By CHRIS RANDAZZO
of The Gazette
Despite a dominant performance in the running game and a solid performance by their defense, the Pacelli Cardinals were unable to overcome injuries to key players and mental errors in the red zone during their 20-13 loss to Port Edwards in the second round of the WIAA playoffs in Nekoosa on Saturday, Oct. 26.
Throughout the season the Cardinal's air attack had been a pivotal part of their offensive philosophy, but with wide receiver Nate Domaszek missing the game because of injury and fellow receivers Jake Owens and Jim Milkowski slowed by injuries the Cardinals put the ball in the hands of tailback Ahren Cashin.
"He had an excellent ball game. We felt that if we could have ball control we could win the game," said Pacelli coach Bob Raczek.
Cashin seemingly ran the ball at will on the day, amassing 170 yards on 35 carries.
However, it wasn't enough as the Cardinals struggled in the red zone all day, turning the ball over three times inside the opponent's 20-yard line, once on an interception, once on a fumble and once by being stuffed on fourth-and-one from the 7-yard line.
"We just weren't concentrating enough and that may have been our problem through the whole ball game. It seemed we weren't focused on this ball game, if the kids were looking ahead to the next one, I don't know."
The injuries to Domaszek and Owens also weakened the Cardinals' defense, as both normally start in the secondary. Owens played sparingly on defense.
Port Edwards quarterback Matt Bassuener took advantage of the Cardinals' injuries, shredding the team for 175 yards on 8 of 12 passing. That included touchdown strikes of 22, 54 and 66 yards. Bassuener seemed to have plenty of time in the pocket.
"We were coming, we just seemed to be a split second behind. He's (Bassuener) a good player and made some great throws," Raczek said.
Bassuener also had a big game defensively with two interceptions, one of which effectively ended the game.
Even though the team struggled, the Cardinals managed to stay in the game the whole way.
Port Edwards struck first on the opening drive with a touchdown on a short slant pass that turned into a long scoring run. However, Pacelli bounced back strong with a 52-yard drive, fueled by the hard running of Cashin and capped off with a one-yard dive into the end zone by quarterback Brad Heeg.
Things stayed tied up until the third quarter. After forcing Pacelli to punt on its first possession of the second half and returning the punt to the Pacelli 22-yard line, Bassuener hit Isaac Hamilton with a 22-yard touchdown strike, putting the Blackhawks up 14-7.
After a number of Pacelli drives stalled because of holding penalties (and the aforementioned getting stuffed on fourth and one) the Blackhawks appeared to put Pacelli away with a 66-yard touchdown pass that capped off a 93-yard drive. After they missed the extra point the score was 20-7.
The Cardinals' struck back with 6:21 left in the fourth quarter on a 40-yard bomb from Heeg to Owens, closing the gap to 20-13. Pacelli opened up its offense on the drive, operating out of the shotgun the whole time. Heeg was 11 of 22 for 153 yards, two interceptions and a touchdown on the day.
After stopping the Blackhawks, Pacelli had one last chance and moved the ball from its own 15 to the Port Edwards 35, converting a fourth-and-four to keep the drive alive.
Pacelli's hopes were shattered for good though when Bassuener picked off a Heeg pass at the Blackhawks' 13-yard line. The Blackhawks ran the clock out to end the game.
"I give credit to Port Edwards, they were fired up and played a good ball game," Raczek said.
Even with the loss Raczek said he felt the Cardinals had a good year. "I thought we had an excellent season. You go 9-2, 6-1 in the conference and tie for the conference title, you've had a good year," he said. "The kids played hard and worked hard. They can leave the season with their heads held high."