Polar Bears rally in 4th quarter
By Erik Buchinger
The No. 5 seed Polar Bears lost in Level 1 of the playoffs to fourth-seed Menasha on the road on Friday, Oct. 19.
Menasha led 27-0 late in the third quarter before Hortonville went on a run with four touchdowns in the game’s final 15 minutes.
“Defensively, we needed to make some big plays,” Hortonville head coach Tom Kolosso said. “We needed to create a turnover and finish some of those tackles. We just weren’t sharp early on and in the playoffs against a good team like that it’s not going to cut it.”
Hortonville quarterback Kyle Allen completed 14 of 26 passes for 216 yards and two touchdowns, and Max Muthig completed 5 of 12 attempts for 63 yards with two interceptions.
Jose Concepcion carried the ball 15 times for 99 yards with one touchdown run and caught two passes for 70 yards including a 38-yard, over-the-shoulder catch for a score in the fourth quarter.
Hortonville wide receiver Josh Giese caught eight passes for 79 yards, and Dylan Schmidt had 87 receiving yards on five receptions.
The Polar Bears recovered a pair of onside kicks in the fourth quarter to guide their attempted comeback.
Kolosso said he was proud the way his team battled during the regular season to return back to the postseason.
“Coming out of missing the playoffs last year, we put a lot of pressure on these guys,” Kolosso said. “This was a big year for us to bounce back as a program. I was proud in a very tough league how we came out and battled this year.”