Division 4 teams advance in WIAA high school football playoffs
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LITTLE CHUTE – Physicality has come to define the Little Chute football team.
The Mustangs powered their way to 563 yards of total offense in a 49-20 demolishing of West Salem on Friday, Oct. 31, in a WIAA Division 4 second-round playoff game at Fitzpatrick Field.
Little Chute (10-1) advances to play at defending D4 state champ Racine St. Catherine’s (10-1) in a state quarterfinal Nov. 7.
The Mustangs were prolific in the win over West Salem, particularly in the first half, rolling up 452 yards — all on the ground — on 26 plays with six touchdowns.
“What a great start to the game,” Little Chute coach Mark Krommenacker said. “It was just amazing to just see them execute what we’re doing and just be the more physical team and just take whatever they give us, because that’s what we do around here. Like if they’re going to try to take away the fullback, then the quarterback as you can see is going to pull it. And then if they want to take that away, then we’ll pitch it to somebody else. I think there’s some really good examples of blocking downfield, some unselfish guys.”
Jaden Hermsen led the Mustangs’ running game with 186 yards on 12 carries. Reece Joten added eight carries for 132 yards with Tyler Hietpas finishing with seven carries for 116 yards.
Joten had touchdown runs of 66, 18 and 7 yards. Hietpas added scoring runs of 53 and 40 yards with Hermsen scoring on runs of 1 and 40 yards.
But it all starts with the offensive line and the big guys up front opened massive lanes for all the skill players. There were several instances where the runners weren’t touched by a defender until they were 15 to 20 yards downfield.
Seniors Noah Faccio and Gavin McInnis headline the offensive line with juniors Michiah Lenz, Barrett Tamulion and Brayden Shepard and senior tight end James Thiel completing the formidable front.
“They want to go out and slap some people around,” Krommenacker said. “Well, we started with that as soon as I met these guys. The workouts that we were doing. … I mean, in the summer, we’re getting on the ground and we’re being physical and we’re competing. It’s basically we’re doing wrestling type training with how physical we are pushing sleds and that’s something that we really take pride in, and that’s just the kind of training we do.”
McInnis said he’s a big fan of Krommenacker’s offense that allows him and his fellow linemen to “pound the ball down.”
“Coach talks a lot about taking souls and the more physical team will win,” McInnis said. “And I think that’s what we strive to do every day and every week and every Friday.”
The Mustangs defense also did its job, picking off West Salem quarterback Drew McConkey three times, including two by defensive back Trevor Verhagen. The junior also missed a third interception — and possible pick-six — in a dominating effort for the Mustangs.
“Our offense gave us a big advantage in the first half,” Verhagen said. “So we knew our defense would have to step up too and make stops for them. I feel like everybody executed their game plan well, and that goes back to practice with the scout team. They give us really good looks on offense getting us ready for it. I feel like we just stayed with our keys, trusted our teammates and did our assignment and executed in the second half.”
Winneconne, Freedom set for Division 4 showdown
Winneconne and Freedom will be meeting in a D4 state quarterfinal in Winneconne on Nov. 7.
Winneconne (11-0) beat Altoona 28-6 to advance with Freedom knocking off Wrightstown 27-13.
Wolves senior quarterback Brody Schaffer scored on a 62-yard touchdown run and a 3-yard score. Ethan Duel also returned a fumble 16 yards for a touchdown with Bryce Jones adding a 5-yard rushing score.
Freedom (10-1) trailed 10-7 at halftime against Wrightstown (7-4), but had a strong second half to pull away from the Tigers and get the win.
“It’s exciting,” Freedom coach Charlie Jadin said. “I talked all week about just how those seniors have embraced these guys and you saw it tonight, a bunch of young guys making a lot of plays for us on both sides of the ball and for them to embrace them and bring us to where we’re at right now is just exciting for this team to be in this spot.”
Sophomore Charlie Micke hauled in a pass from sophomore Owen Henkel and raced 80 yards for a touchdown to give Freedom a 14-10 lead with 4:57 remaining in the third quarter.
After Wrightstown cut the deficit to one point at 14-13 on a 36-yard field goal by Daniel Buntin early in the fourth quarter, sophomore Axzil Eggert sealed the win for Freedom with two long scoring runs.
Eggert’s 61-yard touchdown run gave Freedom a 21-13 lead, then Eggert iced the victory with a 43-yard touchdown run with 2:15 remaining in the game.
“You know, it’s big,” Eggert said. “We want to do it for our seniors, you know. They’re the ones that we want to win for every week. So it means a lot.”
Around the Valley
Kimberly (8-3) saw its season come to an end in a 35-10 loss at Sussex Hamilton in a Division 1 second-round game. Allen Glover rushed for 116 yards on 20 carries with two touchdowns to lead Hamilton. Ryan Buchanan had a 9-yard reception for the Papermakers’ lone touchdown.
In Division 5, Amherst (10-1) raced to a 20-0 halftime lead in its 40-13 victory over Brillion in a second-round game. Hayden Cousin and Heath Cousin had touchdown runs for the Lions (8-3).
In Division 6, Manitowoc Lutheran (11-0) held off a Weyauwega-Fremont (6-5) rally to upend the Warhawks 35-22. Manitowoc Lutheran led 28-7 near the end of the first half, but Weyauwega-Fremont closed to within 28-22 after a 9-yard touchdown run by Dawson Lind.
In Division 7, Hilbert (9-2) advanced to the state quarterfinals with a 22-20 win over Wauzeka-Steuben/Seneca. The Wolves will play top-seeded Lourdes Academy on Nov. 7.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: WIAA high school football second-round playoff recap in Appleton area
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