By GENE KEMMETER
of The Gazette
A penalty on the final play of the game negated a tying touchdown by the Amherst High School football team, and the Falcons dropped a 27-21 decision to Wittenberg-Birnamwood on Friday, Sept. 14.
The game inaugurated the new lights at Amherst's field, and a large crowd turned out to see the Falcons battle Wittenberg-Birnamwood, the defending Central Wisconsin Conference large division champions, down to the final seconds.
Amherst had taken a 14-0 lead in the game, then had to come back to tie the score at 21-21 before Witt-Birn regained the lead with 35.4 seconds left, 27-21.
That set the stage for the late-game excitement, with the heroics falling just short of a victory for Amherst.
After the Chargers were pushed back five yards for an offside penalty on the kickoff, Philip Koback returned the kick from the Amherst 25 to the Witt-Birn 38.
Koback then got open on the right side of the field at the 25 and caught a pass from quarterback Matt Mehne, running the ball to the Charger 15.
After a running play lost two yards and a pass was incomplete, the Falcons still had 6.2 seconds left.
Koback got behind the defensive secondary but Mehne's pass was just off his outstretched hands down the right sideline, giving the Falcons 0.7 seconds on the scoreboard for their final play on fourth down.
This time Mehne scrambled, then threw into the end zone on the right side where Koback cradled the ball into his stomach for the tying touchdown.
However, the Falcons were called for holding in the offensive backfield, and the ball was moved back to the Charger 34 yardline, giving the Falcons one last chance to knot the score, with a successful extra point looming for a victory.
Again Mehne tried to connect with Koback, but this time the ball was intercepted by the Chargers.
The Falcons started the game impressively, moving down the field to score the first two times they got the ball.
The first time the Falcons moved from their own 29 to the Chargers 31 behind the running of Derek Konkol and Sam Werner. The score came on 31-yard pass from Mehne to freshman Brad Koback with 4:59 left in the first quarter. Alex Engle kicked the extra point to make it 7-0 for Amherst.
Starting from their own 20 the second time they got the ball, the Falcons worked their way down the field behind runs by Konkol, Werner, Philip Koback and Kris Blenker. The drive took 15 plays and culminated in a 13-yard touchdown run by Werner who took a pitch to the left side, then cut back inside with 7:39 left in the first half, making it 13-0, after the extra point failed.
The Chargers came back to score on a 13-yard pass with 3:36 left in the half, and Amherst moved back down the field, but a field goal attempt from the 30 went wide right.
In the second half, the Chargers moved down the field after an Amherst punt, scoring on a 43-yard run. The extra point put Witt-Birn ahead 14-13, with 7:53 left in the third quarter.
Amherst then started a drive of its own and got to the Charger 36 before an interception gave Witt-Birn the ball at their own 7.
The Chargers were unable to move the ball and the Falcons regained possession on the Charger 38.
From there, the Falcons moved toward the goal, mostly behind the running of Konkol, who scored from two yards out with 4:07 left in the third quarter.
Konkol then ran for the two-point conversion, giving Amherst a 21-14 lead.
Witt-Birn marched right down the field to tie the score 21-21 on a 23-yard run.
That set the stage for the final minute of furious action.
"It was an emotional game, but I thought our boys played pretty well. We made some improvements," said Amherst coach Harry Page. "Wittenberg-Birnamwood is one of the better teams in the conference.
"The Falcons had a chance to win the game, he said. "We were in the game, we never quit," he said. "They've got nothing to be ashamed of."
Page said the large crowd attending the inaugural game under the lights helped inspire the team. "It really did help. The team was excited about playing under the lights."
The lights were part of an effort by the Amherst Coaches Club to improve the Amherst football field. The club purchased a set of lights from Milwaukee County Stadium when it was torn down, and created a fund through the Community Foundation of Portage County to fund the installation.
Donations to that fund are still being accepted to help pay for the project.