By Mike Ramczyk
Sports Editor
On Nov. 1 in a WIAA Division 7 Level 2 playoff game roughly three hours west of Burlington, the Catholic Central football team was on the verge of an upset victory over fifth-ranked Potosi in its backyard.
At the 7:02 mark in the third, senior Jeff Stemper scored his third touchdown of the day to give the Toppers their first lead at 26-20.
The local boys had stormed all the way back from a 20-7 deficit in the third quarter.
Potosi eventually tied the game late and scored in overtime to capture the 34-26 victory.
Catholic Central finished the season 8-3 overall.
In the overtime, Potosi got the ball first and scored. On Central’s possession, the Toppers faced a fourth and goal from the 5-yard line.
Ben Heiligenthal’s pass to the end zone was caught by Nolan Girard, but the referees said Girard’s feet were out of bounds, and the game was over.
“We had first and goal from the 7 and couldn’t find the end zone,” said Catholic Central coach Tom Aldrich Tuesday night. “One pass went off a guy’s fingertips. Nolan did the best he could on the last play to keep his feet in.”
“It’s never easy to lose your last game. We made great strides this year.”
Catholic Central came out flat and fell into a 20-7 hole after allowing two long touchdowns in the first quarter.
The Toppers slowly battled back, powered by a 13-0 second quarter that featured a touchdown catch from Spencer Wilker and a short scoring run by Stemper.
“We kept our composure,” Aldrich said. “It was a good high school football game. For the most part, our kids played hard.”
The Toppers held the slim 26-20 advantage for around 10 minutes before Potosi pulled off a trick play to send it into overtime.
Riley Hawes found Teagan Friederick for a 35-yard touchdown on a double pass with only 2:53 remaining in regulation.
In the extra frame, Potosi running back Brent Curtis capped off a 179-yard, three touchdown day with a six-yard score.
Stemper finished with 125 yards rushing and three touchdowns. He gave his all in his final high school game.
“Jeff had a real solid game,” Aldrich said. “You expect seniors to play well in big games. He loves to play the game. He’ll be tough to replace.”
Heiligenthal finished 9-for-17 for 110 yards and a touchdown. Wilker had four catches for 70 yards.
Cole Kresken was held to 44 yards on 14 carries.
Potosi ran for 265 yards and outgained Central, 400-288.
Catholic Central says goodbye to seven seniors, Wilker, Stemper, Girard, Christian Nicholls, Shan Gill, Nick Seib and Karan Singh.
“We had great senior leadership. They put their teammates first and had a certain way of treating underclassmen like equals.”
“We were really successful this season. We had a group of kids that didn’t care about themselves and did everything for the team.”
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