Thunderbirds defeat Racine
By Holly Neumann
The Iola-Scandinavia Thunderbirds came back from a 21-14 half-time deficit to beat the Racine Lutheran Crusaders 35-28 in the first round of Division 6 playoffs Oct. 21 in Scandinavia.
The T-Birds were the first to get on the board when Jayden Sivertson ran the ball in from 1 yard for a touchdown, followed by Kyle Jobke kicking the extra point, putting the I-S up 7-0.
Racine answered with a touchdown on their own, when Shamaj Williams found the end zone for the Crusaders. Simon Theuer kicked the extra point, to tie the game at 7-7 in the first quarter of the game.
Shortly into the second quarter Antonio Jenkins scored on a 9-yard run, followed by Theuer once again kicking the extra point giving Racine Lutheran a 14-7 lead.
Jenkins and Theuer combined again for another scoring drive for Racine, extending their lead to 21-7.
The T-Birds fought hard as time was running down in the second quarter, when Sivertson connected with Jon Bauer on a 20-yard pass for a touchdown. The first half ended with Racine Lutheran up 21-14.
I-S came on strong after the half, scoring twice in the third quarter.
Jalen Block scored first on a 20-yard run, followed by Sivertson on a quarterback keeper. The T-Birds took a 28-21 lead.
Racine fumbled the ball early in the fourth quarter giving possession of the ball back to the Thunderbirds.
Bryce Huettner and Jobke teamed up to score once again for the T-Birds, putting I-S up, 35-21.
Racine was able to get on the board one more time on another run by Jenkins, but it was not enough and Iola-Scandinavia came away with the 35-28 victory.
Iola-Scandinavia will move on to the second round of playoffs when the travel to Ozaukee at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28.