Bill Jacklin continues to make Slinger proud.

The Slinger High School head football coach reached 100 career wins on September 19. The Owls defeated Nicolet, 41-33 and improved to 3-0 in the North Shore Conference and 5-1 overall.

It's an impressive milestone, worthy of headlines and stories. All of the attention is well deserved, but Coach Jacklin will always redirect the narrative.

"It's not about me, it's everyone in the program. All of the passion and hard work put in. 'All In as One' is our foundation for Slinger football."

Coach Jacklin, a 1988 Slinger High School graduate, told WTKM Sports that his coaching career has been a dream come true. He came back to his hometown, got involved in coaching and landed his dream job in 2011.

"When I was named head coach here, we had big goals," Jacklin recalls. "We wanted to set the bar high every season, expecting to compete for a conference championship and expecting to make the playoffs."

They started accomplishing their goals, and winning. In fact, 47 wins to be exact over the last six seasons. The Slinger football team advanced to Level 2 of the playoffs three consecutive years before a Level 3 matchup with Sun Prairie East in 2023, which proved to be a defining moment. They made it to Level 3 for the first time in Jacklin's tenure. It was the next step.  

The Cardinals held a 21-0 halftime lead and went on to defeat the Owls, 35-6 in that 2023 Level 3 playoff matchup. The loss hurt, especially when you make it that far. But it also served as motivation in the offseason and would lead to a WIAA Division 2 State Championship the next year. 

The wins continue to come this season. All In as One and making Slinger proud.