MCDONALD'S SWNEWS4U.COM GAME OF THE WEEK (Nov. 13–20)
WIAA Football Division 7 State Semifinal: Potosi/Cassville 26, Kenosha St. Joseph 21
By A.J. Gates, Herald Independent
Chieftains find a way to Camp Randall
MADISON — “Find a way!”
That has been the theme for this year’s Potosi/Cassville football team throughout the entire 2024 season, and that message has been printed on T-shirts, posters and especially on the way they play the game.
Coach Mark Siegert’s Chieftains found a way to win the Six Rivers Conference title earlier this season, and now have found a way to be one of two remaining teams still standing in the 32-team WIAA Division 7 playoff bracket.
With a hard fought 26–15 state semifinal victory over Kenosha St. Joseph Friday night, coach Siegert and his Chieftains (13–0) advanced to this Thursday’s state title game, where they will face the Edgar Wildcats (12–1) at 10 a.m.
It is the first state football appearance for the Potosi/Cassville co-op in its eighth season, though coach Siegert led Potosi to Camp Randall Stadium in 2012, where the Chieftains lost to Glenwood City, 46–21.
Cassville has had four football teams play at Camp Randall, going to state in 1980 and 1982 under coach Alex Hilber, and in 1987 and 1993 under coach Randy Hatlen.
As expected, last Friday night’s state semifinal played at Madison Memorial High School was not an easy victory for the Chieftains, who sustained a number of key injuries throughout the evening, but still found a way to win.
“We were really blessed going into Friday night’s game to be super healthy, and now we’re kind of the opposite of that,” said coach Siegert of his squad. “I don’t think it’s going to prevent any of them from playing this last game. Everybody came clean from X-rays and all that other stuff.”
Injured on Potosi/Cassville’s seventh offensive play was senior fullback/linebacker Isaiah Groom, who had his left ankle rolled up on during a 15-yard run. While he did not continue to play on offense, he did manage to play on defense, where he finished the game second on the team with 11 tackles.
Later in the first half, left guard Denny Espiritu also sustained an injury that limited his action on the field, as did senior linebacker Nolan Pierce, junior right guard Will Tobin and sophomore running back River Sahr.
With Groom unavailable at the fullback position, Sahr jumped into action, where he carried the bulk of his team’s rushing attack, finishing with 153 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries.
Sahr first scored on a 43-yard touchdown run up the middle with 3:43 to play in the second quarter, putting the Chieftains up 6–0 and capping off a seven-play drive on their second offensive possession.
Potosi/Cassville’s first and only possession in the opening quarter, which covered 59 yards in 13 plays, ended with a pass from quarterback Dawson Weber to tight end Oliver Post, who was tackled short of the goal line on a nine-yard gain from the 10.
On their third offensive possession, the Chieftains were set up with great field position following a blocked punt by Nolan Pierce, which put coach Siegert’s squad at the Kenosha St. Joe’s 39-yard line with 54 seconds to play in the first half.
It took just one play for Weber to find a wide open Konner Spitzack in the middle of the field, who sprinted the rest of the way to the end zone untouched.
Potosi/Cassville took a 12–0 lead into the intermission after the Lancers completed just 2-of-7 passing attempts on their final drive of the half that stalled on the Chieftains’ 18-yard line.
The second half began with Potosi/Cassville running nine plays before seeing their drive stall at the 28-yard line, giving the ball back over to the Lancers with 7:11 to play in the third quarter.
On their very first offensive play of the second half, Kenosha St. Joseph fumbled the ball, which was recovered by Potosi/Cassville’s Aidan Uppena at the Lancer’s 31-yard line.
The Chieftains used just three plays to find the end zone, getting a 21-yard passing score from Weber to senior halfback Joe Haas. With 5:45 to play in the third quarter, Potosi/Cassville was sitting with a comfortable 18–0 advantage.
Playing with a sense of urgency, the Lancers all but abandoned the run game and took to the air, where on their next possession completed 4-of-6 passing attempts for 45 yards, scoring from five yards out with 2:13 to play in the third.
It took nine plays for the Chieftains to answer on their next offensive possession, getting a five-yard TD run from Sahr with 8:45 showing on the fourth-quarter clock.
The Lancers had one last answer, completing 5 of 8 passing attempts on their next possession to pull within 26-15 with 6:59 to play in the contest.
Potosi/Cassville took nearly two and a half minutes off the clock on their ensuing possession before giving the ball back to the Lancers with 4:26 to play.
Two incomplete passes and a holding penalty had Kenosha St. Joseph backed up to their own 48-yard line, and on fourth-and-five an incomplete pass across the middle gave the ball back over to the Chieftains, who ran out the remainder of the clock.
“It’s just a whirlwind of emotions, there’s so much that goes into this, and I’m just so happy for the guys for them to be able to experience this,” said Siegert. “It’s something that they’ll remember for the rest of their lives, and they really worked for this moment.
“We talk about pursuing moments all the time, and this is obviously one that you always dream of. Making these dreams a reality is a tough business sometimes. It’s not easy to do. A lot of things have to happen, a lot of people have to be on the same page and then you have to have a little bit of luck too I guess. These guys made their own luck though.”
In his back-up role to Groom, Sahr led all rushers with 153 yards and two touchdowns, and was followed by Haas, who had 51 yards on 14 rushing attempts. Weber added 36 yards on 11 rushing attempts and Groom had four carries for 26 yards.
With the boys up front controlling the line of scrimmage, the Chieftains were able to throw when they wanted to, not when they had to. Weber completed 5 of 5 passing attempts for 109 yards and two touchdowns.
Post and Haas each had two receptions, Haas for 38 yards and a touchdown and Post for 32 yards. Spitzack had his lone catch for a 39-yard score in the second quarter.
The Lancers, who threw for 217 yards on 18 of 31 passing attempts, were limited to just 28 yards on 15 rushing attempts, making them a one-dimensional squad, especially late in the contest.
“To be able to control the line of scrimmage up front is going to obviously be a key in any game that you play at any level. The guys did a great job,” said Siegert. “The game plan that we came in with was really solid. Our coaching staff does an amazing job of creating a game plan that was able to be put into play, and the kids really executed all those things. They were just a really good team. They were very solid. But to be able to shut down a team’s running game and make them one-dimensional, that was big.”
Leading the Potosi/Cassville defense with 12 tackles was Sahr, who left Friday night’s game late in the fourth quarter with a knee injury. Groom, who was injured early in the contest, finished with 11 tackles, followed by Ryan Stoney with six.
“We’ve had a lot of selfless teams, but man I just do not recall an event, a time, or anything where these kids would ever track yardage, carries, touches or even playing time,” said Siegert. “They’re just invested in each other and making sure that whatever their role is on this team, that they are going to do it to the best of their ability. The selfless nature of this team is really pretty cool, and it really stands out. They’re genuinely happy for each other, it’s not a fake thing. It’s pretty neat.”
Backed by hard work and a genuine love for the game and for one another, the Chieftains are headed to the one place every football team in the state dreams of ending their season.
And waiting there for them at Camp Randall Stadium is a formidable opponent in Edgar (12–1), which has outscored their opponents 451–104 in 13 games this season and 123–26 in the playoffs. The Wildcats’ only loss of the season is to Stratford (13–0), which is playing for the Division 5 state title at 4 p.m. Thursday.
The Edgar football program has sent 14 other teams to the WIAA State Championships, including last year’s team that knocked off Black Hawk/Warren, 36–6.
Still, none of that matters to Potosi/Cassville, who whether hobbled or not, has always been able to “Find a Way.”
“I don’t think that this is a group that’s just happy to be there. I don’t think that’s this team. They’re going to bring everything that they can. They’re going to empty that tank completely in that 48 minutes, and hopefully we’re the one standing up at the top of the mountain alone,” said Siegert of his team.
“2012 still haunts me. We were up with about six minutes left in the third quarter and we ended up losing that game. That was a lesson learned by me, about how close you are, but yet you’re so far away too. At the time I thought, heck we’ll get back here, it’s not a big deal. Well it is a big deal and it’s not easy to get back there.”
WIAA Division 7 State Semifinal
Potosi/Cassville 26, Kenosha St. Joseph 15
(from Friday, Nov. 15 @ Madison Memorial)
1) Kenosha St. Joe....0 0 7 8 — 15
3) Potosi/Cassville...0 12 6 8 — 26
Second quarter
P/C: River Sahr 43 run (kick failed), 3:43
P/C: Konner Spitzack 39 pass from Dawson Weber (pass failed), 1:45
Third quarter
P/C: Joe Haas 21 pass from Weber (pass failed), 5:45
KSJ: Rinaldi 5 pass from Rizzo (Gomez kick), 2:13
Fourth quarter
P/C: Sahr 5 run (Sahr run), 8:45
P/C: S. Boyle pass from Rizzo (Boyle pass from Rizzo), 6:59
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 — P/C: Dawson Weber 5-5-0, 109.
Rushing — P/C: River Sahr 19-153, Joe Haas 14-51, Weber 11-36, Isaiah Groom 4-26.
Receiving — P/C: Konner Spitzack 1-39, Joe Haas 2-38, Oliver Post 2-32.
Tackles — P/C: River Sahr 12, Isaiah Groom 11, Ryan Stoney 6, Nolan Vogelsberg 5, Kyler Hefty 5.
