Comets give up three TDs in first quarter
By Greg Seubert

Fans arriving late for Waupaca’s season-opening football game probably looked twice at the Haberkorn Field scoreboard.

Green Bay East found the end zone three times in the first quarter and had a 21-6 lead at one point, but ended up on the short end of a 41-21 score in an Aug. 21 matchup of Bay Conference teams.

“After a rocky start on the defensive side of the ball in the first quarter, we settled in and made some adjustments,” coach John Koronkiewicz said. “Our guys were taking themselves a little out of position, particularly on the misdirection kind of plays. In their desire to get to the football, they forget that they still have some responsibilities on the back side. We didn’t do that very well initially. We settled down and did a much better job in the second half.”

Austin Short opened the scoring for the Red Devils with a 4-yard run in the first quarter.

Christian Overman cut East’s lead to 7-6 with a 10-yard run later in the quarter, but the Red Devils weren’t finished, as Deonte Carlton connected with Collin Koltz for a 7-yard touchdown pass and Carlton scored from 12 yards out to give the Red Devils a two-score lead.

That turned out to be the last time East scored, as Waupaca outscored the visitors 35-0 the rest of the way.

“We shut them out the last three quarters,” Koronkiewicz said. “That’s a very good offensive team. They have some very talented individuals. We kind of wore them down a little and the fact that we have two platoons makes a difference early in a season like this. First games have a way to drain you. That’s typical early in the year when the weather’s a little warmer and you’re not quite used to playing as hard as you need to play for as long as you have to play.”

Koronkiewicz and his coaching staff starting making adjustments in the first half instead of waiting until halftime.

“When our defense came off the field, we were able to talk to them and try to make some adjustments,” he said.

Meanwhile, Waupaca’s offense eventually got on track thanks to Overman and quarterback Walker Smith, who accounted for 311 of the Comets’ 332 rushing yards.

Overman had a pair of 12-yard TD runs in the second quarter to cut East’s lead to 21-20 at halftime.

Overman added a 58-yard scoring run in, Blake Orr tackled an East ball carrier in the end zone for a safety and Smith scored from 6 yards out in the third quarter. Smith, in his first varsity start at quarterback, capped the scoring with a 17-yard run in the fourth quarter.

Overman finished with 156 yards on 15 carries, while Smith carried 18 times for 155 yards.

All of Waupaca’s yards came on the ground, as the Comets were 0-for-6 throwing the football.

“Christian and Walker are a dynamic one-two punch. They’re the key to our offense right now,” Koronkiewicz said. “Eventually, I think we’ll be able to throw the ball because teams will try to stop us. We have enough skill where we’ll get that going down the road.

“It’s nice to get a win against I think a pretty quality football team,” he said. “One-on-one, those guys were awfully tough to get down. Brandon Anderson saved a touchdown, Joe Gill saved a touchdown. It’s a rewarding win, but there are some things we need to work on. We missed some tackles and had the quarterback in our grasp a couple times and we let him squirm away and make a play.”

Carlton finished with 97 rushing yards and completed nine of 19 passes for 183 yards, but also threw four interceptions.

“We had four interceptions and a fumble recovery and could have been in position to make a couple more,” Koronkiewicz said. “We just have to be a little quicker around the football.”

The Comets will host another Green Bay team – Green Bay West – at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 28.

“They’re a Green Bay school with a pretty large enrollment,” Koronkiewicz said. “I think they’ll have some athletes, they always do. It’s a matter of us being able to get better each and every week.

“This is step one,” he added. “We had guys who were nervous prior to the game. After a rough start, they settled in and played pretty good football for the last three quarters.”
Comets give up three TDs in first quarter
By Greg Seubert
Fans arriving late for Waupaca’s season-opening football game probably looked twice at the Haberkorn Field scoreboard.

Green Bay East found the end zone three times in the first quarter and had a 21-6 lead at one point, but ended up on the short end of a 41-21 score in an Aug. 21 matchup of Bay Conference teams.

“After a rocky start on the defensive side of the ball in the first quarter, we settled in and made some adjustments,” coach John Koronkiewicz said. “Our guys were taking themselves a little out of position, particularly on the misdirection kind of plays. In their desire to get to the football, they forget that they still have some responsibilities on the back side. We didn’t do that very well initially. We settled down and did a much better job in the second half.”

Austin Short opened the scoring for the Red Devils with a 4-yard run in the first quarter.

Christian Overman cut East’s lead to 7-6 with a 10-yard run later in the quarter, but the Red Devils weren’t finished, as Deonte Carlton connected with Collin Koltz for a 7-yard touchdown pass and Carlton scored from 12 yards out to give the Red Devils a two-score lead.

That turned out to be the last time East scored, as Waupaca outscored the visitors 35-0 the rest of the way.

“We shut them out the last three quarters,” Koronkiewicz said. “That’s a very good offensive team. They have some very talented individuals. We kind of wore them down a little and the fact that we have two platoons makes a difference early in a season like this. First games have a way to drain you. That’s typical early in the year when the weather’s a little warmer and you’re not quite used to playing as hard as you need to play for as long as you have to play.”

Koronkiewicz and his coaching staff starting making adjustments in the first half instead of waiting until halftime.

“When our defense came off the field, we were able to talk to them and try to make some adjustments,” he said.

Meanwhile, Waupaca’s offense eventually got on track thanks to Overman and quarterback Walker Smith, who accounted for 311 of the Comets’ 332 rushing yards.

Overman had a pair of 12-yard TD runs in the second quarter to cut East’s lead to 21-20 at halftime.

Overman added a 58-yard scoring run in, Blake Orr tackled an East ball carrier in the end zone for a safety and Smith scored from 6 yards out in the third quarter. Smith, in his first varsity start at quarterback, capped the scoring with a 17-yard run in the fourth quarter.

Overman finished with 156 yards on 15 carries, while Smith carried 18 times for 155 yards.

All of Waupaca’s yards came on the ground, as the Comets were 0-for-6 throwing the football.

“Christian and Walker are a dynamic one-two punch. They’re the key to our offense right now,” Koronkiewicz said. “Eventually, I think we’ll be able to throw the ball because teams will try to stop us. We have enough skill where we’ll get that going down the road.

“It’s nice to get a win against I think a pretty quality football team,” he said. “One-on-one, those guys were awfully tough to get down. Brandon Anderson saved a touchdown, Joe Gill saved a touchdown. It’s a rewarding win, but there are some things we need to work on. We missed some tackles and had the quarterback in our grasp a couple times and we let him squirm away and make a play.”

Carlton finished with 97 rushing yards and completed nine of 19 passes for 183 yards, but also threw four interceptions.

“We had four interceptions and a fumble recovery and could have been in position to make a couple more,” Koronkiewicz said. “We just have to be a little quicker around the football.”

The Comets will host another Green Bay team – Green Bay West – at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 28.

“They’re a Green Bay school with a pretty large enrollment,” Koronkiewicz said. “I think they’ll have some athletes, they always do. It’s a matter of us being able to get better each and every week.

“This is step one,” he added. “We had guys who were nervous prior to the game. After a rough start, they settled in and played pretty good football for the last three quarters.”