Level 1 games set for Oct. 20
By Greg Seubert
Four area football teams – Hortonville, Iola-Scandinavia, Clintonville and Weyauwega-Fremont – have qualified for the WIAA playoffs, which get underway Friday, Oct. 20, with Level 1 games.
All four teams will hit the road for the opening round. Third-seeded Hortonville will head to No. 3 Cedarburg in Division 2; No. 5 Iola-Scandinavia will travel to No. 4 Cambria-Friesland in Division 7; No. 8 Clintonville will face No. 1 Wittenberg-Birnamwood in Division 5; and No. 7 Weyauwega-Fremont will face No. 2 Stratford in another Division 5 matchup.
Teams wrapped up the regular season Oct. 13.
Marshfield 17, Hortonville 7
A steady rain and a Marshfield defense that forced seven turnovers added up to a loss for the Hortonville football team.
The Polar Bears ended up on the short end of a 17-7 score to the Tigers in a matchup of Valley Football Association teams.
Although four straight VFA wins earlier in the season guaranteed the Polar Bears a spot in the WIAA playoffs, the win also sent the Tigers into the postseason.
Marshfield took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on Adam Gilbertson’s 38-yard touchdown pass to Chris Pohl.
Hortonville tied the game with 2:09 remaining in the first quarter on Levi Strange’s 4-yard run, but that turned out to be the Polar Bears’ only trip to the end zone.
The teams headed to halftime tied at 7-7 after a scoreless second quarter, but the Tigers took the lead for good after Kaleb Neuenfeldt picked off Broden Butzin’s pass and returned it 48 yards. Keegan Fredrick added a 30-yard field goal later in the third quarter to complete the scoring.
The Tigers picked off five passes and recovered a pair of Hortonville four fumbles.
Neither team was able to get their offense going. The Tigers had a 9-5 advantage in first downs and had 162 yards of offense. The Polar Bears outgained the Tigers 111-90 on the ground and 138-72 through the air.
Strange finished with 74 of the Polar Bears’ 111 rushing yards, while Butzin completed 11 of 28 passes for 138 yards, including three to Tate Denkins for 42 yards.
Valley Football Association results: Oct. 13: Marshfield 17, Hortonville 7; Wisconsin Rapids 33, Wausau East 16; Stevens Point 56, Appleton West 6; D.C. Everest 13, Wausau West 7. WIAA playoffs: Level 1 (Oct. 20, 7 p.m.): Division 1: No. 6 Wausau West at No. 3 Stevens Point; No. 5 D.C. Everest at No. 4 Neenah. Division 2: No. 6 Hortonville at No. 3 Cedarburg; No. 7 Marshfield at No. 2 New Richmond.
Iola-Scandinavia 43, Kingdom Prep Lutheran 0
Iola-Scandinavia tuned up for the playoffs with a 43-0 nonconference win over Kingdom Prep Lutheran in Delafield.
Kyrylo Kopytsia found the end zone four times for the T-Birds on runs of 15, 20, 4 and 24 yards.
Quarterback Jensen Rice added touchdown runs of 40 and 15 yards.
The T-Birds outgained the Wolfpack 344-45.
Rice completed his only pass of the game for 23 yards and also ran for 91 yards. Kopytsia led the T-Birds with 164 yards on 17 carries.
Central Wisconsin Conference-Small results: Oct. 12: Loyal 64, Pacelli 13. Oct. 13: Iola-Scandinavia 43, Kingdom Prep Lutheran 0 (NC); Assumption 34, Rosholt 26. WIAA playoffs: Level 1 (Oct. 20, 7 p.m.): Division 7: No. 5 Iola-Scandinavia at No. 4 Cambria-Friesland; No. 8 Loyal at No. 1 Reedsville.
Tomahawk 29, Clintonville 20
Clintonville fell to Tomahawk in a matchup of Northwoods Conference teams.
Tomahawk opened the scoring in the first quarter on Landyn Seymour’s 10-yard run.
The Truckers cut the deficit to 7-6 in the second quarter on Kade Rosenow’s 50-yard touchdown pass to Zander Schroeder, but the Hatchets answered with a 47-yard run to go up 14-6.
Clintonville tied the game in the third quarter on Rosenow’s 17-yard pass to Zachary Johnson and Rosenow’s run on the two-point conversion attempt.
Tomahawk took the lead for good later in the quarter after the Hatchets tackled Schroeder in the end zone for a safety.
The Hatchets added to their lead in the fourth quarter on Brayden Larson’s 1-yard run.
The Truckers cut the Hatchets’ lead on Rosenow’s 51-yard pass to Schroeder before Tomahawk’s Kaiden Kapellusch returned a fumble 40 yards for the final score of the game.
Clintonville had a 239-218 advantage in total yards. The Hatchets held the Truckers to 10 rushing yards and Clintonville held the home team to 10 passing yards.
Rosenow completed 19 of 30 passes for 229 yards. Schroeder caught six passes for 108 yards and Johnson added six catches for 90 yards.
Both teams finished with 3-4 records in conference play and qualified for the WIAA playoffs. Clintonville received a No. 8 seed in Division 5 and will head to Wittenberg-Birnamwood Friday, Oct. 20, to face the top-seeded Chargers. Meanwhile, Tomahawk is a No. 7 seed in Division 5 and will travel to No. 2 Southern Door.
Northwoods Conference results: Oct. 13: Tomahawk 29, Clintonville 20; Coleman 54, Crandon 6; Oconto Falls 36, Crivitz 14. WIAA playoffs: Level 1 (Oct. 20, 7 p.m.): Division 4: No. 6 Somerset at No. 3 Oconto Falls; Division 5: No. 8 Clintonville at No. 1 Wittenberg-Birnamwood. No. 7 Tomahawk at No. 2 Southern Door; No. 6 Crandon at No. 3 Cameron; No. 5 Coleman at No. 4 Luther. Division 7: No. 7 Crivitz at No. 2 Randolph.
Wittenberg-Birnamwood 50, Weyauwega-Fremont 6
The Chargers built a 42-0 halftime lead after scoring three times in the first and second quarters.
Dawson Lind scored Weyauwega-Fremont’s touchdown in the fourth quarter and led the Warhawks with 98 of the team’s 99 rushing yards.
Marshall Fraaza scored three rushing touchdowns and led the Chargers with 146 yards on only four carries. Bryson Schmid added a pair of rushing touchdowns and finished with 86 yards on the ground.
Amherst 28, Manawa 12
Amherst took a 28-0 lead into the fourth quarter after scoring a pair of touchdowns in the second and third quarters.
Michael Glodowski broke a scoreless tie with a 1-yard run in the second quarter and Nasiah Holland added a 50-yard interception return that gave the Falcons a 14-0 halftime lead.
The Falcons added to their lead in the third quarter with Glodowski’s 10-yard pass to David Scott and Holland’s 14-yard run.
Dakota Stroud had a hand in both of Manawa’s touchdowns in the fourth quarter. He completed an 84-yard pass to Spencer Strebe and added a 1-yard run.
Stroud completed three of 12 passes for 133 yards, including two to Strebe for 92 yards.
Holland led Amherst with 107 rushing yards.
Central Wisconsin Conference-Large results: Oct. 12: Stratford 54, Spencer/Columbus Catholic 14. Oct. 13: Wittenberg-Birnamwood 50, Weyauwega-Fremont 6; Amherst 28, Manawa 12; Nekoosa 38, Shiocton 6. WIAA playoffs: Level 1 (Oct. 20, 7 p.m.): Division 5: No. 5 New Holstein at No. 4 Amherst; No. 8 Clintonville at No. 1 Wittenberg-Birnamwood; Division 6: No. 7 Weyauwega-Fremont at No. 2 Stratford.
Winneconne 42, Waupaca 13
Ethan Mathe had touchdown runs of 5 and 36 yards for Winneconne, while Zander Bartel and Brody Schaffer returned fumbles for touchdowns.
Brady Immel added a 31-yard touchdown run for the Wolves. Mathe ran for 114 yards and Immel added 91.
Xavier 47, New London 0
Reid Hietpas threw four touchdown passes and Isaiah Des Jardins ran for three scores in the Hawks’ win over the Bulldogs.
Hietpas completed six of seven passes for 192 yards and Des Jardins had 151 of Xavier’s 216 rushing yards.
Tommy Fields rushed for 90 yards for New London.
Bay Conference results: Oct. 13: Winneconne 42, Waupaca 13; Xavier 47, New London 0; Seymour 36, Shawano 0. WIAA playoffs: Level 1 (Oct. 20, 7 p.m.): Division 3: No. 8 Seymour at No. 1 Mount Horeb/Barneveld. Division 4: No. 7 Wisconsin Dells at No. 2 Xavier; No. 6 Winneconne at No. 3 Berlin.