Week 1 High School Football: Manitowoc Lutheran routs Roncalli in coach's debut
MANITOWOC — It may be only Week 1, but the Manitowoc Lutheran Lancers football team already had a lot to be happy about.
In coach Ryan Hulse’s debut on the sideline, Manitowoc Lutheran dominated Roncalli 27-8 in a game which felt more lopsided than the final score would indicate.
It also matches Lutheran’s win total from last season.
The Lancers sacked Jets quarterback Landon Chalupny seven times and held Roncalli out of the end zone until just over two minutes remaining when Chalupny broke free on an 18-yard scramble for a touchdown.
Lutheran led 13-0 after two quarters and, if not for a pair of turnovers in the red zone, the margin could have been greater.
“It was a complete team effort,” Hulse said. “We left a couple out there but to go into halftime up 13-0 was a huge confidence for us. To go in and know that we could dominate this game was awesome.”
Roncalli coach Paul Kinsella didn’t sugarcoat things following the loss.
“We got beat by a team that had more energy, more effort and was smarter than us,” Kinsella said. “I think we were a little overconfident, not prepared to play.”
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Outside of the Jets' first and final drives of the game, the offense wasn’t able to mount much of a push back.
“Personally, I loved the way the defense played,” said Lutheran quarterback Brayden Bennett, who was 13-for-18 for 218 yards and two touchdowns. “I don’t know how many sacks the defense got but it was a lot. As an offense, its really calming and easy to play when you know you have the confidence your defense is going to hold them and they’re not going to score points.”
Bennett got the scoring going on a 10-yard touchdown pass to Caden Stanzel in the first quarter before adding a 30-yard score to Gabriel Stuebs in the fourth quarter as the Lancers built a 27-0 advantage with just over 10 minutes left in the game.
Stanzel caught five passes for 80 yards to lead the receivers. Lutheran also got short touchdown runs from Kamden Baye and Kaeden Storzer.
Drew Reimer led Roncalli with a game-high 95 yards rushing on 16 carries.
Even following the two early turnovers, Bennett and the offense didn’t let themselves get down and that was by design according to coach and quarterback.
“We’re very much a 0-0 mindset team, we’ve stressed that for three weeks meaning it doesn’t matter what happens it just starts over,” Hulse said. “Those turnovers, 0-0 mindset, just means we play defense. We don’t let that affect our demeanor and our mood.”
And while the game didn’t go how Roncalli hoped, Kinsella and Chalupny aren’t about to throw in the towel after just one week.
“If we learn from this, it can be a good experience,” Kinsella said. “It’s a nonconference game. They’re all important, but a nonconference game, you can fix those things. They say the most important comes between games one and two, that’s what we need to do. Grow up a little bit and make some improvements.”
“It was a little rough, not what we were looking for but we need to bounce back and get ready to play (next week),” Chalupny added.
Cedar Grove-Belgium defense stymies state contender Mayville
The Mayville Cardinals have finished as state runners-up in Division 5 each of the past two seasons but to begin the season it was Cedar Grove-Belgium which came out with a 24-13 win.
The Rockets scored defensively on a safety and also a scoop-and-score fumble recovery by Owen Morgan to set the tone.
Quarterback Matt Peiffer had a pair of touchdown passes for Cedar Grove-Belgium, a 45-yard score to Nolan Aponte and then a 30-yard hook up with Noah Lukens in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.
Two Rivers regular-season winning streak continues
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The Two Rivers Raiders lost three straight games in the beginning of the 2021 season but since a 28-25 defeat against Kohler/Lutheran/Christian on Sept. 17, 2021, the Raiders have yet to drop a game in the regular season.
Two Rivers knocked off Bonduel 24-12 to run its regular-season winning streak to 14 games.
Justin Klinkner and Chase Matthias accounted for all three of the Raiders touchdowns.
Klinkner scored on a 1-yard touchdown run while Matthias added an 8-yard scoring run of his own. The pair also connected on a 23-yard touchdown pass from Klinkner to Matthias.
Evan Behling helps Sheboygan Falls barrel through Beloit Turner
The Sheboygan Falls Falcons racked up almost 400 yards rushing in a close 35-28 win over Beloit Turner.
Evan Behling led the way for Falls, piling up 230 yards and 24 carries including a pair of touchdowns while teammate Drake Moberg added 154 yards and two scores of his own on 23 attempts.
Manitowoc/Sheboygan Week 1 results
Southern Door 19, Oostburg 0
Ozaukee 37, Cudahy 6
Cedar Grove-Belgium 24, Mayville 13
Sheboygan Falls 35, Turner 26
Sheboygan South 7, West Bend West 0
Plymouth 33, Sheboygan North 7
New Holstein 39, Random Lake 18
Kewaunee 35, Kiel 21
Kohler/Lutheran/Christian 36, Howards Grove 20
Reedsville 7, Mishicot 6
Omro 42, Valders 0
Two Rivers 24, Bonduel 12
Manitowoc Lutheran 27, Roncalli 8
Manitowoc Lincoln 29, Appleton West 6
Contact Tom Dombeck at 920-686-2965 or tdombeck@htrnews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Tom_Dombeck.
This article originally appeared on Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter: Week 1 high school football roundup for Manitowoc, Sheboygan Wisconsin
