A year ago Shawano defeated New London on the Bulldogs Homecoming. This year the Bulldogs returned the favor with a 34-24 victory to upset the Hawks and spoil their homecoming.
Head Coach Pete Mroczynski said, “This was a great team victory. We did the little things which are important. I’m very proud of every player on this team.”
On the opening kickoff Shawano was set to receive the ball, however, the Bulldogs had something else in mind. Shawano never saw it coming when Hunter Jagla successfully kicked an onside kick to set up the first offensive drive for the Bulldogs.
New London managed to get a first down on that drive but the eventually were forced to punt the ball away.
Shawano began its drive with a 77 yard run to the five yard line by Quarterback Lukas Postl.
Two plays later Postl ran it in for the touchdown with the extra point Shawano had a short lead 7-0.
The Bulldogs began their second offensive drive with a bang when Jake Mroczynski connected with Nate Pluff for a 68 yard touchdown reception. The Bulldogs tied the game at seven with the extra point kicked by Bill Pence. Later in the second quarter Mroczynski would connect with Pluff once again for a 46 yard touchdown reception with the extra point the Bulldogs had a 14-7 lead.
Shawano was able to reach the end zone again when Postl ran eight yards for the touchdown to tie it up at 14. New London quickly responded when CJ Anderson pounded the ball in for a four yard touchdown with the extra point the Bulldogs led 21-14. Shawano tried to tie it up but fell short and attempted a field goal which went wide right to end the half with a 21-14 lead for New London.
Shawano started off the second half scoring first with a 29 yard field goal to shorten the Bulldogs lead 21-17.
However the Bulldogs answered when Mroczynski connected with Pluff for a seven yard touchdown reception. The extra point was not good but the Bulldogs extended the lead 27-17.
In the fourth quarter New London’s next score was set up by a good punt return by Ethan Thiel, then CJ Anderson went 40 yards for the touchdown with the extra point to take a 34-17 lead.
Shawano was not done trying to score. Postl would take a short one yard dive into the endzone to close the gap 34-24.
New London finished with good clock management to close the game out. Shawano still attempted to score but their last drive ended when Matt Hermsen picked off Postl.
Defensively the Bulldogs did a good job defending Shawano’s effective speed option resulting in numerous stops on the backs and the secondary had excellent coverage on Shawano’s receivers.
Jake Mroczynski finished the game with149 Passing yards, three touchdowns, completed six passes in 12 Attempts. Nate Pluff caught the ball four times for 144 yards and three touchdowns. CJ Anderson rushed 167 yards on 31 carries along with three touchdowns.
The Bulldogs snaped a three game losing streak and improved to 2-3. They will make a long trip to La Crosse Saturday, Oct. 2 to play La Crosse Central (2-3) at UW La Crosse’s Veterans Memorial Stadium for a 1 p.m. kickoff.