Valley Christian football outlasts Montello in 4 OT thriller; Berlin, Winneconne improve to 5-1, 4-2
Here are the Week 6 results from the Oshkosh area high school football teams:
Article will update as stats and supporting details come in.
Valley Christian 42, Montello 36 - 4 OT (Thursday)
Valley Christian (4-1, 0-1 Ridge & Valley-East) battled Montello (2-3, 1-0 Independent) for four quarters and four overtimes with the Warriors finally capitalizing on some key mistakes by the Hilltoppers to pull this one out.
Valley got off to a hot start, forcing a three-and-out on their first defensive series and then scoring five plays later on Dennis Thur's 46-yard scamper - his first of two touchdowns on the ground for the evening.
The Warriors turned the ball over twice before the half and Montello answered with a long touchdown run of their own, 45 yards to the house by Seth Mehling. The Hilltoppers failed on the 2-point try, however, giving Valley an 8-6 advantage at halftime.
A 13-play touchdown drive gave the Warriors a strong start out of the break, capped off by Matthias Behling's 19-yard strike to Josiah Lehman. Later in the third quarter, Thur scored from five yards out and after kicking both extra points the scoreboard read 22-6 in favor of Valley. Montello only ran four offensive plays in the third quarter.
The Hilltoppers responded strongly in the fourth quarter. In just four plays, Montello scored twice and added a pair of two-point conversions to tie the game at 22.
Lehman took the ensuing kickoff back 35 yards to midfield and then the Warriors offense moved down the field methodically, running the ball 11 times, capped off by Derek Wallace's 1-yard plunge into the end zone to regain the lead.
Up 30-22 with under a minute to go in regulation, the Hilltoppers scored on a 26-yard pass from Gabe Lopez to Payton Dahlke. Lopez then connected with Mehling on the two-point conversion to tie the game at 30 and send the game into overtime.
Caedmon Golackson picked off Mehling on a halfback pass in the first OT and Valley had a chance to win it after driving down to the 1-yard line, however, the Warriors couldn't punch it in on a quarterback sneak on fourth and goal.
In the second OT, Montello stopped Valley on 4th-and-goal again, this time from the 4-yard line, as Behling's pass to Eli Humiston was broken up. Golackson halted the Hilltoppers' chances of ending the game by picking off Lopez on third-and-1 from the 16 and so the teams played on to a third overtime. Golackson finished the game with a team-high 15 tackles (six solo).
Both teams managed to score rushing touchdowns, Mehling from eight yards out for Montello and Wallace from a yard away for the Warriors, but failed on their two-point conversion attempts, which saw the game go into a fourth overtime tied at 36.
Behling threw a beautiful 18-yard touchdown pass to Lehman on fourth-and-3, but Valley's two-point try was unsuccessful, which left the door open for the Hilltoppers. Things quickly unraveled for them on offense though, as a botched snap went over Lopez's head, and Noah Boelter booted the ball backwards before finally picking it up for a 28-yard loss. On top of that, an illegal block was called on the field which forced Montello to face a first-and-52.
The final play of the game was a desperation hook-and-ladder on fourth-and-47 that the Warriors quickly covered up after a 16-yard gain.
Offensive leaders for Valley included Behling, who completed 7-of-12 passes for 85 yards and the two passing touchdowns. Thur led the Warriors in rushing with 32 carries for 150 yards and Wallace complimented him with 30 carries for 119 yards. Lehman led the receiving corps with five passes for 72 yards.
Next game: Sept. 28 @ Owen-Withee (3-2, 1-1 CWC-East)
No. 8 (D-4) Berlin 24, Kewaskum 22 (Thursday)
Berlin (5-1, 3-1 East Central) held on for the win despite Kewaskum (1-5, 1-3 East Central) putting up 15 fourth quarter points, nearly resulting in an upset.
Kewaskum struck first in the opening quarter on a 1-yard touchdown run from Dylan Soyk. Berlin, on the other hand, was held scoreless until the second quarter when they struck for 12 points.
Jakob Martin took a 26-yard carry in for the first of his three touchdowns and Wyatt Hamersma scored on a 51-yard pass from Parker Hess to give Berlin a 5-point advantage at the half. Hess finished 9-of-13 passing with 176 yards and Aaron Bartol was his leading receiver with four catches for 86 yards.
Martin's second touchdown came in the third quarter on a 6-yard rush and, after the first of two Kewaskum fourth quarter scores - a 50-yard pass from Andrew Reichert to Landon Daniel, Martin made his third trip to the end zone on a 2-yard run. Martin ended his night with seven carries for 48 yards.
Jacob Warren led Berlin in tackles with 10 (four solo) and Carter Hess racked up 91 yards on two kick returns along with seven tackles (four solo) and an interception on defense.
Next game: Sept. 29 vs. Waupun (0-6, 0-4 East Central)
Winneconne 28, Shawano 6
Winneconne (4-2, 3-1 Bay) had the game in hand, comfortably, by halftime on the back of a 9-yard passing touchdown from Brady Immel to Brody Schaffer in the first quarter and three Ethan Mathe rushing touchdowns in the second.
Mathe's first score came from 15 yards out, the second from two yards, and the last one on a 12-yard run. He finished his night with 115 yards rushing on nine carries.
The Wolves held Shawano (1-5, 1-3 Bay) to 105 total yards while gaining 251 (199 rushing yards, 52 passing).
Jovan Zeller recorded a sack and recovered a fumble for the Winneconne defense. Alex Thomas added a sack and the duo of Zander Bartel and Chase Danke each split a sack. Kaden Carder was the Wolves' leading tackler with eight stops.
Next game: Sept. 28 vs. Seymour (1-5, 1-3 Bay)
No. 5 (D-2) Kaukauna 42, Oshkosh West 35
Kaukauna (5-1, 3-1 Fox Valley Association) drew first blood in the opening quarter on a 3-yard pass from Dave Krieg Award semi-finalist Finnley Doriot to Nolan Hall.
West (2-4, 0-4 FVA) countered in the second period with a whopping 28 points, beginning with an 11-yard rushing touchdown by Jaiden Fronczak to tie the game at seven.
The two teams went back and forth alternating scores as the Galloping Ghosts received a pair of touchdowns on the connection of Doriot-to-Kavanaugh Weyenberg, the first from 12 yards and later on from eight yards out.
Not to be outdone, Wildcats quarterback Chase Brandl also contributed two touchdowns in the second. Brandl found Jeevan Ambati for the first score on a 32-yard pass and ran 22 yards for another. Jake Balog added a 5-yard rushing touchdown to put West up, 28-21, at halftime.
In the third quarter, Doriot used his legs to tie the game up on a 2-yard rushing touchdown and then Connor Kincheloe provided the go-ahead score for Kaukauna on a second 2-yard run.
Brandl kept the Wildcats alive with a 14-yard scamper to the end zone to tie it, once again, but Parker Schuh delivered the devastating blow on a 73-yard pass from Doriot to seal the victory for the Ghosts.
Brandl finished 10-of-20 passing for 135 yards and led West in rushing, carrying 10 times for 89 yards. Ambati had five catches for 108 yards receiving.
Defensively, Damarion Williams and Mason Klinger forced fumbles while Isaiah Koeppen served as the leading tackler with 11 stops.
Next game: Sept. 29 vs. Appleton East (2-4, 1-3 FVA)
Mayville 19, Omro 7
Mayville (3-3, 2-2 Flyway) overcame three turnovers to earn the win.
Payton Borchardt started the scoring for the Cardinals with a 1-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, ending the night with 12 carries for 49 yards.
Sawyer Hardesty followed with a 1-yard score in the second to put Mayville up 13-0.
Omro (2-4, 1-3 Flyway) countered with a 3-yard touchdown run from Keenan Rahn to make it 13-7 at the half. Rahn finished with six carries for 47 yards. Jack Wellhoefer and Nate Piper each collected 10+ tackles and an interception for the Foxes' defense.
A 7-yard touchdown run from Hardesty in the fourth quarter sealed the victory for the Cardinals. Hardesty had 132 yards rushing on 23 carries to lead Mayville's offense.
Next game (Omro): Sept. 29 vs. Winnebago Lutheran (6-0, 4-0 Flyway)
Johnson Creek 43, No. 9 (D-7) Lourdes Academy 0
Lourdes (4-2, 3-1 Trailways) converted more attempts on fourth down (2-of-3) than on third down (1-of-7) and was doubled up on time of possession in what was a rough night all-around for the Knights.
Quarterback Wade Lindahl completed 14-of-21 passes for 78 of Lourdes 80 total yards of offense and Dominic Bauer had five catches for 40 yards.
Next game: Sept. 29 vs. Deerfield (2-4, 1-3 Trailways)
Kettle Moraine Lutheran 63, Ripon 6
Ripon (0-6, 0-4 East Central) scored its lone touchdown of the game in the fourth quarter on a 37-yard toss from Parker Webb to Max Huber. Webb completed 3-of-4 passes for 80 yards and led the team in tackles with six.
The Tigers gained five total rushing yards as a team on 20 carries.
Next game: Sept. 29 vs. Kewaskum (1-5, 1-3 East Central)
No. 2 (D-1) Kimberly 48, Oshkosh North 13
No information was provided by Oshkosh North.
Next game: @ Fond du Lac (2-4, 2-2 Fox Valley Association)
Contact Lance LeQue at LLeQue@gannett.com or follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @LanceLeQue.
This article originally appeared on Oshkosh Northwestern: Oshkosh area high school football Week 6 scores and results
