Kayser away for his senior season.
Kayser wasn't interested. He wanted to help Woodmore do what it did, with the people who did it.
"He's got the size and skills unique to a receiver," Stecher said. "He runs superb routes. He's fast. He's physical. He works hard, he's a great kid, his work ethic. He's strong in his faith. He could have complained. 'I don't get the ball enough.
"'Throw me the ball.' And I'd have to agree. He's worthy of more stats than Coach calls for him to accumulate. I want him to play at the next level and he has the skills to be there. He has instincts you can't coach."
Kayser is the best receiver Stecher has coached. Stecher turned Kayser loose a bit against Toledo Christian, with six catches for 101 yards and two scores. When he isn't involved with a reception, Kayser is a significant part of the run game with his blocking. If you can't beat them, join them?
"Lucas will be great for years to come," Kayser said. "When the ball comes my way, I try to make a play. Coach knows I'm a playmaker. If one player isn't playing as a team, it can bring down the whole team. If you don't have 11 playing for each other on both sides, it can cost you.
"We've learned to play as a team."
After a woeful decade before Stecher's arrival, Woodmore had to see success to believe it. The Wildcats were 2-8 his first season, 5-5 the next and 7-3 last season, before a setback in the postseason.
"Ever since Coach Stecher came, it was 'Be the change,'" Kayser said. "Leave that 'same old Woodmore' behind and make our own (legacy)."
Kayser might have been the only one who did see this coming, because he was going to make it happen. The community is enjoying getting used to it and finding its part. Three years ago, weeks before his first practice, Stecher visited to see the facilities and look around. There was a solitary kid toiling on the field, with cones set up to run routes.
"I had to ask who it was," Stecher said.
It could only have been Wesley Kayser.
mhorn@gannett.com
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This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Wesley Kayser helps lead Woodmore out of fog