Manawa falls in playoff opener
By Greg Seubert
Christmas came two months early for the Auburndale football team.
Manawa turned the ball over six times on four interceptions and a pair of fumbles Oct. 20 and ended up on the short end of a 31-16 score in a WIAA Division 6 Level 1 playoff game.
The Wolves ended their season with a 6-4 record, while the 5-5 Apaches advanced to Level 2 and will play at Abbotsford Friday, Oct. 27.
Both teams scored on their first possessions. Aaron Marth scored from 5 yards out to give Auburndale an early 7-0 lead and the Wolves answered with Mason Wiesner’s 35-yard field goal.
Auburndale came up with the game’s only score of the second quarter on Marth’s 1-yard run with 25 seconds remaining in the first half and the Apaches took a 13-3 lead at the break.
Seth Forbes cut the lead to 13-10, as he capped Manawa’s first drive of the second half with a 3-yard run.
Auburndale scored on its next drive, as Trayton Weister scored from 3 yards out to make it 19-10 and Cooper Weinfurter’s 13-yard pass to Dylan Paun gave the Apaches a 25-10 lead with 6:08 remaining in the game.
Wiesner scored from 3 yards out to cut Auburndale’s lead to 25-16, but Auburndale added a late score on Weister’s 10-yard run with 1:22 to go.
Manawa drove inside Auburndale’s 20-yard line late in the game, but ran out of time.
