A former Hillsboro assistant football coach will be coaching for a state championship today.

Jeff Koenig’s Stanley–Boyd Orioles will face perennial power Lancaster in Thursday’s WIAA Division 5 state championship game at 4 p.m.

Koenig, who is 70–35 in his 10 years at Stanley–Boyd, was an assistant coach at Hillsboro under then coach Drew Ibach  from 1996–98.

He left to become a vice principal at Chetek High School where he was an assistant coach for a couple of years.

Koenig left administration and went back into teaching at Stanley Boyd. He was an assistant there under Jim Brinkner for a couple of years and took over the head coaching job in 2004, when Brinkner retired.

Koenig has led Stanley–Boyd to a perfect 13–0 mark this season and an outright Cloverbelt Conference title.

The Orioles defeated defending state champion Amherst 28–21 last Friday to advance to state.

Stanley–Boyd defeated Unity, 45–13, in the first round, then survived a close call with Fall Creek, 28–21, before dispatching Bloomer, 28–3, in the third round.

The Orioles outscored their nine regular season opponents 36.1–6.2.

This is Stanley–Boyd’s sixth appearance at state, but first since 1996, and first under Koenig.

The Orioles won Division 4 state championships in 1991 and 1995. They finished second in 1977, 1986 and 1996.

Koenig teaches Business Education, and his wife Erika is a high school math teacher. They have three kids, Henry, Ella, and Milo.