Wilmot shocks Badger, enters three-way tie for first place

By Mike Ramczyk

Sports Editor

Wilmot football coach Mike Greinke sounded like a guy who just won the Super Bowl and screamed that he’s going to Disneyland.

“This was the biggest win in the history of our program,” he shouted at his players after their 28-14 victory over visiting Lake Geneva Badger Friday night.

Biggest win ever? A stretch? Not so fast.

Badger pummeled the Panthers the past two seasons, and at 5-1 entering Friday’s contest, Wilmot’s Homecoming game, the Badgers were one of the hottest teams in the state. They boast the conference’s leading rusher, several Division I college football prospects and a darn near professional coaching staff. Wilmot, at 4-2 and yet to beat a really good team, had no chance.

Right?

Here’s the catch. The Panthers believed in themselves, so much so that they fired out of the gates and played two perfect quarters of football to take a 21-0 halftime lead. Senior Zach Dodge, who was forced to play both ways (offensive and defensive line), summed it up moments after the upset victory.

“I’ve never beat Badger in my life,” Dodge said. “It means so much to this program and this team. I’m proud to play with these guys. I love them all.”

“We lost badly to Badger in four of my six seasons, and there are some bad memories,” Greinke said. “They are a D1 school. They play D1 football, and they are a really good football team. We needed to play a mistake-free game, and we had to sustain for four quarters. And they did it. It’s so awesome. What a feeling.”

This season is shaping up just like 2011. That fall, Wilmot, Waterford and Badger all shared the conference title with a 6-1 record. Through seven weeks in 2013, Waterford, Wilmot and Badger all sit at 4-1 with two games to play. Waterford is the defending outright champion.

Badger’s ground game, which averaged more than 300 yards per contest coming on, was stymied by Wilmot’s impenetrable defensive front Friday night. The Panthers took away dives, pitches and just about anything Badger attempted for three quarters.

But Badger also made its fair share of mistakes. While Lake Geneva’s defense was solid, holding Wilmot to 184 total yards, turnovers were the difference in the ball game. Badger turned the ball over four times, including two fumbles and two interceptions. Wilmot had zero turnovers.

And Badger’s miscues turned into big plays. With the game still close at 14-0 late in the second quarter, Badger was trying to get out of its own end zone. But quarterback Collin Broderick tossed a pick, and Wilmot’s Michael Lindeman found Ethan Scott for a 10-yard scoring pass just a couple plays later to make it 21-0 with 1:15 left in the first half. The rout was on, and Badger had some serious soul searching to do at the half.

To open the third quarter, Badger was putting together a nice drive and reached its own 37. But a pitch play went bad as the Badger runner was stripped. Doug Wedge picked up the ball, headed down the left sideline, and saw nothing but green in front of him. Sixty-three yards later, he was in the end zone, and Wilmot had a nearly insurmountable 28-0 lead with 9:41 left in the third quarter.

“These kids played their tails off tonight,” Greinke said. “This is a culmination of the coaches’ hard work year after year after year. All the hard work over the weekends, all the time spent away from their families, it’s hard work.”

Badger finally got on the board with a Tony Ashley touchdown halfway through the fourth quarter, but it was too late.

Badger’s success is predicated on its punishing ground game. The Badgers tend to get a big lead, let their defense make plays and control the clock. They aren’t necessarily a come-from-behind squad.

Forced to pass, Broderick was hurried all night. He finished 1-for-12 for five yards passing with the two picks. Andrew Allen rushed for 123 yards on 21 carries, but most of that success wasn’t until the game was out of reach late.

Greinke said Dodge, who he asked to play both ways due to an injury this week, was inspirational in thwarting Badger’s usually dominant ground attack.

“Zach Dodge is one of the best defensive linemen I’ve coached in my career, and I’ve been at some good places,” Greinke said. “He plays so hard and has so much heart, and he’s the epitome of what we’re trying to do here. He played all four quarters, and he kicked for us.”

Greinke also credited the stellar play of Dalton Heckel and Chaz Leimueller on the line.

Wilmot has outscored its last three opponents, all victories, to the tune of 100-34. In the process, they shut down a streaking Elkhorn team, dominated a dynamic Union Grove passing attack and bulldozed a very talented Badger run game.

“We finally realized if we play as a team and play together, it’s hard to stop us,” Dodge said. “Our No. 1 goal is to win conference. We still have to beat Burlington. Ultimately, we want to win state. We have brotherhood here, and we all care about each other.”

“We eliminated some things in practice,” Greinke said. “It changed some of the distractions going on on the sidelines. It wasn’t easy, but it’s paying off right now. We’re starting to click, and kids are starting to understand the veer offense.”

“It’s all about visualizing the most positive outcome. But we need to keep our heads on straight, especially with Homecoming and our eyes are on being conference champions. We want to get seeded, and we want to do something big in the playoffs and have some fun.”

Albert Rogalski led Wilmot with 102 yards rushing and a 39-yard touchdown. Lindeman finished an efficient 6-of-7 for 76 yards and two touchdown passes. His toss to Brennan Frisby got Wilmot on the board, and his crucial touchdown to Scott proved to be the game-winner.

Wilmot travels to Burlington next Friday. After a 28-24 loss to Delavan tonight, the Demons must win out to make the playoffs.

Badger hosts Elkhorn.

Check next week’s Lake Geneva Times and Westosha Report for more on this story.

Other area scores

Delavan-Darien 28, Burlington 24

Racine St. Cat’s 38, Catholic Central 7

Elkhorn 17, Union Grove 13

Waterford 20, Westosha Central 3

Big Foot 42, Whitewater 0

Williams Bay 24, Martinsville, Ill. 16

East Troy 54, Parkview 14

Franklin 55, Kenosha Tremper 7

Catholic Memorial 41, Muskego 7

Waukesha West 47, Waukesha South 8