I’m sure the Union Grove football team would’ve loved to take care of business at home Oct. 9 and clinch its first playoff berth since 2009.
But if the Broncos had won last Friday night against already playoff-bound Lake Geneva Badger, this weekend wouldn’t have shaped up to be one of the most dramatic, action-packed local football weekends in recent history.
The Grove’s loss combined with victories from Burlington and Waterford meant Friday night will feature two winner-take-all matchups and two conference championship tilts.
The Demons, who just came off a devastating 34-27 home loss to Wilmot, needed to win at Elkhorn to keep their fading playoff hopes alive.
Well, they led 18-0 after the first quarter and hung on for an 18-14 victory.
Burlington’s offense disappeared in the final three quarters in the most part, as the effects of injuries to linemen Connor Raboine and Zach Koch, tight end Aaron Mutter and slot receiver Dale Damon were felt.
All but Mutter are expected back when Burlington hosts Union Grove Friday night.
While the Burlington offense struggled, the Elkhorn offense turned to the ground game.
Jordan Barr rushed for short touchdowns in both the second and third quarters.
Also, Burlington had a chance to put the game away in the fourth with a first and goal from the Elkhorn 1-yard line, but the Elks stuffed Burlington on three plays from the 1.
The fourth quarter brought more hard-nosed defense, this time from Burlington. After Ryan Shilts busted off two big runs, the Demons buckled down. Elkhorn switched to a two wide-receiver set in the second half and opened up some huge running lanes.
But the Demons forced a fourth and 6 inside their own red zone. Joey Needle burst through the line and sacked Dylan Peterson. Needle, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound junior, totaled two sacks, two tackles for loss and led the team with 7.5 tackles on the night.
Juanye Thorton added a sack for a Demons defense that allowed more than 200 yards on the ground but only 19 through the air.
Burlington’s defense only allowed seven points in each half and came up big in crucial moments.
“That was one of the toughest games I’ve been a part of,” said Burlington quarterback Cal Tully (8-13, 214, 2 TD, INT). “Our guys are resilient and always stick together. We struggled once Elkhorn switched up their schemes defensively. They dropped back, which made it harder to pass, and it forced us to run the length of the field and eat the clock.”
Nick Klug, who developed his chemistry with Tully when the pair grew up on the same block, had another big night.
He caught five balls for 115 yards and two scores, most of which came in the first quarter. Then, in the fourth quarter, a big pass from Tully to Klug helped seal the victory.
“Our offensive line has been giving Cal time to throw, making it easy to get open,” Klug said.
Now, Burlington must beat Union Grove Friday night at Don Dalton Stadium. Both teams are 3-3 in the Southern Lakes Conference. A winning conference record is the only way to assure a playoff spot.
A 3-4 conference can yield a playoff berth, but there are only a handful given out in the entire state.
So it’s win and you’re in, or lose and you’re done.
Grove falls short in shootout
The scoreboard read that visiting Lake Geneva Badger won, 41-38, but a few controversial calls helped spell doom for the Broncos.
First, with the Grove leading, 31-28, superstar athlete Joe Peterson busted it outside on a fourth-and-goal run. The ball crossed the plane of the goal line, and it seemed like a touchdown.
However, the referees ruled the ball down at the 1, and Badger took over. Lake Geneva went on to score 13 straight points to pull away.
Most observers after the game said the Broncos were “screwed” by the call, as several coaches were downright shocked at the call.
To make matters worse, officiating struck again on Badger’s game-winning drive.
It was fourth and long, and Badger was inside the Grove 30. Mason DuMez lobbed a deep ball to his receiver, which was being face-guarded by a Grove defender.
From the sideline, it looked like the defender never really touched the receiver, and the errant pass fell incomplete. But the referees called pass interference, saying a player can’t face-guard, or only guard the player when the ball’s in the air.
A defender is supposed to turn is body around and attempt to get the ball to avoid a penalty.
The ticky-tack call once again deflated the Grove defense, which by now may have been fatigued after Badger ran for 359 total yards. Also, Lake Geneva doubled up the Broncos in time of possession, 31 minutes to 16.
So it wasn’t a surprise when DuMez kept the ball on an option play and ran 18 yards for a score with 2:03 on the clock.
Down 41-31, Union Grove signal-caller Matt Nelson showed no quit. He capped off a 21-30, 289-yard performance with his third touchdown pass to Peterson with 38 seconds left.
An onside kick attempt went right to the waiting arms of Isaac Ziervogel, and the Badgers assured that Friday night’s home game against Waterford will be for a share of the SLC championship.
Waterford’s 55-0 rout of Delavan Oct. 9 means the Wolverines will at least share a part of their fifth straight conference title.
The Wolverines have a chance to win the SLC outright for the first time since 2012. Waterford has never gone 9-0 in school history, but has been the SLC champ seven of the last eight years.
City features two do-or-die games Friday
After the loss, Union Grove coach Craig McClelland seemed nervous about the prospect of facing high-powered Burlington with so much on the line. He noted that Peterson, the best athlete I’ve seen in the SLC this season, would stick with Klug and try to shut him down.
Nelson and Tully provide a dream quarterback matchup, and both defenses are quick and can make game-changing plays.
They’re the two best passing teams in the league, as Tully has thrown for 1,677 yards in eight games with 17 touchdowns, while Nelson has tossed 14 touchdowns and 1,405 yards.
Tully’s 104.1 passer rating is slightly ahead of Nelson’s 101.1.
Both young men can extend a play with their feet, but Tully is much more of a scrambler, while the 6-foot-3, 215-pound Nelson fits more of the prototypical pocket passer.
Klug and Peterson are big weapons, and Ty Wiemer and Dale Damon for Burlington along with Tyrell Laxton and Toby Robe for the Grove provide additional threats.
Dynamic playmakers like Hegeman Tiedt, Erik Viel, Aaron Sturtevant, Joey Needle and Thorton lead Burlington defensively, while Evan Storm-Voltz, Holden Whybark, Taylor Vernon, TJ Cadd and Todd Willms stand out for the Grove.
Both teams average nearly 30 points and have a tendency to give up large chunks of rushing yardage, but in the second half when the game’s on the line, both squads feed off energy and momentum and can be dangerous defensively.
I’m excited just thinking about this one, and it’s only Tuesday.
Not to be outdone is the showdown between Catholic Central and Kenosha St. Joseph Friday night at the Topper Bowl.
Another winner-take-all utopia of awesomeness, this one is for the Metro Classic Conference championship.
In Bucky land, Wisconsin hosts Purdue, and Green Bay hosts San Diego.
It’s going to be a fun-filled, heart-stopping adrenaline rush of a football weekend.
I’m pulling single-parent duties as the better half will be at her annual conference in Nashville, so look for sweet Coraline, my 17-month-old, and I at Saturday’s SLC cross country meet.
Luckily, for the football shenanigans I will definitely pull Friday night, I have a babysitter.
PREDICTIONS
Last week: 4-1
Season: 39-9
(All games 7 p.m. Friday)
GAME OF THE WEEK
Kenosha St. Joe’s (6-2, 6-0 MCC) at Catholic Central (8-0, 6-0)
Remember about a month ago when we all thought the Toppers were going to run away with the conference title after four-time defending champion Racine St. Cat’s lost a couple games.
Everyone forgot about the Trojans from Kenosha, a team that averages 29 points per game but also allows plenty of points (22 or more four times, compared to once for CC).
A big difference here is the Toppers average nearly 40 points per game, and quarterback Ben Heiligenthal is coming off a 230-yard, six-touchdown performance.
So forget shutting 1,000-yard rusher Cole Kresken because the 6-foot-3 Heiligenthal, an underrated passer, will hurt you.
Josh Moser has passed for a respectable 936 yards, and DeAndre Johns has rushed for nearly 700, but nothing about St. Joe’s jumps off the page.
Martin Lutheran and Shoreland Lutheran, two teams Catholic Central beat by a combined 48 points, both almost beat St. Joe’s in the last two weeks.
Don’t let Kenosha’s six-game win streak fool you.
This is the Toppers’ time, and their first MCC title since 2010 is a mere formality.
PREDICTION: Catholic Central 42, Kenosha St. Joe’s 21
Union Grove (5-3, 3-3) at Burlington (5-3, 3-3)
Believe it or not, the Demons will finish the regular season with a better record than last year (5-4) with a win Friday night.
One more win in year two of the Steve Tenhagen era would prove the program’s system of dual-threat quarterbacks, speed scoring and high-risk, high-reward defense is paying off more than some expected.
But the senior-laden Broncos, 14 in all, have been waiting for this moment since 2009, the last time Union Grove made the playoffs.
Both teams have lost to the SLC’s “Big Three” of Waterford, Wilmot and Badger, but Friday’s winner will solidify itself as the second tier’s top dog and set up some momentum for a Division 2 playoff run.
Burlington proved it can win ugly against Elkhorn, win on a last-second comeback drive against Delavan, and win big against a quality opponent like Division 1 Racine Horlick.
The Grove’s defense has shut down high-powered Delavan, and the offense has lit up weaker opponents. In the Broncos’ three losses, they’ve had a chance to win in the fourth quarter, which is all you can ask for.
This one is literally a toss-up. Two teams with similar styles playing for the right to keep playing.
In these cases, you always pick the senior QB, Tully, over the junior, Nelson.
PREDICTION: Burlington 35, Union Grove 32
Waterford (8-0, 6-0) at Lake Geneva Badger (6-2, 5-1)
The Badgers can run the ball like nobody’s business, as the quarterback change from Isaac Ziervogel to Mason DuMez has paid off in the triple option look.
Lake Geneva is well-coached, physical and capable of big plays in the passing game, though it only passes a few times per game.
These traits also define Waterford, which is having a Cinderella season. They’ve knocked off Wilmot in overtime and fought it out with the Grove, but most other victories were in blowout fashion.
Waterford’s offensive and defensive lines are the best in the area, and playmakers Johnny McCormick and Dyln Ross are the most dangerous 1-2 punch in the SLC.
The poise and more-than-a-game-manager talent of Sam Allen at quarterback puts all the pieces in place to make the Wolverines explosive on every play.
Behind the defensive genius of guru Adam Bakken, the Wolverines have allowed only 87 points in eight games and have pitched two shutouts.
Tyler Vandevelde leads the SLC in rushing with more than 900 yards, but he will be no match for the stout Wolverines, who are led by Austin Kaul (seven sacks), David Bansemer (62 tackles, 6 TFL), Ben Michalowski (4 forced fumbles) and Ross (3 INT).
Waterford adds 33 points per game, paced by Allen’s 989 passing yards and eight touchdowns along with Michalowski’s 617 rushing yards and seven touchdowns.
Ten Wolverines have a rushing touchdown this season.
Too many weapons will equal Waterford’s first perfect regular season in school history.
PREDICTION: Waterford 31, Lake Geneva Badger 21
Other area predictions
Wilmot 41, Delavan-Darien 35
Westosha Central 33, Elkhorn 27
-
-
-
-
-