MCDONALD'S SWNEWS4U.COM GAME OF THE WEEK (Nov. 6–13)
WIAA Football Division 7 State Semifinal: Potosi/Cassville 21, River Ridge 14
By A.J. Gates, Herald Independent
Potosi/Cassville keeps season alive with 21–14 victory conference rival River Ridge
POTOSI — With their chin straps buckled up a little bit tighter, their focus a little sharper, and their determination a little more assertive, two conference heavyweights from the Six Rivers took to the gridiron last Friday night in a sectional final, or level-three playoff contest.
By the time all 48 minutes were in the books, it was the Chieftains of Potosi/Cassville hoisting the sectional plaque high over head following a hard-fought 21–14 victory over the Timberwolves of River Ridge.
For coach Mark Siegert’s Chieftains, who improved to 12–0 with their latest victory, their season continues with a division 7 state semifinal contest against Kenosha St. Joseph (12–2) this Friday night at Madison Memorial.
For coach Wade Winkers' Timberwolves, their season came to an end with an overall record of 9–3, having lost to the Chieftains twice this season by a combined total of just nine points.
It was obvious from the start and throughout the entirety of the game, both teams wanted to control the line of scrimmage, as 90 percent of last Friday night’s contest was played in the middle of the field between the hash marks.
“It was definitely big boy football up front,” said River Ridge coach Wade Winkers. “Both teams have exceptional offensive lines and exceptional defensive lines. I think we both had success moving the football, and obviously we went to the air a little bit, where we got some chunk plays there and scored our touchdowns. But I thought we were able to run the ball too. There’s not a lot of mystery between the two of us, so we’re going to see who can hit harder and who can execute more up front.”
“We were playing the field position game and we wanted to win the battle up front,” said coach Siegert. “There were times that they did and there were times that we did. Our percentages might have been a few ticks above theirs, but otherwise it was a very evenly matched game against two really, really good teams. It was just a matter of a couple plays here and there. It wasn’t a pretty game to watch. If you wanted to see all the bells and whistles of offenses and see a track meet that some of these teams get into, it just wasn’t going to be that way,” Siegert added.
Each team had nine offensive possessions with Potosi/Cassville running 51 plays for 228 yards of total offense and scoring three touchdowns, all on the ground. River Ridge ran 53 offensive plays for 302 yards of total offense and scored two touchdowns, both through the air.
While the Timberwolves went penalty free for the entire game and did not punt once, they did turn the ball over on five of their nine offensive possessions, including their first three. Of Potosi/Cassville’s nine offensive possessions, four ended with punts, three with touchdowns, one with a turnover and their last to run out the final seconds of the game.
Right from the start, a key momentum switch took place on River Ridge’s opening possession, when Potosi/Cassville senior Nolan Vogelsberg picked off a Brandon Davis pass and returned it across midfield to the 48-yard line.
On the Chieftains' first offensive play, quarterback Dawson Weber connected with Konner Spitzack for a 14-yard gain, which was Potosi/Cassville’s only completed pass of the night.
From there, Potosi/Cassville marched the remaining 34 yards on six running plays, getting a three-yard TD plunge from fullback Isaiah Groom with 5:54 to play in the first quarter. Aaron Edge added the extra-point kick for an early 7–0 lead.
On their ensuing possession, the Timberwolves marched down to the Chieftain’s five-yard line in nine running plays, where they were set up with first-and-goal, looking to even the score. A run play for no gain, followed by back-to-back losses on two more rushing attempts, left River Ridge at fourth-and-goal from the seven-yard line. Going to the air, River Ridge quarterback Brandon Davis threw his second interception of the night, this one in the end zone by Potosi/Cassville senior Jaxon Oyen.
After forcing the Chieftains to punt on their next possession, the Timberwolves were also forced to punt shortly after, though a bobbled snap resulted in a mad scramble to get rid of the ball, which resulted in Oyen making his second interception of the night at the Potosi/Cassville 47-yard line.
Looking to capitalize on another River Ridge turnover, the Chieftains marched down to the six-yard line in nine running plays, but on first-and-goal turned the ball over on a fumble, recovered by the Timberwolves with 2:03 to play in the half.
River Ridge got off seven plays and made it to the 49-yard line before the half ended with Potosi/Cassville clinging to a 7-0 advantage.
Potosi/Cassville’s offense began the third quarter with a three-and-out, giving the ball back over to the Timberwolves with 9:51 showing on the clock.
River Ridge needed just three plays to even the score, getting a 59-yard catch and run from Drake Barrineau down the sideline on third-and-four. Owen Wagner’s extra-point kick evened the score at 7–7 with 8:12 to play in the third quarter.
Forcing the Chieftains into another three-and-out, the Timberwolves took possession at their own 19-yard line, but on third-and-two fumbled the ball, which the Chieftains recovered at the 19-yard line. It took seven plays for Potosi/Cassville to find the end zone for the second time, getting a four-yard TD plunge from Groom with :31.6 seconds to play in the third quarter. The extra-point kick was blocked, leaving the score 13–7.
The Timberwolves would commit their fifth turnover and second consecutive fumble on their very next play, which the Chieftains recovered and took over at River Ridge’s 39-yard line. A sack for a seven-yard loss by Brandon Davis, and a holding penalty by the Chieftains essentially ended any threat of scoring, giving the ball back over to the Timberwolves with 10:23 to play in the contest.
An eight-yard run by Andrew Nies and a 37-yard pass completion to Carter Copsey had the Timberwolves on the move, before gaining just four yards on their next three plays. On fourth-and-six from the 35-yard line, Davis scrambled to his right before uncorking a moon ball to the end zone, where Reese Drew made a sensational diving reception. Owen Wagner added the extra-point kick, giving River Ridge their first lead of the game with exactly eight minutes to play.
There was plenty of time for the Chieftains to answer though, as they used 10 rushing plays to cover 65 yards, getting a six-yard TD run from Dawson Weber on third-and-goal with 3:13 to play in the contest. River Sahr ran in the two-point conversion for a 21–14 lead.
“I give a lot of credit to Potosi/Cassville who had their backs against the wall with eight minutes to play, they didn’t panic,” said coach Winkers. “They had a big chunk play to start the drive and then they methodically took four and a half minutes off the clock and got into the end zone. That shows the type of program that they have and the type of seniors that they have."
Following a kick return that set River Ridge up at their own 29-yard line, Davis completed 5-of-8 passing attempts, including a fourth-and-eight pass at the Chieftain’s 38-yard line, that came up four yards short. The Timberwolves turned the ball over on downs with 52.5 seconds to play, which the Chieftains ran out in victory formation.
With 228 yards of total offense, 214 of which came on the ground, the Chieftains were able to pull out the victory despite River Ridge having 302 yards of total offense, 132 on the ground and 170 through the air. Even with 74 more yards than their opponent, the five turnovers were just too much for the Timberwolves to overcome.
“Anytime you’ve got two really good teams playing each other the ball has to be maintained, you can’t give it up. It’s frustrating, but it’s part of the game too,” said coach Winkers. “We had guys trying to make plays, and sometimes mistakes happen, but it wasn’t from lack of effort by any means."
Leading the Chieftains with 86 yards rushing on 18 carries was halfback Joe Haas, who has a team-high 1,056 yards and 11 touchdowns so far this season. Fullback Isaiah Groom rushed for 72 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries and goes into Friday night’s state semifinal with 808 rushing yards and a team-high 17 touchdowns this season. Quarterback Dawson Weber had a couple of big runs in the Chieftains’ final scoring drive, finishing with 50 yards and one TD on 10 attempts, which gives him 322 rushing yards and six TDs on the season. Through the air he completed 1-of-2 passing attempts and on the year is 58-of-103 for 1,199 yards, 13 touchdowns and just two interceptions.
Groom led the Chieftains with 18 tackles and one forced fumble, followed by River Sahr with 12 tackles and Nolan Pierce with nine. Jaxon Oyen had two interceptions, while Nolan Vogelsberg had one.
Rushing for a team-high 64 yards on 17 carries for River Ridge was fullback Andrew Nies, while Davis finished with 48 yards on 13 carries. Nies concluded the season with 1,299 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns, while Davis had 677 yards on the ground and 13 TDs. Davis also completed 11-of-19 passing attempts for 170 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. He connected with Barrineau four times for 69 yards, including a 59-yard TD toss, while Carter Copsey had one reception for 37 yards, Reese Drew one reception for 36 yards and Ty Adrian three receptions for six yards.
Defensively for the Timberwolves, Peyton Aulwes led the team with 10 tackles, followed by Brandon Davis with nine tackles and a sack, and Noah Copsey also with nine tackles.
Having finished third in the Six Rivers Conference with a record of 5–2, and advancing to the sectional final of the WIAA playoffs, coach Winkers knows this year’s team has a lot to be proud of.
“I think we had an awesome year,” Winkers said. “The kids brought a lot of excitement to the school and to our community. When you get to level three it’s a big deal. It was a good year, but it’s always disappointing when it ends, especially when you have to say good bye to a lot of really good football players that you don’t get to coach anymore.”
Of the nine seniors on this year’s squad, six were three-year starters on both sides of the ball, and include: Carter Copsey, Ty Adrian, Drake Barrineau, Peyton Aulwes, Andrew Nies and Elliott Thornton. The other three seniors include Owen Wagner, A.J. Farris and Pierce Pritchett.
As the champions from the Six Rivers Conference, coach Siegert and his Chieftains advanced to Friday night’s D7 state semifinal contest against the Lancers of Kenosha St. Joseph, winners of the Midwest Classic small division.
The Lancers have a record of 12–2, which includes two forfeits on their schedule. Their two losses are to Racine St. Catherine’s and Milwaukee-Academy of Science, both of whom advanced to play in last week’s sectional finals. In three playoff games, the Lancers have not surrendered a single point so far, having outscored their three opponents by a combined total of 112–0.
“They’re obviously really, really good. Anybody that’s made it to the final four is outstanding,” said coach Siegert. “They have a really balanced offense, so that’s something that’s going to be a challenge. They have some big kids up front, and they have everything that you would need to get to this point in the season. We’re just going to have to really, really focus on being as good as we possibly can be and hopefully take what they give us."
“I think we’ve done a really good job of playing physical with teams, and I really believe that our conference prepares us well for these kind of environments, where it’s going to be a physical game whether you like it or not,” Siegert added. "Our balance on offense and on defense hasn’t been showing up in the playoffs as much I don’t think, because we’ve been relying on our running game, but we can be balanced offensively. Defensively, the kids are really invested in our system, and it’s not easy to score on us."
The Chieftains and Lancers will kick off Friday night at Madison Memorial High School at 7 p.m. for the right to play at state next Thursday morning at 10 a.m. On the other side of the D7 bracket, Boyceville (11-1) and Edgar (11-1) face off in Chippewa Falls to meet the winner.
WIAA Division 7 Level 3 playoff
Potosi/Cassville 21, River Ridge 14
(from Friday, Nov. 8 @ Potosi)
5) River Ridge...........0 0 7 7 — 14
3) Potosi/Cassville...7 0 6 8 — 21
First quarter
P/C: Isaiah Groom 3 run (Aaron Edge kick), 5:54
Third quarter
RR: Drake Barrineau 59 pass from Brandon Davis (Owen Wagner kick), 8:12
P/C: I. Groom 4 run (kick failed), 0:31
Fourth quarter
RR: Rees Drew 36 pass from Davis (Wagner kick), 8:00
P/C: Dawson Weber 6 run (River Sahr run), 3:13
Team statistics
First downs — RR 14, PC 13. Passing (comp-att-int, yards) — RR 11-19-2, 170; PC 1-2-0, 14. Rushing – RR 34-132; PC 49-214. Fumbles–lost — RR 2-2, PC 0-0. Penalties-yards — RR 3-35, PC 3-35.
Individual Leaders
Passing — RR: Brandon Davis 11-19-2, 170; P/C: Dawson Weber 1-2-0, 14.
Rushing — RR: Andrew Nies 17-64, Brandon Davis 13-49, Ty Adrian 3-15, Drake Barrineau 1-5; P/C: Joe Haas 18-86, Isaiah Groom 19-72, Dawson Weber 10-50, River Sahr 2-6.
Receiving — P/C: Oliver Post 1-49, Jaxon Oyen 1-43, Isaiah Groom 1-15, Joe Haas 1-5.
Tackles — RR: Peyton Aulwes 10, Brandon Davis 9, Noah Copsey 9; PC: Isaiah Groom 18, River Sahr 12, Nolan Pierce 9, Nolan Vogelsberg 8, Denny Espiritu 8.
