Xavier spoils Homecoming game
By Greg Seubert
The yards were there.
The points, however, were not.
Waupaca High School’s streak of 26 years of qualifying for the WIAA state football playoffs is over after the Comets came out on the short end of a 29-7 score Oct. 13 to Xavier.
Xavier’s defense gave up 222 rushing yards, including 155 to Jack Menzies, but the Comets only found the end zone once in their Homecoming game.
Waupaca ended its season at 3-6 while posting a 3-5 mark in the Bay Conference.
The Hawks took a 15-0 halftime lead after scoring twice in a span of 1:04 early in the second quarter.
Xavier scored on its third drive of the game after Alex Hahlbeck recovered Brenden Canterbury’s fumble at the Waupaca 44-yard line, the Comets’ third turnover in the first quarter.
Hunter Plamann opened the scoring with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Sam Ferris with 9:58 remaining in the first half.
Waupaca went three-and-out on its next drive, but Xavier needed only three plays to score again after getting the ball at midfield. Plamann scored on a 38-yard run with 8:54 to go in the half.
Xavier extended its lead to 22-0 on its first drive of the second half with Plamann’s 9-yard pass to Nick Otto 2:06 into the third quarter.
The Comets answered on its next drive on Menzies’ 8-yard run with 7:01 remaining in the quarter. Menzies ran for 54 yards on five carries on the eight-play, 69-yard drive.
The Hawks had Plamann’s 34-yard TD pass to Aiden Maguire called back because of a holding penalty and eventually turned the ball over on downs.
Xavier scored on its next drive, but had a lot of help from the Comets. Three personal foul calls and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty accounted for more than 40 yards of the Hawks’ 66-yard drive that ended with Plamann’s 7-yard pass to Otto with 5:50 remaining in the game.
The Comets outgained the Hawks 222-153 on the ground, but Plamann completed 13 of 23 yards for 130 yards, while Xavier held Waupaca to 39 yards through the air.
