Matt Jung knew what he has in front of him on the warm, mosquito-filled night of Sept. 10. He walks onto Fruth Field knowing he is going to beat Fond Du Lac. 

“Coming in after a loss to O West, we knew Fondy didn’t respect us. But we knew with our confidence going into the game that we could catch them off guard.”

A victory against Fond Du Lac isn’t just a regular chalked-up W in the win column for Matt.

This means more than that.

In the successful 9 year Steve Jung era of Neenah Football, and the multiple 1st team all-conference honors between Matt’s older brothers Joe and Sam, you can’t find a win against the Fond Du Lac Cardinals.

Matt is on a mission that night to not let history repeat itself for him, and that mission takes a major turning point toward the end of the 2nd quarter. Neenah is at their own 45-yard line with about a minute left. Matt drops back to pass and evades pressure. Roughly 6 broken tackles and 50 yards later, Matt lands the Rockets at the 5-yard line where running back Jase Jenkins punches in the tying touchdown. The score reads 7-7, but Matt believes his team already won.

After his 50-yard run that set up the tying score before half . . .

we knew . . .

“Fondy looked defeated and we weren’t letting up.”

Matt officially ends with over 200 yards of offense alone, 2 touchdowns, an interception, and 12 tackles for the Neenah defense. After the Rocket’s final kneel down in victory formation, Matt looked to find his dad, and the two share an emotional embrace before going to celebrate.

Matt puts his heart and soul into the game he loves; football means more and Rocket nation reaps the benefits that night. 

The win against Fondy is a source of family pride.