Shiocton’s win over Amherst may have been the football game of the week in the Central Wisconsin 8 Conference Sept. 20, but Iola-Scandinavia’s matchup with Bonduel turned out to be just as exciting.
Bonduel trailed 14-0 and 21-7, but stormed back with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns before dropping a 21-19 decision to the Thunderbirds.
John Prahl opened the scoring for the T-Birds with an 82-yard run in the first quarter and I-S added to its lead on Nick Wavruk’s 25-yard run in the second quarter.
The Bears cut the lead in half on Colton Dobratz’s 33-yard pass to Danny Tauchen to make it a 14-7 game at the half.
I-S added to its lead in the fourth quarter on Wavruk’s 27-yard touchdown pas to Prahl, but the Bears made it interesting with Hunter Vanderlindin’s 23-yard TD run and Dobratz’s 20-yarder to Zach Zernicke. Bonduel didn’t convert after either score, however, and came up two points short.
The T-Birds had a 343-120 advantage in rushing yards, while the Bears outgained the home team 110-98 through the air.
Wavruk ran the ball 22 times for a game-high 122 yards, while Prahl just missed the 100-yard mark with 94 on only five carries. Vanderlindin led Bonduel with 95 yards on 23 carries.
Wavruk completed only four of 14 passes, but three of them went to Isaac Lashua for 71 yards.
The T-Birds improved to 4-1 overall and 2-1 in CWC-8 play with the win. I-S will head to Wittenberg Friday, Sept. 27, for a 7 p.m. contest with the Wittenberg-Birnamwood Chargers.