Neenah pummels Hortonville to stay tied atop FVA with Kaukauna

A late-season push by the Neenah football team has the Rockets in position to repeat as Fox Valley Association champions.

The Rockets (5-3 overall) played a complete game in their 34-6 victory over Hortonville at Rocket Stadium on Oct. 9. The offense looked explosive with senior quarterback Ashton VanBeek back at the helm and the defense smothered what had been one of the area's top passing offenses. The win keeps Neenah tied atop the FVA with Kaukauna at 5-1 as the league enters its final week of play.

Neenah stumbled to a 1-3 start to the season but has rebounded with four consecutive wins.

"I felt like the last four games we've been playing really well," Neenah coach Steve Jung said. "And defensively we found our groove after our first three or four weeks of football where we were just a little bit off. And offensively [against Hortonville], you know we're down a couple of offensive linemen in the game, and we figured it out and we moved the ball and we controlled the tempo of the game."

VanBeek, one of the area's top playmakers, missed the three previous games due to an ankle injury. The team responded well behind sophomore backup quarterback Owen St. Clair, but VanBeek was thrilled to be back on the field against the Polar Bears.

"I'm super excited to be back," he said. "I mean, the adrenaline definitely stayed a little bit longer this game at the start, but we settled in and we got it done."

VanBeek had touchdown runs of 2 and 27 yards and also had an 8-yard touchdown pass to freshman tight end Chase Kramer. Elliot Devlin also had a 35-yard touchdown reception from St. Clair.

Neenah's defense had four takeaways, including two interceptions, and limited Hortonville quarterback AJ Pheifer, the league's top passer, to 73 yards on 6-for-14 attempts.

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Junior defensive back Oliver Bentz had one of the interceptions. He said the defense has gotten close over the past month and that chemistry has yielded better results.

"We've just been getting together a lot," he said. "Bonding as a team. Becoming really closer like a unit, been working a lot better. And then in practice, we knew their game plan was to pass heavy, throw a lot of stuff to the sidelines. We drilled that over and over and over again and we made sure that we could set the tone and that's exactly what we were going for early in the game."

Kimberly holds off Fond du Lac; Ghosts upend Oshkosh West

Kimberly improved to 4-4 overall and 4-2 in the Fox Valley Association with a 14-12 victory against visiting Fond du Lac. Maddux Hermus had a 1-yard touchdown run and also picked up a fumble on a kick return late in the first half and advanced it to just outside the Fond du Lac 20-yard line. That set up Hermus' second score of the night, a 3-yard plunge off the right side.

Kimberly held off a late rally by the Cardinals in the fourth quarter to cap the win.

"Eleven guys playing as one," Kimberly coach Chad Michalkiewicz said. "They made some plays, but you don't have to concede the field goal try or the end zone. We use mental skills training a lot. We say the next play doesn't care about the previous one. Can you get yourself and your mindset right, 11 guys playing as one? And our seniors, at the end particularly, stepped up. Seniors played like seniors."

Fond du Lac is 3-5 overall and 2-4 in the FVA. All four of its conference losses have come by two points or less.

"Fondy plays us tough every year," Michalkiewicz said. "They are a gutty program. I'm gutted for them. They've been in every game. They easily could be a top, an upper seed in the state. So for our kids on homecoming, it means a lot. That's a good football team we beat. The fashion in which we did, with the defense having to show some character and hang on, just really proud of our guys."

Ryan Mayer proved to be the difference in Kaukauna's 19-3 victory over Oshkosh West. Mayer kicked field goals of 31, 22, 32 and 33 yards and Muhammad Jobe had a 49-yard touchdown reception as Kaukauna kept pace with Neenah in the FVA title chase.

Kaukauna (6-2, 5-1) plays at Appleton East on Oct. 16 to close the regular season with Neenah hosting Kimberly.

Freedom, Winneconne stay unbeaten

Axzil Eggert ran for 217 yards on 21 carries and scored five touchdowns in Freedom’s 45-6 win over Luxemburg-Casco.

The win improves Freedom to 8-0 overall and 6-0 in the North Eastern Conference, clinching the Irish at least a share of the league title.

Eggert had touchdown runs of 75, 6, 4, 20 and 35 yards.

Henry Chase had 148 yards passing and three touchdowns and also ran for 69 yards and another score in Winneconne's 52-6 drubbing of Sheboygan Falls.

It was the 22nd consecutive victory for the defending WIAA Division 4 state champs. The win also clinched at least a share of the Bay Conference title with a 6-0 record for the Wolves (8-0 overall).

In another NEC game, Little Chute (7-1, 5-1) routed Kohler/Sheboygan Lutheran/Christian 49-7.

Around the Valley

Appleton North scored 18 points in the second half to hold off Appleton East 25-22. Cole Hank had 80 yards rushing and scored on a 16-yard run for North (5-3, 4-2). Brendan Hyatt's 30-yard field goal and a safety from the North special teams in the fourth quarter helped solidify the win. Ayden Kruse had 119 yards rushing and scored on a 35-yard touchdown pass for Appleton East (1-7, 0-6). … Appleton West fell to 3-5 overall and 1-5 in the Fox River Classic Conference-North with a 20-14 loss against visiting Ashwaubenon. … Fox Valley Lutheran (6-2 overall, 5-1 Bay Conference) erupted for 35 points in the first quarter en route to a 70-6 thrashing of Waupaca. Braden Heiges had two rushing scores and a passing touchdown for FVL with Weston Beyer also scoring twice on the ground. Joona Tuominen also had touchdowns on a fumble return and a kickoff return. … Xavier John had a pair of touchdown passes and added a touchdown run in Menasha's 48-0 blanking of Sheboygan South. Logan Bivens had a 95-yard kickoff return for a score and also scored a rushing touchdown. The win improves the Bluejays' record to 6-2 overall and 5-1 in the Fox River Classic Conference-South. … St. Mary Catholic beat Kiel 24-0 behind touchdown runs of 8 yards from Max Vosters and Dominic Todd and a 54-yard touchdown strike from Tarver Trinkner to Luke Fairweather. The win puts the Zephyrs (6-2, 5-1 Eastern Wisconsin) in position to earn a share of the EWC title with a win over league leader Brillion in the regular-season finale. Brillion (7-1, 6-0 EWC) routed Chilton 41-0 and will travel to SMC on Oct. 16. … Wyatt Hess had four touchdowns rushing and another receiving in Shiocton's 50-6 victory at Clintonville. Hess scored on runs of 19, 48, 15 and 26 yards and also had an 18-yard touchdown pass from Kyle Bergsbaken. Hess finished with 159 yards rushing on 12 carries. The Chiefs are 7-1 overall and 5-1 in the Northwoods Conference, tied for first with Coleman and Crivitz.

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Neenah pummels Hortonville to stay tied atop FVA with Kaukauna