By GENE KEMMETER
of The Gazette
The Rosholt High School football team clinched a berth in the WIAA Division 5 playoffs Friday, Sept. 28, by defeating Wild Rose, 40-0, in the Hornets homecoming game.
The defense was the key in the game, giving the Hornet good field position throughout the game and limiting the Wild Cats' efforts to move the ball.
"We can pride ourselves on aggressive defense," Rosholt coach Jim Grygleski said after the game. "Our guys hit real hard."
The Hornets capitalized on the first break of the game when James Kosmalski intercepted a pass after it bounced off a Wild Rose receiver at the Rosholt 49. He returned the ball to the Wild Rose 22.
From there, two running plays by A.J. Wiza moved the ball to the Wildcat 18 and then quarterback Brad Zdroik hit running back Randy Printz on a short pass, with Printz making his way into the end zone for an 18-yard scoring play with 1 minute and 59 seconds left in the first quarter. Matthias Krueger added the extra point.
After the Wildcats' punter shanked a punt, the Hornets got the ball at their own 48, but an interception two plays later gave the Wildcats the ball on their own 38.
The Wildcats picked up three first downs to move to the Rosholt 23, but then Wiza intercepted a pass, giving the Hornets the ball at their own 24. Rosholt then moved down the field behind the running of Wiza and Printz and a 23-yard pass from Zdroik to Kosmalski.
Wiza ran the final four yards for the touchdown with 3 minutes and 17 seconds left in the half to close out the first half scoring.
The Hornets gave the Wildcats an opportunity to get back in the game at the start of the second half when a fumble on the kickoff gave Wild Rose the ball on the Rosholt 30. The Hornets' defense pushed the Wildcats back to the 34 and then took over on downs.
Rosholt then moved down the field, behind the running of Wiza and some big gainers by Printz and Zdroik. First Zdroik hit Printz with a pass good for 24 yards, then Printz reeled off a 17-yard run and Zdroik added a 14-yard run to put the ball at the Wild Rose 3.
Printz ran it in from there and Krueger added the extra point, boosting the Rosholt lead to 20-0 with six minutes and 30 seconds left in the third quarter.
Three minutes later, the Hornets had two more touchdowns.
On the first play after the kickoff, Rosholt got the ball back when Mike Sarenpa recovered a wayward pitchout, giving the Hornets the ball on the Wildcat 33. Three plays and 90 seconds later, the Hornets had a 26-0 lead.
First, Adam Macht made a leaping grab of a Zdroik pass that was good for 17 yards. Then Wiza ran the ball twice to score, first for seven yards and then for the final four yards after a Wild Rose penalty moved the ball half the distance to the goal.
On the third play after the kickoff, the Hornets were poised to score again when they recovered a fumble at the Wild Rose 10. Sarenpa ran the ball in from there on the first play and Krueger's kick was good, making the score 33-0 with 3:31 left in the third quarter.
After holding the Wildcats again, Rosholt got the ball back at the Wild Rose 49 and moved in for the final score, which came when Zdroik scrambled into the end zone from eight yards out. Krueger's kick made the score 40-0 and the time clock kept running because the Hornets were up by more than 35 points.
Reserves finished the game for the Hornets, who threatened to score both times they got the ball, moving to the Wild Rose 8 and 20, but giving the ball up on fumbles both times.
Wiza had a big game for the Hornets, offensively and defensively. "He made a few huge tackles and a big interception, and he ran well," Grygleski said.
Zdroik also came through for Rosholt. "He had some big plays and really played well," Grygleski said.
While the victory put the Hornets into the playoffs, Grygleski said the next two games are important. "Next week we face Bowler and they're always tough to play," he said.
The following week, the Hornets face Port Edwards. "That's a huge showdown," Grygleski said. "That could determine who the conference champs are."
For the season, the Hornets are 6-0, 5-0 in the Central Wisconsin Conference small division. Wild Rose is the reverse, 0-6 and 0-5 in the CWC small division.