Horicon 32, Winneconne 14

From the Beaver Dam Daily Citizen.

HORICON - The Horicon football team managed to get past visiting Winneconne without its quarterback as the Marshmen remained unbeaten with a 32-14 ECFC crossover victory.

Jared Kiesow took the reigns and directed a Horicon offense that gained 297 yards on the ground thanks to the inspired play of Tom Wojahn. Wojahn filled in for Kiesow, the team's regular tailback, and gained 248 yards on 28 carries with three touchdowns.

"This was a total team effort," Horicon coach Jim Trost said. "(Tom) Wojahn had a great game and the offensive line stepped up. I wasn't worried about a letdown because the kids have worked hard all year and are now undefeated five games in."

The Marshmen took an early lead when Kiesow completed his only pass of the game, a seven-yard strike to Jake Magyar with 6:41 to play.

"Jared did a great job at quarterback tonight," Trost said. "He's a real leader and did everything he needed to do to get us the win."

Winneconne (1-4) responded when Jeff Vander Velden reeled off a 53-yard run to give the visitors a 7-6 lead.

But Wojahn answered with a 30-yard scoring run that gave the Marshmen (5-0) the lead for good.

Andrew Wasmund gave Horicon some breathing room at the end of the first half when he recovered a blocked punt in the end zone with only 24 seconds to go in the half, giving the Marshmen an 18-7 lead.

Winneconne cut the lead to 18-14 with a trick play in the third quarter, but Horicon scored the final 14 points to win going away.

Wojahn scored on an 8-yard run at the end of the third quarter before Wojahn sealed the victory with a 5-yard jaunt with 3:35 to play.

"Winneconne's a pretty good football team even though they only have one win," Trost said. "They gave us all we could handle. It was a solid effort by our kids."

Horicon hosts Laconia on Friday.


Horicon 32, Winneconne 14

Winneconne 7 0 7 0 - 14

Horicon 6 12 7 7 - 32

Horicon - Magyar 7 pass from Kiesow (kick failed) 6:41

Winneconne - Vander Velden 53 run (Schultz kick) 6:11

Horicon - Wojahn 30 run (run failed) 1:54

Horicon - Wasmund blocked punt recovered in end zone (kick failed) :24

Winneconne - Schultz 10 from Feavel (Schultz kick) 4:15

Horicon - Wojahn 8 run (Wojahn kick) 1:56

Horicon - Wojahn 5 run (Wojahn kick) 3:35

TEAM STATISTICS

First Downs - W 9; H 19. Rushing (Att.-Yds) - W 38-121; H 39-297. Passing yards - W 84; H 7. Passes (Comp.-Att.-Int) - W 3-12-1; H 1-4-2. Fumbles-Lost - W 0-0; H 2-2. Penalties-yards - W 2-15; H 4-20.

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

Rushing: W - Vander Velden 16-108; H - Wojahn 28-248. Passing: W - Schultz 1-7-1, 42; H - Kiesow 1-4-2, 7. Receiving: W - Vander Velden 1-42; H - Magyar 1-7.

Horicon 28, WLA 20

Horicon Burns Wla

From the Beaver Dam Daily Citizen

FOND DU LAC - Little mention was made of Horicon prior to the season as a contender for the ECFC Rivers Division title.
That changed with Saturday afternoon's 28-20 upset of two-time defending Rivers champion Winnebago Lutheran Academy. To knock off the Vikings, fresh off a 23-22 win over traditional powerhouse Fond du Lac Springs, is one thing.

To completely dominate the game and humble highly-touted WLA quarterback Josh McCormick in the process is yet another.

McCormick carried 33 times for 169 yards and three touchdowns in addition to throwing for a fourth in last year's 26-20 win over Horicon. After sitting last week with a back injury, his rust was evident as he was sacked and picked off five times each.

WLA was forced to raise the white flag with its running game, carrying 18 times for 1 yard. The Vikings had to resort to an empty backfield and 42 pass attempts from McCormick to muster any offense.

"I was a little bit surprised, especially as well as we ran the ball Friday against Springs," WLA coach Mark McCormick said of his team's non-existent ground game. "That one stymies me a bit. It's surprising and disappointing."

McCormick figured this would be a 'trap' game even before the season started with so much made of the crosstown rivalry with the Ledgers. With Horicon coming off a bye courtesy of its forfeit over North Fond du Lac, the Marshmen buckled the Vikings with their explosive speed and quickness.

"They ran right past some of our guys like they weren't even on the same planet," McCormick said. "You do some things right at the line and boom, there's a 50-yarder. That's why they say speed kills."

Horicon's trio of Aaron Samplawski, Nick Scharpf and Jared Kiesow all possess the ability to turn any play into a big one. Samplawski caught three passes for 99 yards and two touchdowns while Scharpf added four catches for 124 yards to go with his three interceptions.

"We're pretty lucky to have a lot of fast guys on one team," said Samplawski, who also picked off a pass. "This is a big confidence-booster. We know we can stick with any team and get the 'W'."

In an ominous sign of things to come, WLA was forced to quick kick on its opening possession. Kiesow located Samplawski on a halfback option pass to cap Horicon's opening drive for a 6-0 Horicon lead just 6 minutes and 5 seconds into the contest.

While physically dictating the contest, the Marshmen were unable to translate that into points. That changed when one play after Paul Heinkel missed a 36-yard field goal attempt, Samplawski took a simple flat pass from Jesse Davidson and juked a pair of Vikings on his way to a dazzling 80-yard TD.

"Aaron is one of those guys that doesn't get a lot of notoriety," Horicon coach Jim Trost said. "He's tough and explosive.

"Without him, we don't win. He's that important to us."

WLA's next drive would end while starting a wild sequence of three turnovers in four plays. Jake Magyar recovered a fumble at the Viking 32, only to have WLA's Ryan Georg pick off Davidson two plays later.

On the next play, Horicon's Jon Hasch plucked a deflected pass and took it to the Viking 3. Kiesow scored easily by cutting back his run for a 19-0 edge with 4:39 before halftime.

WLA then scrapped the running game and put it all on McCormick. He went 8-for-11 on the next drive from an empty backfield, resulting in Cody Schoepke's 13-yard TD catch with 1:05 left before the break - the first points Horicon allowed all year.

Horicon started the second half with a holding penalty but Scharpf made it a moot point on the first play from scrimmage. He torched the Viking secondary on an out-and-up from 73 yards out for a 25-16 edge.

"The coaches think I can always take guys 1-on-1," Scharpf said. "We run the short stuff first and then get them on a double move."

Scharpf would go on to pick off McCormick three times after the break. Horicon failed to put the game away due to penalties (nine, for 73 yards) and six turnovers.

"I was concerned about our layoff," Trost said. "We kept them in the game when we really shouldn't have.

"We played our hearts out and I'm happy with where we're at. But we have a lot of work to do too."

McCormick hit Schoepke from 18 yards just 1:31 after Scharpf's bomb to cut it to 25-13. Tom Wojahn hit a 30-yard field goal with 8:08 to play for a 28-12 edge.

Schoepke hauled in his third TD of the day, from 40 yards out, almost three minutes after Wojahn's field goal. Kiesow, who had most of his 92 yards on 16 carries after halftime, fumbled at the Viking 28 with 2:20 left to give WLA one last crack.

Samplawski picked off McCormick on the next play and Kiesow picked up a first down to ice the game. Davidson finished with 235 yards passing on the day.

"We wanted and craved to be these other teams at the top of the conference," Trost said. "We heard and read a lot about these other great players in the conference, but you know what? We've got some too."

Horicon hosts Winneconne, who stunned arch-rival Omro for the China Bulll last week, in Friday's crossover game.


Horicon 28, WLA 20

Horicon 6 13 6 3 - 28

WLA 0 6 6 8 - 20

Horicon - Samplawski 11 from Kiesow (kick failed) 6:55

Horicon - Samplawski 80 from Davidson (pass failed) 6:32

Horicon - Kiesow 3 run (Wojahn kick) 4:39

WLA - Schoepke 13 run (kick failed) 1:05

Horicon - Scharpf 73 from Davidson (pass failed) 11:34

WLA - Schoepke 18 from McCormick (pass failed) 10:03

Horicon - Wojahn 30 FG, 8:08

WLA - Schoepke 40 from McCormick (McCormick run) 5:09

TEAM STATISTICS

First downs - H 15, WLA 14. Rushing (Att.-Yds.) - H 38-130, WLA 18-1. Passing yards - H 246, WLA 202. Passes (Comp.-Att.-Int.) - H 10-19-1, WLA 19-42-5. Fumbles-lost - H 6-5, WLA 2-1. Penalties-yards - H 9-73, WLA 3-20.

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

Rushing: H - Kiesow 26-92; WLA - Hicks 8-18. Passing: H - Davidson 8-17-1, 235; McCormick - 19-42-5, 202. Receiving: H - Scharpf 4-124, Samplawski 3-99; WLA - Schoepke 7-105.

Horicon 33, Columbus 0

Horicon Ends Frustration Against Cards

From the Beaver Dam Daily Citizen

HORICON It took only four quarters of solid football for Horicon to erase several years of bad memories Friday night as the Marshmen manhandled Columbus, 33-0, in the non-conference opener.
Junior quarterback Jesse Davidson threw for three touchdowns and junior running back Jared Kiesow tallied two scores to spark the Marshmen to their season opening victory.

"When I took this job three years ago, I was told we hadn't beaten Columbus since the 1970s," Horicon coach Jim Trost said Friday night, still dripping from a Gatorade bath administered by his players. "So my goal was to beat Columbus and become a program like that, that every year makes the playoffs."

Horicon wasted little time Friday night in trying to meet the coach's goal.

After Columbus fumbled on its second play of the game, Davidson found senior end Steve Eidem open in the middle of the field. Eidem dragged two Cardinal defenders with him into the end zone for a 16-yard score.

On the Marshmen's next possession, Davidson found Nick Scharpf for a 33-yard TD.

Kiesow put the Marshmen up 20-0 on a four-yard plunge set up by another Cardinal fumble midway through the second quarter.

On the very first play from scrimmage in the second half, Davidson, forced to scramble, dumped a pass off to Kiesow and the running back found daylight and beat the Cardinal defenders 63 yards for a touchdown.

Junior Jon Hasch capped the scoring on a 15-yard scoring run with 2:16 left in the game. The 35-yard drive was set up by another Cardinal turnover.

Davidson finished the night with 173 yards passing as the Marshmen attack registered 289 total yards. But just as impressive was their defense.

Columbus' offensive attack was held to a minus 21 yards rushing and the Cardinals didn't register a first down until the fourth quarter and that came on a penalty. Horicon held Columbus running back Eric Coughlin to only six yards on seven attempts.

"They were what we expected," said Columbus coach Jason Brunell. "We knew they had a lot of guys back and they've got some real good players and very good speed.

"I was hoping we'd be further along then what we showed."

Kiesow registered 126 total yards (55 on the ground and 71 receiving) and Scharpf finished with three catches for 82 yards.

Columbus quarterback Dan Salzwedel, who was hurried all night, hit on eight of 27 passes from 71 yards. Riley Mobry had three catches for 52 yards and he was also the lone bright spot on defense as he picked off two passes.

Horicon travels to Oakfield next Friday, while the Cardinals will host Lodi.


Horicon, 33-0

Columbus 0 0 0 0 - 0

Horicon 14 6 6 7 - 33

Horicon - Eiden 16 pass from Davidson (Wojahn kick) 8:21

Horicon - Scharpf 33 pass from Davidson (Wojahn kick) 4:21

Horicon - Kiesow 4 run ( kick blocked) 6:35

Horicon - Kiesow 63 pass from Davidson (pass failed) 11:36

Horicon - Hasch 15 run (Wasmund kick) 2:16

Scoring:

TEAM STATISTICS

First Downs - C 5; H 10. Rushing (Att.-Yds) - C 18 - minus 21; H 39-116. Passing yards - C 71; H 173. Passes (Comp.-Att.-Int) - C 8-27-1; H 9-17-2. Fumbles-Lost - C 3-3 ; H 2-0 . Penalties-yards - C 8-46; H 11-7 .

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

Rushing: C - Coughlin 7 - 6; H - Kiesow 15-55. Passing: C - Salzwedel 8-27-71; H - Davidson 9-16-173-1 . Receiving: C - Mobry 3-52; H - Scharpf 3-82, Kiesow 4-71.