By CHRIS RANDAZZO
of The Gazette
The Almond-Bancroft football team (4-4 overall, 4-3 in the Central Wisconsin Conference small schools division) showed it could run with the best of them by defeating Wild Rose, 28-6, on Friday, Oct. 12.
The Eagles are generally known as a passing team (against Tri-County the week before, quarterback Joel Erickson threw for 280 yards), but pounded it out on the ground against Wild Rose and totaled 282 rushing yards on the night.
"We came out and looked to pass a bit, but we noticed they were playing a soft zone to stop the big play," Almond-Bancroft coach Rodney Wedig. "We figured we could chew them up with the run."
And chew them up they did. Sophomore fullback Jason Sanchez broke things open in the first quarter with an 87-yard touchdown run. Sanchez finished the night with 10 carries for 162 yards.
Junior running back Jacob Warzynski was the Eagles' workhorse, carrying 19 times for 91 yards and a touchdown.
Wedig credited much of the team's success running the ball to great play from his offensive line. "This is the first time we've had our offensive line healthy all year, we ran a lot behind Heslyn Menadue and Dusty Warzynski," he said. "Dusty really moved people out there."
Erickson had an efficient night, completing 8 of 14 attempts for 112 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw a pair of interceptions.
Both touchdown passes were to senior wide receiver Vince Konczak. Junior Dave Johnson led the team in receiving with 65 yards on three catches.
Defensively, the Eagles had a solid night as well. Wild Rose runs a wishbone offense (a run-oriented attack that features three running backs in the backfield with the quarterback) and that seemed to confuse the Eagles' defenders initially as Wild Rose rushed for 58 yards in the first quarter.
However, after that, the defense hunkered down and held Wild Rose to 25 rushing yards the rest of the way. "In the first quarter we were trying to find the ball too much, but after that the guys did a good job of adjusting," Wedig said. "The wishbone is tough on linebackers because normally we tell them to go after the ball, but in the wishbone they are assigned a certain player."
Junior linebacker Christopher Lamb led the team with 13 tackles, including eight solos. Defensive tackle Zach Mykisen was close behind with 12 tackles. "Both Chris Lamb and Zach Mykisen did a great job of making tackles," Wedig said.
Warzynski, who plays linebacker as well as running back, had enough energy left to chip in with nine tackles and an interception on defense.
The Eagles travel to Bowler on Thursday, Oct. 18, with a playoff spot on the line. It's simple for the Eagles at this point. Win they're in, lose and the season's over.
"Our big thing is this is basically a playoff game for us. We need to win this one," Wedig said.
While that may place on lot of pressure on the team, Wedig isn't doing anything to defuse it. "I'm hoping they feel the pressure. If we win we're going to draw a top team (in the playoffs) like Pacelli or Neenah," he said. We'll have to crank it up another notch if we beat Bowler."