Steve Ehlen, class of 1976, participated in football and track during his high school career at Burlington High School.
Steve is arguably the best offensive and defensive lineman ever to wear a Demon Football helmet. Steve was not the biggest to ever play the position, but those that played with and against him would call him one of the toughest. A two-year starter at offensive and defensive tackle Steve demonstrated speed, agility, and toughness which contributed to the success expected of Demon Football teams of his era.
As a two-way All-SLC selection as a junior, Steve came back as a senior co-captain and led his team to a 1975 Southern Lakes Conference Championship. He led the team in tackles on defense, and he was the lineman the top SLC offense ran behind. He was voted the team MVP, Southern Lakes Conference Eastern Division MVP, and in a rarity for a lineman, the Southern Lakes Conference Player of the Year. Steve earned All-County honors as both an offensive and defensive tackle, and was a first team member of the Burlington Standard Press All-Area team. He also made the AP, United Press International, and Wisconsin Newspaper Association All-State teams.
A press clipping from a 1975 Racine Journal-Times article entitled "Ehlen left Big Foot Ailing" sums up the kind of high school football player Steve was.
"Burlington offensive right tackle Steve Ehlen so closely resembles a human plow that John Deere would be proud to call the big farm kid 'son'...it was Ehlen whose crunching blocks guided the Demon running backs to most of their 336 yards rushing. Running back Joe Harjes, who played perhaps his finest game ever for the Demons, was the primary beneficiary of Ehlen's blocking. In a 20-0 victory over Big Foot in the 1975 Southern Lakes Conference championship game Harjes was named the game's top player on offense, but did not hesitate to credit Ehlen with his contribution to Joe's 170 yards on the ground. 'He's been doing it year', Harjes said of Ehlen's line play. 'He's as fast as any of our backs'...Ehlen just may be the best lineman the Demons have had in years. 'Hey, he's tough, isn't he?' beamed an elated Burlington Coach Don Dalton. 'Defensively and offensively, Demon line coach Jim Kramer told me he's the best offensive lineman that we've coached'...Dalton was equally impressed with Ehlen's work at defensive tackle. 'I'd like to have about 11 of him next year,' Kramer said of the graduating Ehlen. 'That kid just never stops working. From the time he puts on the uniform whether it's Monday or Wednesday or Thursday, he just never quits. He knows one speed, and that's full speed.' 'You talk about kids getting up for a game,' added backfield coach Tony Price, 'he (Ehlen) gets up for practice."
Steve lives in Burlington with his wife Kris. He owns and operates Ehlen Masonry with his two sons Nick and Jon.