Iola-Scandinavia comes up short in home opener
By Greg Seubert
One look at the final statistics and it’s easy to see how Wittenberg-Birnamwood returned home Aug. 28 with a 45-16 nonconference football win over Iola-Scandinavia.
Not only did the Chargers outgain the Thunderbirds 265-54 on the ground and 251-57 through the air, they also had a 22-7 advantage in first downs and ran 70 plays, compared to the T-Birds’ 48.
The game, originally scheduled to be played Aug. 27 at Thunderbird Field, was postponed due to thunderstorms in the area and rescheduled for the following afternoon.
The Chargers built a 20-0 lead in the first quarter on Jack Fraaza’s 2-yard run, Braeden Groshek’s 30-yard pass to Luke Muscha and Groshek’s 3-yard quarterback keeper.
The T-Birds scored on a safety and trailed 20-2 heading into the second quarter.
Iola-Scandinavia cut the lead to 20-8 on Parker Prahl’s 25-yard pass to Will Tappa in the second quarter, but the Chargers added to their lead with Groshek’s touchdown passes of 42 and 23 yards to Kaden Schmidt.
The T-Birds trailed 32-8 at halftime and cut into the lead in the third quarter with Prahl’s 2-yard run.
That turned out to be Iola-Scandinavia’s final score, as the Chargers padded their lead with Groshek’s 21-yard pass to Muscha in the third quarter and Marshall Fraaza’s 1-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
The Chargers held Prahl to 33 rushing yards on 21 carries. Groshek led Wittenberg-Birnamwood’s ground game with 190 yards on 19 carries that included a 72-yarder.
The T-Birds fell to 1-1 with the loss. They will face another 1-1 team Friday, Sept. 3, as they travel to Edgar to face the Wildcats at 7 p.m. Edgar, one of the state’s top-ranked small-school teams, fell to Stratford 9-8 Aug. 27.