15 Days to Blitz: Darlington Redbirds Preview

DARLINGTON, Wis. (WMTV) - High school football teams around Wisconsin officially hit the practice fields Tuesday, marking the beginning of our countdown: 15 Days to Blitz.

With only 15 days remaining until the first Friday Football Blitz of the season, we will preview a new team every day leading up to kickoff on August 21. And who better to kick off our coverage than the defending Division 6 state champions, the Darlington Redbirds.

The Redbirds put together a dominant, undefeated campaign in 2025, capturing their first gold ball since 1995. While they graduated a few key pieces of last year’s puzzle, head coach Travis Winkers and the Redbirds return more than enough fuel to get them where they want to go in 2026.

However, there is one major shift this season: Darlington is moving up to Division 5. But for the Redbirds, the classification on the door doesn’t change the brand of football on the field.

“We running-clocked 11 out of 14 teams last year, and we go up a division and we want to put our stamp,” head coach Travis Winkers said. “Obviously, we want to win a conference title first, and then we want to make a deep playoff run which hopefully results in a chance at a state championship. In the process of that, if we take care of business and do what we think we’re possibly capable of doing and stay healthy, we want to be known as one of the best small school teams not just in Darlington, but in the history of the state.”

Maintaining that elite standard requires turning the page on last year’s historic run.

“I think being able to celebrate last year, it’s your first gold ball in 30 years, but still having the standard of ‘this is a completely new year and we want to do the same exact thing as last year,’” said senior quarterback Zeke Zuberbuhler. “So just the day after, you can let it soak in, but the week after and we get back up in the weight room, you got to realize it’s a whole another year.”

That sentiment is shared across the roster as the Redbirds refuse to rest on their laurels.

“We’re still coming with the same mindset that last year doesn’t mean much to us,” added Calum Crist, a standout running back and linebacker for Darlington. “We know it’s a brand new year. We know the same standard. We still got to get after it every day.”

Experience will be a massive asset for this squad. Darlington brings back a loaded, veteran lineup that already knows what it takes to win on the biggest stage.

“We return a lot of the same guys. I believe we return 17 out of our 22 [starters], so it’s a lot of the same faces,” said Dante Glendenning. “And we had a lot of depth last year, too, so it ought to be the same guys stepping up. But then some of those scout team guys that may not have gotten on-field looks, or as many, will be able to step up and play a really good role this year and help this team.”

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