By MIKE KEMMETER
of The Gazette
Most members of the Green Bay Preble High School football team probably did see Cory Flisakowski before Tuesday night's WIAA Level 1 playoff game. But after the Stevens Point Area Senior High School's running back's school record breaking performance, the Hornets will be having nightmares of No. 23 until next season.
Flisakowski ran over, around and through Preble to the tune of 367 yards and three touchdowns as the Panthers routed the Hornets 38-13. His 63-yard scamper in the first quarter opened a 14-0 lead and then he added TD runs of 22 and 49 yards to help put the game well out of reach.
"I think Cory had an outstanding night. He was his own blocker at times," SPASH coach Jerry Fitzgerald said.
"Our offensive line wore them down. I don't think they were ready for the physicalness of Cory and our line."
While the offense wore down Preble, SPASH's defense took care of the Hornets. The Panthers shut out Preble for the first three quarters and held an insurmountable 31-0 lead heading into the fourth.
Preble's first score came after a running into the kicker penalty kept the Hornets' drive alive. Running back Mike Pierrard punched it in from seven yards out before Adam Kostichka blocked the extra point. Then with 1:42 remaining and SPASH's second unit on the field, Pierrard ran 87 yards down the left sideline for the final score of the game.
While Preble scored last, the Panthers lit the scoreboard early and often. In fact, SPASH scored twice on its first five offensive plays.
Justin Haley got the Panthers started when he ran 32 yards to paydirt to cap a four-play drive. After a Preble punt, Flisakowski scored his first TD.
SPASH's offense settled down a bit, though, and Ryan Hoffman's 20-yard field goal with 1:38 left in the half gave the Panthers a 17-0 locker room lead.
Flisakowski and Tim Bartsch got SPASH going again on the first drive of the second half. Bartsch capped off the nine play, 65-yard drive with a 24-yard run through the middle of the line. Hoffman's extra point gave SPASH a 24-0 advantage.
Following a three-and-out Preble series, the Panthers drove 80 yards, highlighted by Flisakowski's 22-yard score. The junior's run down the left sideline gave SPASH its 31-0 lead.
Flisakowski then capped off his night with another long TD run, this time from 49 yards out.
For the game, the junior finished with a per-carry average of just over 14 yards (26-367).
"In the Valley, they key on me," Flisakowski said. "(Other opponents) don't know what I'm going to do."
On the other side, Preble had trouble getting anything going offensively. Pierrard finished with 120 yards on 21 carries, but without his 87-yard score, he would've finished with only 33 yards.
"They made him out to be like Flisakowski," Fitzgerald said. "We were very fearful of him."
Preble quarterback Zac Schott had a tough night too. He finished 11-of-33 passing with 154 yards and an interception and overthrew open receivers several times.
"As soon as we got some pressure on him, he got flustered," Fitzgerald said.
The win sets up a rematch with Marshfield Saturday, who handed SPASH its first defeat of the season. The teams will square off at 1 p.m., at Marshfield.
"We want to play them again. We think we could've played much better than we did against them," Fitzgerald said.