Four area football teams won their Level 1 playoff games Tuesday, Oct. 26.
Waupaca defeated Northland Pines 48-6 in Division 3, Iola-Scandinavia knocked off Wild Rose 27-20 in Division 6, Hortonville picked up a 36-35 win in two overtimes over Tomah in Division 2 and Tigerton/Marion shut out Oshkosh Lourdes 18-0 in Division 5.
Level 2 games are scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 30. Waupaca will play at Appleton Xavier, Iola-Scandinavia will host Edgar, Hortonville will play Marshfield in New London and Tigerton/Marion will head to Laconia.
Division 3
Waupaca 48,
Northland Pines 6
WAUPACA – The Comets rolled up 503 yards of offense, including 194 rushing yards from Beau Ash, in a win over the Eagles at Haberkorn Field.
“I think we set the tone right from the very beginning,” coach John Koronkiewicz said. “We took away what they wanted to do best and that’s run the football. Our guys did a nice job as far as taking that away. We were able to run the football, which is a good sign since we didn’t run it very well the last time we played.”
Ash put the Comets on the board with a 36-yard run in the first quarter. Quarterback Harley Andeson added runs of 28 an 19 yards in the second quarter and also connected with Nate Jenson for a 17-yard toucndown pass to give the Comets a 27-0 halftime lead.
Sean Nelson added touchdown runs of 9 and 5 yards in the second half, while Jesse Nelson scored from 24 yards out.
The Eagles’ score came on Austin Ramesh’s 73-yard run in the fourth quarter.
“A lot of guys made a lot of different contributions,” Koronkiewicz said. “It’s fun for everybody to play. Sean Nelson came in right away at the beginning of the ballgame and did a nice job. He’s a senior and he deserves some recognition out there.”
The Comets outgained the Eagles 465-82 on the ground and held Ramesh, who came into the game as the state’s 15th-leading rusher, to 79 yards.
“We didn’t throw the ball tonight, but we didn’t have to,” Koronkiewicz said. “We’ll throw it if we have to next week.”
A brisk wind blowing throughout the game was a factor, he said.
“Tonight was going to be an offensive line night and a defensive line night,” he said. “With the wind the way it was, you have to be able to move the ball on the ground. The guys up front deserve a lot of the credit for what happened here tonight. They opened up some nice holes for all of our running backs. Our running backs had space for the first time in a long time. If they get out in space, everybody becomes much more dangerous.”
The win, along with Xavier’s 42-7 Level 1 win over Mosinee, means the Comets and Hawks will meet for the second time this season in Level 2. Xavier handed the Comets a 21-14 in the season opener in August. The Hawks won the Eastern Valley Conference and are now 10-0 on the season, while Waupaca is 9-1.
“They’re a very good football team,” Koronkiewicz said. “They kind of blew through our conference and played great football tonight against a very solid 8-1 Mosinee team. We’re going to have our hands full, but we’re happy for the opportunity to get a chance to play.”
Xavier’s team speed is a concern, according to Koronkiewicz.
“They have a great deal of speed and a number of different guys that can hit a home run on you,” he said. “They’re a big-play football team. There are four or five guys in the backfield that can take it 50, 60, 70, 80 yards. In the first game, that’s exactly what happened. They had a couple of big plays.”
Division 6
Iola-Scandinavia 27,
Wild Rose 20
WILD ROSE – A 20-point third quarter helped the Thunderbirds defeat Wild Rose on the Wildcats’ home field.
Devin Peterson, who led all rushers with 189 yards, returned a kickoff 68 yards in the period for the T-Birds, while Brady Huettner and Jake Metz also found the end zone.
The Wildcats took a 13-7 lead at halftime. Peterson scored on a 4-yard run in the first quarater, but Wild Rose quarterback Darren Hudziak scored on runs of 30 and 33 yards.
Wild Rose also scored in the third quarter, but couldn’t get any closer than seven points.
The T-Birds outrushed the Wildcats 298-146 and had a 13-4 advantage in first downs.
Division 2
Hortonville 36,
Tomah 35 (2 OT)
TOMAH – A two-point conversion in the second overtime gave the Polar Bears their first playoff win in 14 years.
Kegan Gennrich connected with Joe Sommers for a 22 touchdown pass and they also hooked up for the winning two-point conversion.
Tomah’s Tanner Costello scored on a 69-yard run in the first quarter, but Hortonville’s Eric Sprangers tied the game with a 9-yard run.
Sommers returned a fumble 38 yards for Hortonville’s second touchdown and Zach Vallafskey caught a Gennrich pass for the two-point conversion.
Gennrich scored from a yard out in the third quarter, but Tomah’s Cliff Barthelemew scored from 15 yards out. Vallafskey scored on a 3-yard run before Tomah’s Joey Organ scored from 2 yards out and Alex Joromin caught a 12-yard pass from Tyler Von Haden. Von Haden later hooked up with Cole Franklin for a 16-yard score.
Tomah outgained the Polar Bears 391-220 and had a 302-183 advantage on the ground and an 89-37 advantage through the air.
Sprangers led the Polar Bears’ gruond game with 111 yards.
Division 5
Tigerton/Marion 18,
Oshkosh Lourdes 0
WITTENBERG The Thunder Catz advanced to the second round with a win over the Knights.
The game was scoreless for almost three quarters before Chase Bossell scored on a 14-yard run with 2:15 remaining in the period.
Bossell added a 4-yard run in the fourth quarater and Ethan Miller capped the scoring with a 14-yard run.
The Thunder Catz held the Knights to one first down and outgained Lourdes 304-18.
Bossell led Tigerton/Marion with 176 yards in 36 carries.