Here is the Week 9 high school football recap from throughout the Fond du Lac and Oshkosh area:
Coaches: Please report game stats and information directly to Lance LeQue at lleque@gannett.com. All game info must be reported by the noon deadline on Saturday to make it into the weekly print recap.
OSHKOSH — The Cardinals (3-6, 3-4 Fox Valley Association) secured a much-needed convincing victory over the Wildcats (2-7, 1-6 FVA), which was just enough for Fondy to clinch a playoff spot for the 11th consecutive season.
Cardinals senior running back Braden Bingen truly played like it was his last football game, opening the scoring on a 44-yard touchdown run, and a short pass connection from sophomore quarterback Deandre Williamson Jr. (6-of-13 passing for 109 yards) to fellow sophomore Guardian Harris gave Fondy an early 8-0 lead.
Bingen finished with 29 carries for 203 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Cardinals with their season on the line.
West responded with a 1-yard touchdown carry from their senior running back, Jaiden Fronczak, and senior quarterback Landon Ubrig ran in the two-point conversion to tie the game at eight apiece through one quarter.
Fond du Lac then scored back-to-back touchdowns, first on an 18-yard rush from junior running back Mason Henschel, followed by a 26-yard pass connection from Williamson to senior receiver Conor Johnson (two catches, 58 yards) to make it 20-8.
The Wildcats trimmed the lead back to a single possession, 20-15, on another Fronczak 1-yard touchdown run to keep the game close heading into halftime; however, it was the Cardinals that took over in the second half, scoring 28 unanswered points — including twice in the third quarter on a 7-yard Henschel touchdown run and a 1-yard Bingen plunge into the end zone, and twice more in the fourth on a pair of 11-yard touchdown runs from Bingen.
Ubrig added a 3-yard touchdown run and two-point conversion to cap the scoring, and his night, with 45 yards rushing and 10-of-26 passing for 116 yards.
Henschel led Fondy, defensively, with 12 tackles (nine solo). Senior linebacker Keyon Henderson recorded a sack and both senior defensive back Sam Maury and sophomore linebacker Spencer Collins came up with an interception.
For West, sophomore linebacker Eli Bancroft led the Wildcats with eight tackles and senior defensive back Connor Gibbs had an interception.
The Cardinals got their win to get in as a No. 8 seed, but it will be tough sledding up against the top team in the state for their Level 1 Regional playoff matchup.
Next game (Fondy): Friday, Oct. 25 @ No. 1 (D1) Franklin (9-0, 7-0 Southeast) – WIAA Regional
GREEN BAY — The Spartans (6-3, 5-2 FRCC-South) took an early 7-0 lead over the top-ranked Tritons (9-0, 7-0), but Notre Dame responded with 41 unanswered points to remain unbeaten heading.
Oshkosh North will settle for third place in its conference debut and earned a six seed for the Division 2 playoffs.
Junior quarterback Bryce Ott was a perfect 7-for-7 passing on a 10-play, 88-yard scoring drive to open the game, resulting in a 21-yard connection with senior receiver Dalton Clark. North compiled 268 total yards of offense, with Ott accumulating 231 yards on 20-of-30 passing. Clark had 11 catches for 120 yards and led the team with nine tackles.
Next game: Friday, Oct. 25 @ No. 6 (D2) West De Pere (8-1, 7-0 FRCC-North)
OSHKOSH — The Knights (5-4, 4-3 Trailways) completed their season turnaround with a dominant victory over the Vikings (2-7, 1-6 Trailways).
Lourdes did all its damage before the half with senior quarterback Wade Lindahl accounting for all six touchdowns, including two touchdown passes and a touchdown run in each of the first two quarters. Lindahl finished 17-of-21 passing for 214 yards and four touchdowns with 29 yards rushing and two more scores on six attempts.
Senior receiver Braden Studinski caught five passes for 128 yards and three touchdowns, junior running back Brady Ridenour had nine carries for 116 yards, and sophomore Brady Bauer had three catches for 18 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, sophomore linebacker Nolan Gibson had a team-high eight tackles, sophomore end Harlan Kuehn had a pair of sacks, junior defensive back Ryder Mullen had a sack and forced fumble, and junior lineman Jacob Bogardus also forced a fumble.
The Knights earned a six seed in Division 7 and will travel for the first level of the playoffs.
Next game: Friday, Oct. 25 @ Crivitz (7-2, 5-2 Northwoods)
WINNECONNE — The No. 6-ranked Wolves (9-0, 7-0 Bay) completed their undefeated regular season with a convincing victory over the Thunder (7-2, 5-2 Bay) to clinch the conference championship and earn a top seed in Division 4.
Junior quarterback Brody Schaffer completed 8-of-14 passes for 80 yards and ran for 202 yards with four touchdowns on 15 carries. Junior running back Bryce Jones added 51 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries.
Defensively, juniors Jesse Michaud and Hudson Samolinski each collected a team-high 10 tackles. Senior lineman Oliver McAloon recorded a sack and junior defensive back Karter Hawthorne forced a fumble.
Next game: Friday, Oct. 25 vs. Kohler/Sheboygan Lutheran/Christian (3-6, 3-4 Eastern Wisconsin)
FOND DU LAC — The No. 8-ranked Ledgers (8-1, 6-1 Flyway) jumped out to a 21-0 halftime lead, and led 28-0 before the Vikings (4-5, 3-4 Flyway) scored, on their way to a blowout victory to cap off the regular season.
With Mayville’s victory over No. 7 Lomira, Springs clinched a share of the conference championship. It will play as a No. 2 seed in Division 5 with a rematch against No. 7 seed WLA for Level 1 of the playoffs.
Ledgers senior quarterback Ben Anderson completed 9-of-14 passes for 186 yards and two touchdowns with nine carries for 54 yards and another score on the ground. Junior running back Will Stellmacher had 14 carries for 85 yards and a touchdown while senior tight end Noah Moul added a 35-yard rushing touchdown and three catches for 55 yards and a receiving touchdown. Junior wideout Garver Buechel also scored on a 55-yard pass from Anderson.
Defensively, Springs senior linebacker Tayte Schoofs collected 12 tackles, senior Brody Hyland forced a fumble, and the Ledgers had a pair of interceptions— one from senior Corbin Ruelle and another from sophomore Joey Coon.
WLA junior quarterback Gannan Schwartz scored on a 10-yard run in the third quarter, finishing with 35 yards on nine carries and 8-of-15 passing for 91 yards with an interception. Senior receiver Miles McAuly had four catches for 77 yards.
Defensively, juniors Spencer Loehr and Frankie Wiedmeyer led the Vikings with 14 and 13 tackles, respectively, and sophomore Owen Ehlke had an interception.
Next game (Springs): Friday, Oct. 25 vs. Winnebago Lutheran (4-5, 3-4 Flyway)
Next game (WLA): Friday, Oct. 25 vs. No. 8 (D5) St. Mary’s Springs (8-1, 6-1 Flyway)
MAYVILLE — The Cardinals (8-1, 6-1 Flyway) clinched a three-way share of the conference championship with the Lions (7-2, 6-1 Flyway) and St. Mary’s Springs after defeating No. 7-ranked Lomira in the Battle of the Milk Can.
In a back-and-forth affair with both teams accounting for less than 200 yards total offense each, Mayville senior running back Sawyer Hardesty scored the difference-making touchdown in the fourth quarter on a 4-yard run. Hardesty finished with 88 yards on 23 carries.
The Cardinals also received rushing touchdowns from seniors Joren Schlender (46 yards in the second quarter to open the scoring) and Ryan Clark (26 yards to open the second half scoring in the third quarter).
For the Lions, senior quarterback Jackson Goebel completed 10-of-17 passes for 100 yards and two touchdowns — one on a 22-yard screen pass for senior Sam Schraufnagel just before the half, and another on a 27-yard connection with senior Caden Yanke in the third quarter. Senior running back Taylor Schaumberg was limited to 11 carries for 62 yards after averaging 152 yards per game this season.
Defensively for Mayville, junior lineman Owen Steger collected 16 tackles, including two sacks, sophomore lineman Kellen Schaefer also had a sack, and junior linebacker Landen Baker had an interception.
Defensively for Lomira, senior Nathan Steinman had 10 tackles, Yanke and Schaumberg each recorded a sack, and junior Kolton Wagoner had nine tackles and forced a fumble.
The Cardinals received a No. 2 seed in Division 4 while the Lions will play as a No. 2 seed in Division 6.
Next game (Mayville): Friday, Oct. 25 vs. Waupun (6-3, 4-3 South Central)
Next game (Lomira): Friday, Oct. 25 vs. Mishicot (3-6, 3-4 Packerland)
Read the full game story here:Mayville reclaims the milk can and a slice of the Flyway Conference pie with win over Lomira
Feature story on Lomira’s Josh Polster:Preseason Player of the Year winner Polster leading Lomira Lions in pursuit of Flyway crown
OMRO — The Cougars (6-3, 4-3 Flyway) doubled up the Foxes (1-8, 1-6 Flyway) to solidify their playoff spot for the sixth straight season.
Campbellsport earned a No. 6 seed in Division 4 and will travel for Level 1.
Omro took the first lead on a 3-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown, but it was mostly all Cougars from then on out, taking a 28-6 lead into the half.
Junior Blake Heltemes led Campbellsport in rushing with 94 yards and two touchdowns on five carries. Sophomore Chris Taddey added 84 yards on 18 carries, senior Riley Kohlmann gained 68 yards and scored a touchdown on four carries, and senior Luke Pendowski ran for 53 yards and a touchdown on eight carries with a 22-yard touchdown reception, as well, from senior quarterback Braden Bothe.
Heltemes also led the Cougars in tackles with 16 (10 solo), including a sack, and both Kohlmann and senior lineman Amadeo Rodriguez forced fumbles with an interception from junior safety Trent Schladweiler.
For the Foxes, junior quarterback Lucas Kasuboski completed 5-of-12 passes for 86 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Sophomore running back Jason La Kosh carried 16 times for 101 yards. Senior receivers Brock Frye (two catches, 47 yards) and Mason Huth (two catches, 31 yards) each caught a touchdown pass from Kasuboski.
Defensively for Omro, senior linebacker Wyatt Powers collected 11 tackles while junior defensive back Nick Steffen followed with 10 and a forced fumble.
Next game (Campbellsport): Friday, Oct. 25 @ No. 10 (D4) Berlin (8-1, 7-0 South Central)
ROSENDALE – The Spartans (4-5, 2-5 Flyway) finished their season on a high note with a shutout victory over the Orioles (1-8, 0-7 Flyway).
Laconia junior running back Jack Rens eclipsed 1000 yards rushing on the season with 205 on 18 carries, scoring two touchdowns. Senior fullback Colton Hagner added 144 yards and a touchdown on eight carries, junior quarterback Drake Nitz scored twice on the ground, and senior running back Austin Martins had 15 yards and a touchdown on two carries.
Hagner also led the Spartans in tackles with 17, finishing with 116 total on the season. Senior defensive back Devon Robbins followed with 13 tackles, and Laconia received interceptions from both Rens and senior Cam Smit.
For North Fondy, senior running back Jesse Haendel carried 24 times for 125 yards and junior Dmitri Reed added 52 yards on two carries. Senior quarterback Camryn Lewis completed 15-of-25 passes for 106 yards.
ADAMS – No. 10-ranked Berlin (8-1, 7-0 South Central) continued its dominance in the new conference with another shutout victory, this week over the Green Devils (2-7, 1-6 SCC).
Berlin will host a Level 1 playoff game as a No. 3 seed in Division 4.
Berlin led 28-0 at the half, thanks to a pair of rushing touchdowns from junior running back Jakob Martin and both a 51-yard rushing touchdown and 45-yard scoop and score fumble recovery from senior Luke Budde.
Martin added his third touchdown on the ground in the third and Budde recovered a second fumble for a touchdown for his hat trick, as well, to wrap up the scoring. Martin finished with a modest 51 yards on 10 carries while fellow junior Carter Hess carried eight times for 99 yards and freshman Zander Beck had 47 yards on three carries.
Defensively, senior linebacker Max Sonnentag collected nine tackles to the lead the team, junior end James Paskey forced a fumble, and senior defensive back Kale Bending had an interception.
Next game: Friday, Oct. 25 vs. Campbellsport (6-3, 4-3 Flyway)
WAUPUN – The Warriors (6-3, 4-3 South Central) bounced back nicely from a brutal loss to Berlin the week before with a shutout victory over the Golden Eagles (2-7, 2-5 SCC).
Waupun earned a No. 7 seed and will travel for Level 1 of the playoffs – their first appearance since 2007.
Junior quarterback Chase Beahm completed 10-of-20 passes for 203 yards, including three touchdowns and two interceptions. Senior running back Kyler Sanders carried three times for 67 yards and a touchdown while fellow senior Haiden Rieder carried 13 times for 47 yards and a touchdown. Junior wideout Logan Prall had three catches for 128 yards and a pair of scores and senior Brayden Torres had two grabs for 49 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, senior lineman Landen Degroff collected eight tackles (seven solo), junior linebacker Isaiah Thurk recorded a pair of sacks and senior linebacker Coleson Bille also had a sack, and the trio of Torres, Prall, and sophomore linebacker Brennen Redeker each had an interception.
Next game: Friday, Oct. 25 @ Mayville (8-1, 6-1 Flyway)
RIPON – The Tigers ended their season at 1-8 overall with a 1-6 record in their South Central Conference debut.
No game information was reported by Ripon.
ELKHART LAKE – The No. 5-ranked Oaks (6-1, 5-1 Southeast-8) fell short in the conference championship game, losing to the unbeaten No. 10-ranked Resorters (7-0, 6-0 Southeast-8).
Oakfield earned a No. 4 seed in the 8-player division and will travel throughout the playoffs.
Trailing 24-0 at one point, and 38-20 at the half, the Oaks trimmed their deficit to 10 (44-34) with a touchdown to open the fourth quarter, but EL-G responded with back-to-back scores to close out their win.
Junior running back James Kautzer carried 26 times for 181 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Oakfield offense. Sophomore quarterback Austin Harmsen stepped in for senior starter Mitchell Moser and completed 7-of-22 passes for 65 yards and a touchdown to junior receiver Bo Biji, who had six catches for 62 yards. Harmsen also carried for 74 yards on 17 attempts.
Bijl and Kautzer each collected seven tackles to lead the defense, with Bijl recording 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble and Alex “Tuna” Erber receiving credit for a half sack, as well. Senior lineman Tysen Craig recovered a fumble 22 yards for a touchdown just before the half.
Next game: Friday, Oct. 25 @ No. 2 (8-player) Highland (8-0, 7-0 Ridge & Valley-8)
Xavier Middle School, APPLETON — The Warriors (3-5, 2-5 Southeast-8) ended their season with a victory over the Tigersharks (1-7, 1-6 Southeast-8).
P/GL returned the opening kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown, and it looked like it might be a long game for VCS, but the Warriors answered on a 1-yard rushing touchdown from Ethan Millar (seven carries, 54 yards) to make it 8-8. Another first quarter touchdown given up made it 16-8, but an injury to both the Tigersharks’ starting quarterback and top running back became too much of a challenge to overcome and they didn’t score again.
Valley evened the score at the half on a passing touchdown from Matthias Behling to Rylan Koller, and with under three minutes left, Behling completed a beautiful 34-yard pass to a wide-open Brady Patterson, who stumbled down at the 3-yard line with less than a minute to go.
After back-to-back unsuccessful runs, Behling sneaked through into the end zone from the 1 with about 20 seconds left for the go-ahead, game-winning touchdown. Then, on P/GL’s next offensive play, Cole Highfill sealed the game with an interception.
Derek Wallace paced the offense with 103 yards on 15 carries and collected 14 tackles on defense, which was led in stops by Mason Everts (21), Sam Gloudemans (18, with an interception), Ben Curtis (16), and Conner Stertz (15).
To contact Lance LeQue, email him at LLeQue@gannett.com, or follow him on Instagram and X, formerly known as Twitter, @LanceLeQue.
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