By Mike Ramczyk
DEFOREST – As the final seconds ticked down Friday night and seniors Ben Heiligenthal and Cole Kresken knew their Catholic Central football careers were over, Kresken walked off the field and greeted his quarterback on the sideline with a lingering hug.
The dynamic duo, which helped the Toppers get to the brink of a state championship, couldn’t hold back the frustration and emotion after undefeated and top-seeded Bangor thoroughly dominated Catholic Central in a 48-6 victory.
Bangor running back Andrew Piske ran for 283 yards, 223 in the first half, and the Cardinals racked up 461 rushing yards and 11 yards per carry with an unstoppable goal-line, rugby-style formation that emphasized misdirection and a multitude of weapons.
After Catholic Central suffered 50 penalty yards and several offensive miscues early in the game, Piske’s three touchdowns had Bangor up 28-6 late in the second quarter and in complete control.
The Toppers advanced into Cardinals territory late in the first half before a failed Hail Mary attempt, and two straight turnovers on downs to start the second half led to two Bangor touchdowns and a running clock.
Bangor (13-0) advances to its first state championship game Thursday morning, while Catholic Central’s season ends at 12-1.
Heiligenthal, who threw for 135 yards and ran for 31, often led the Toppers on what seemed like promising drives, but penalties and a stout Bangor defense plagued Catholic Central.
Overcome by the emotion of his final high school football game, Heiligenthal put the loss into perspective immediately after the game.
“It’s tough,” he said. “I’m going to miss these guys. I love all of them. They’re like a family to me. Bangor is a great team, and they deserve the win. We never gave up. We left everything on this field.”
Senior lineman Ian Aldrich said Bangor was the better team.
“We tried to have a good plan for Bangor, but it didn’t work out,” he said. “We tried to create penetration, but they had so many pulling blockers, and it was hard. Usually, Cole (Kresken) isn’t getting blocked at linebacker. He’s been free to make tackles, but somehow he was getting double-teamed.”
“We got out first conference championship in five years, and a state championship was another goal. We just came up short.”
From the first play of the game, near midfield, Bangor lined up with tight splits on the offensive line. With anywhere from three to four backs behind the quarterback, the Cardinals utilized misdirection and multiple handoffs to confuse the Toppers defense. They even sprinked in a shotgun set to score their first touchdown, a 44-yard jaunt by Piske, who broke tackles and stiff-armed his way to paydirt.
Piske would’ve had five touchdowns, but a 50-yard run ended with a Catholic Central player forcing a fumble and a Toppers recovery on the Cardinals’ next possession.
Catholic Central finally got something going on offense with a few first-down runs from Kresken and Heiligenthal, but for the second straight possession a holding penalty killed the momentum. Facing third and 38, the Toppers eventually punted.
Bangor kept pouring on the ground game (they didn’t pass the ball once in the game), and a long run by quarterback Kellen Kravik set up a 5-yard Piske plunge on the next play, extending the lead to 14-0.
The Toppers scored their only points on the next possession, but they weren’t easy.
Heiligenthal converted a first-down pass to Brandon Vandehei on third and long and a first-down run on fourth and long before Central faced another fourth and long in Bangor territory.
The 6-foot-3 signal-caller faked a handoff up the middle to Kresken and took a deep drop before finding Cole Pankau on a deep post for 34 yards down to the 2-yard line. Kresken, who had to labor for 97 yards on 17 carries, scored on the next play, and it was a ball game.
But Bangor, which didn’t punt in the game, answered with long touchdown sprints from Luke Reader and Piske before the half, and it was 28-6 at intermission.
On Central’s first possession of the second half, Bangor keyed on stopping Kresken, so Heiligenthal was forced to scramble under heavy pressure. On a third down, he ran to the right and came back left looking for a receiver, but the Cardinals crunched him from behind, forcing a fumble.
Bangor recovered, and though the Toppers showed subtle signs of slowing down Piske, the 6-foot-1, 217-pound senior reeled off a 14-yard touchdown run on third and 2, and the rout was on at 35-6 nearly midway through the third quarter.
On fourth and 10 on the ensuing possession, Catholic Central attempted the play-action pass that resulted in a big play in the first half, but Bangor read it and sacked Heiligenthal to regain possession.
Kravik’s touchdown run at the 1:24 mark in the third quarter began a running clock.
The Toppers punted on their next series. To add insult to injury, Bangor’s first play of its next drive was a 70-yard touchdown run.
Vandehei led the Toppers with four catches for 46 yards, and Pankau added two grabs for 43 yards.
Jack Horner and Jake Webley each added a catch.
Senior lineman Trevor Meinholz said he won’t forget his teammates and the bond they developed.
Teammate Andy Kempken, another senior who played on both offense and defense, co-signed Meinholz’s sentiment.
“There wasn’t one guy that was on the outside,” he said. “Every day, everybody was together, and it’s a family atmosphere. It’s definitely something that’s rare.”
Pick up Thursday’s Burlington Standard Press for more, and LIKE the Standard Press Sports Facebook page for a photo gallery from Friday’s game.
-
-
-
-
-