Kimberly blanks Neenah to stay undefeated, Kaukauna shuts out Appleton North to set up FVA football showdown next week
KIMBERLY – Could it be possible the Kimberly football team is flying under the radar this season?
Head coach Chad Michalkiewicz believes that's the case. And he's totally fine with it.
This much is certain − the undefeated and defending WIAA Division 1 state champs certainly look to be ascending, especially after their 21-0 victory over Neenah on Friday at Papermaker Stadium.
"You know what I love? That no one is talking about us and that’s great," Michalkiewicz said. "We truly just focus on ourselves and this is a really dominant performance. And I felt like we should have had seven or maybe 14 more in the first half. But it’s a good lesson for us. Can we put the pedal to the metal and put the gas down?"
Gavin Tyson had 113 yards rushing on 29 carries and had a touchdown rushing and receiving to lead the Papermakers. The win improves Kimberly to 6-0 overall and 5-0 in the Fox Valley Association. Neenah drops to 5-2 overall and 3-2 in the FVA.
Carson Pendleton also had two touchdown passes – 20 yards to Tyson and 18 yards to Conner Barushak. Pendleton finished 10-of-14 with 125 yards through the air.
The Papermakers defense was stellar, holding Neenah star Grant Dean to 54 yards rushing on 14 carries. Rockets starting quarterback Evan Vanevenhoven left the game in the second half with an injured ankle.
“We really put the pressure on them and got them out of their comfort zone,” Michalkiewicz said of his defense. “They’re not as dynamic with the passing game and forcing them to throw is typically a good thing and we bottled up Dean really, really well.”
With the defense doing its thing, that put the offense on the shoulders of Tyson, a 5-foot-9, 200-pound senior who thrives on contact and has quick feet to pick his way through holes opened by the Kimberly offensive line.
"It was good to get those touches and there was a lot of them," he said. "Offensive line played outstanding today. That's a very good (Neenah) team and getting yards wasn't going to be easy. Getting those extra yards was big for us."
Kimberly is alone atop the FVA but plays at Kaukauna (6-1, 4-1) next Friday before playing at Appleton North (5-2, 3-2) in the regular-season finale.
"We have a very good two weeks coming up," Tyson said. "We just have to keep working and getting better one percent better every day."
Kaukauna shuts out Appleton North
Kaukauna was tired of hearing about its inability to beat Appleton North, so the Ghosts did something about it by shutting out the Lightning 7-0 on Friday at Paul Engen Field in Appleton.
Kaukauna beat North for the first time since 2007. The Lightning had won 14 consecutive games in the series.
The outcome wasn’t decided until the final 30 seconds when North’s Gavin Mattson caught a short pass at the Kaukauna 7-yard line and turned toward the end zone. He got to the 1-yard line and was hit by two Kaukauna defenders just as he was trying to reach the ball across the goal line. The ball came loose and rolled into the end zone, where it was recovered by Carson Van Dinter and ruled a touchback.
The Ghosts then took a knee on the final play and the clock ran out for the win.
“So proud of our kids. Crazy game. We knew it would be,” Kaukauna coach Matt Binsfeld said. “Everybody in our conference is really equally matched, and so you knew it wasn’t going to be a runaway game either way. So proud of our kids because people have been telling me all week that ‘we just don’t have the mental what it takes to beat ‘em, it’s a mental thing that we can’t beat Appleton North,’ and we talked about that all week and I think we proved that that’s not true anymore.”
Finnley Doriot’s 5-yard touchdown pass to Danny Poor II in the first quarter was the only points in the game. Aiden Reardon rushed for 66 yards on 12 carries for Kaukauna.
The victory clinched a playoff berth for the Ghosts (6-1 overall, 4-1 FVA) for the sixth consecutive season, which is the longest streak in program history.
“Which is a big deal for us and we don’t lose track of that because just a few years ago we weren’t in the playoffs and all that kind of stuff, so we’re really proud,” Binsfeld said. “That’s our first goal every year is to try and put ourselves in contention for that, so that isn’t lost on us. Now the exciting part is we got a chance to go play for a conference title next week, the next two weeks.”
Kaukauna is in second place in the FVA, one game behind Kimberly (6-0, 5-0). The Ghosts host the Papermakers next Friday.
Wrightstown knocks FVL from top of NEC
Wrightstown put itself in the mix for a North Eastern Conference title with a 20-13 victory over conference co-leader Fox Valley Lutheran on Thursday.
The Tigers gutted out the win, withstanding a late FVL rally to improve to 6-1 overall and 4-1 in the conference. It's the 29th consecutive season Wrightstown has qualified for the WIAA postseason.
Wrightstown's lone loss came to Xavier in Week 4 and the Tigers play at Little Chute next week before hosting NEC leader Luxemburg-Casco in the regular-season finale.
"I congratulated them on that," Wrightstown coach Steve Klister said of the playoff streak. "And next week is going to be a tough game with Little Chute and if everything falls right it could be us and Luxemburg-Casco going for (the conference title) at the end. We have everything in front of us and two tough games, but we like having it in our hands."
Wrightstown controlled tempo with its rushing attack, finishing with 54 carries for 293 yards.
Aiden Humphreys had 95 yards rushing on 21 carries and an 11-yard touchdown to lead Wrightstown’s balanced rushing. He also had a critical tackle on a fourth-and-3 late in the fourth quarter that stymied a potential game-tying drive by the Foxes. Humphreys finished with a team-high 13 tackles.
"(The fourth down situation) was definitely nerve wracking," Humphreys said. "But we got the job done and that's all that matters."
Trevor Vande Hey also had a 10-yard touchdown run for the Tigers, who led 20-7 at the half. He had 90 yards rushing on 10 carries.
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Polar Bears clinch playoff spot
Hortonville won its fourth consecutive Valley Football Association game Friday and clinched a playoff berth with its 14-12 victory over D.C. Everest.
Broden Butzin had a pair of touchdown passes early for the Polar Bears (5-2 overall, 4-1 VFA), hitting Winston Peters on a 4-yard toss in the second quarter before connecting with Colin Wendt on a 27-yard pass play.
Hortonville's defense rose to the occasion to preserve the win, denying the Evergreens a game-tying two-point conversion following a 47-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.
Hortonville plays at home against Wausau West next Friday before closing the regular season at Marshfield.
Freedom beats Little Chute to snap losing streak
Freedom ended a four-game losing streak with a 27-6 victory over rival Little Chute in the battle for the County N sign Thursday in Freedom.
The Irish picked up their first North Eastern Conference win to improve to 1-4 in the league and 3-4 overall. Little Chute fell to 2-3 in the conference and 4-3 overall after losing its third consecutive game.
Noah Heinke, who ran for 137 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries, said the Freedom players didn’t hang their heads after losing four in a row and recommitted in practice this week to get ready for the Mustangs.
“We’ve been practicing real hard. It’s been a couple hard games and we bounced back,” Heinke said. “Our team’s been getting stronger and stronger and I really think we’re going to do well in these next couple games. Those games really built us up and just really prepared us for Little Chute. … I’m very proud of this whole team. We did great teamwork out there.”
Little Chute played without starting quarterback Charlie VandenBurgt, who is out with an ankle injury. Sophomore Casey Perz completed 29-of-43 passes for 228 yards. Tyler Fischer caught seven passes for 108 yards, including an 11-yard touchdown reception for the Mustangs’ only points.
Freedom leads the all-time series against Little Chute 25-19 and has won six of the last seven meetings.
Truckers' Wegener has huge day in loss to Oconto Falls
Samuel Wegener had 14 catches for 302 yards and three touchdowns in Clintonville's 78-42 loss to Oconto Falls. Wegener caught touchdown passes of 65, 6 and 67 yards from quarterback Kade Rosenow, who finished with 432 yards passing and four touchdowns on 30-of-51 attempts. The loss dropped Clintonville's record to 3-2 in the Northwoods Conference.
Around the Fox Valley
Weyauwega-Fremont suffered its first loss of the season, falling to Amherst 57-36 in a Central Wisconsin Conference-Large game. Warhawks starting quarterback Kameron Zielke did not play in the game. Brayden Arndt had two rushing touchdowns to lead Weyauwega-Fremont (6-1, 4-1). ... Notre Dame beat Menasha 42-14 in a battle of Fox River Classic Conference-South co-leaders. The loss drops Menasha's record to 5-2 overall and 4-1 in the FRCC-South.
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This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Kimberly, Kaukauna, Hortonville, Wrightstown among football winners
