WIAA PLAYOFFS: Catholic Central survives first real test, advances to face No. 1 seed

Toppers will play Cambria in battle of unbeatens

By Mike Ramczyk

Sports Editor

BURLINGTON – Catholic Central head coach Tom Aldrich didn’t sugarcoat anything when addressing his guys after their 35-14 WIAA Division 7 Level 2 playoff win over Cassville Friday night at the Topper Bowl.

“We’re going to see who the real No. 1 seed should’ve been,” he said to his players, who knelt on the field after the game. “We’ve got a little something to prove.”

Aldrich and the undefeated Toppers (11-0) will travel to No. 1 Cambria-Friesland, which was voted the top seed after a tie and a coin flip a few weeks ago. Cambria (11-0) edged fourth-seeded Potosi, 24-22, Friday night to set up the game Aldrich and the Toppers have had circled on the calendar for weeks.

It almost didn’t happen, though, as the Toppers’ 20-0 lead evaporated in the fourth quarter.

Cassville’s passing game was moving the ball up and down the field, capped off by a Cam Jensen 50-yard touchdown pass to Christian Reynolds with 11:32 left in the game to cut the lead to 20-14.

That’s when Catholic Central quarterback Ben Heiligenthal took over. With running back Cole Kresken bottled up by a suddenly stingy Cassville defense, the 6-foot-3 senior started keeping the ball and following his blockers.

Heiligenthal orchestrated a six-minute, back-breaking drive in the fourth quarter, highlighted by several long quarterback keepers and a key third-down pass to Zach McClenathan.

In the red zone, Kresken, who ran for 111 yards on 21 carries, punished Cassville up the middle, and Heiligenthal capped off the championship drive with a one-yard dive. He followed it up with a two-point pass to Brandon Vandehei, and the Toppers were back in command at 28-14.

Cole Pankau picked off Jensen to give the ball back to Catholic Central, and Heiligenthal put the game away. He ran right, cut back across the field to the left and was finally caught after an 85-yard, zig-zagging jaunt.

Kresken punched it in from a yard out to increase the lead to 35-14.

Heiligenthal, who passed for a touchdown to Kresken in the first quarter, turned to the ground in the fourth quarter and finished with 211 yards on only 14 carries. Kresken had a 67-yard touchdown run to start Catholic Central’s scoring, but he was held in check most of the rest of the game.

Heiligenthal knew he had to lead his team to victory after Cassville made it a game.

“Everybody looked into each other’s eyes, and we said we had to dig deep and see what we’re made of,” he said of the team’s pivotal fourth-quarter drive. “Our O-line gutted it out. It showed our perseverance.”

Heiligenthal added an interception on fourth and goal in the third quarter to thwart a promising Cassville drive.

“I’m usually not in on defense,” he laughed. “I was just playing football, I reacted and I went after it.”

Defensively, Kresken flew to the ball, recording 18 tackles and forcing a fumble.

Hertel Novasic, a 5-foot-5, 135-pound senior nose tackle, made his presence felt with a sack and a fumble recovery. His relentless pressure, along with a sack from Andrew Kempken and combined sack from Jack Horner and Trevor Meinholz, helped slow down Jensen, who finished with 271 yards but two interceptions.

“It’s an awesome feeling and a great experience to be with a team that is this good,” Novasic said. “We work as a team, and we are definitely a family.”

Novasic and the other Toppers sat on picnic tables after the game behind the west end zone. They were laughing and eating hot dogs, brats and cheesy potatoes. Novasic added that the locker room was filled with country music classics “Dust on the Bottle” and “West Virginia.” He stressed that it’s a team of friends who have fun being around each other.

“We have some things to work on for next week,” said Novasic, who has been a nose tackle for the past two years. “I was a linebacker before nose tackle. I just play football. It works out pretty well sometimes.”

Jacob Webley added 10 tackles.

Pankau led the receivers with 74 yards on three catches, one of which was a 42-yard deep ball to set up a touchdown. Kresken added 34 yard receiving on five catches, including an 11-yard touchdown catch.

Catholic Central won the turnover battle, four to two, and outgained the Comets, 484-336. While it was the Toppers’ 11th straight double-digit victory, the six-point margin in the fourth quarter was a wake-up call, according to Aldrich.

“They had to dig a little deeper, and they did,” he said. “I was real happy about that. Cassville kept battling. Our kids are out-thinking themselves a little bit. We’ve got a lot to work on, which is good this time of year.”

Aldrich said Cambria-Friesland looks like a “very good” football team on film. Cambria plays Wing-T football, which features two running backs behind the quarterback with a wing back on the side. He said the Toppers have plenty of incentive to show they should’ve been the top seed.

“We’ll have to be more disciplined defensively, and we’ll have to stop the play-action passing game,” he said. “It should be a great battle. We have to improve in every facet. The focus will be to make sure we take care of things on our end, so we can take their best shot and hopefully answer it.”