By Jennifer Eisenbart
Sports editor
For a game that was supposed to be the closest and most exciting of the Level Two matchups last week, Waterford vs. Wilmot, Round Two, turned into, well, a rout.
The Wolverines jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead and were never challenged, as the Panthers were held to just 124 yards of total offense in Waterford’s 52-0 victory.
The Wolverines are now 10-1 overall and play Whitefish Bay in a Level Three game at Whitefish Bay tonight at 7 p.m.
First-year head coach Adam Bakken was admittedly pleased with the contest.
“We just came out and we executed very well from the start of the game,” Bakken said.
On the first play from scrimmage, Wilmot quarterback Chris Nelson – a Divison 1 recruit – was sacked for a nine-yard loss. The Wolverines forced a three-and-out on the possession, and then scored after getting the ball back.
“That kind of set the tone for the whole game,” Bakken said.
Waterford led 24-0 at the half behind two rushing touchdowns from Greg Steffens, a 29-yard touchdown pass from Zach Fisher to Dylan Dessart and a 22-yard field goal from Nick Wirsching.
Steffens would add a third touchdown in the third quarter, and Ryan Danbrea caught another touchdown pass from Fisher to start off the fourth quarter.
Backup running backs Kody Azarian and Shane Fulton both added touchdown runs as well to complete the rout.
But as impressive as the Waterford offense was – the Wolverines picked up 372 yards on the ground and another 154 yards passing – the defense was equally as good. Nelson was held to just a 12-for-23 passing night for 96 yards and three interception.
He also had 18 of Wilmot’s anemic 28 yards rushing.
“It came down to our secondary did a good job of not letting any of their receivers get behind them,” Bakken said. “And we were able to put more pressure (on Nelson).
“The combination of the two turned into turnovers.”
Next up for Waterford is Whitefish Bay, a team Bakken offered some thoughts on.
“They have a lot of athletes,” Bakken said. “They have a good receiver, a few good running backs.
“They’ve got weapons,” he added. “They’ve got a lot of team speed, so it’s something we’re not completely used to seeing.
“We’ll have to tackle and space. Just play downhill and not let them get to the edge.”
Bakken said he has also worked hard to keep his team in the here and now – not looking at a possible trip to the state championship game.
“We’ve stressed not looking past anybody,” the coach explained. “Down the road, Level 4 game, is irrelevant right now, because it doesn’t exist.
“We just have to make sure we don’t overlook anything.”
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