The Elmwood-Plum City Wolves defeated the Turtle Lake Lakers by a score of 24-20 in Elmwood Friday night.

For a while it appeared like the Lakers were going to run away with it as they were up 14-0 in the waning minutes of the first half. The Wolves got on the board with 2:37 left in the second quarter on a 2-yard run by quarterback Aaden Birtzer and a 2-yard run for a successful two-point conversion by running back Blake Allen.

The Wolves struck first in the second half as well with another Birtzer rushing TD and another successful two-point attempt, this time via the legs of Birtzer to take the lead 16-14. The Lakers answered back at the very end of the third quarter with a rushing touchdown of their own, but an unsuccessful two-point conversion left the score at 20-16, Lakers.

Elmwood answered right back, marching down the field and scoring again just 1:30 after Turtle Lake’s last score. The Wolves’ defense held them off, and they secured the victory and improved their record to 4-3 on the season. Mike Birtzer, head coach of the Wolves, likes what he saw this week and hopes to keep things moving this Friday against the three-time conference champs when they host the Spring Valley Cardinals.

“The comeback was keyed by a 90-yard drive to start the second half. It gave our boys confidence. We got some key runs and a few key plays on defense,” Birtzer said. “If you are going to beat Spring Valley, you have to out tough them and be very disciplined. That will be the biggest key for us this week. They are a very well coached team and are very disciplined.”

Right now, Boyceville has the lead in conference play at 5-0 followed by Spring Valley at 4-1 and Elmwood at 3-2. As long as the Wolves win one of their final two games, they will advance to the playoffs. However, Birtzer said with a little help they could still win the conference championship this year.

“In order to make the playoffs you need a winning record in the conference. But, if we happened to beat Spring Valley and Glenwood City, and then Boyceville lost out, that means all three of us would be in a three-way tie at 5-2 in the conference. One of our losses is to a non-conference team,” said Birtzer.

The battle for the championship and a postseason birth continues this Friday in Elmwood. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

River Falls wins another nailbiter

The River Falls Wildcats won a nailbiter in River Falls Friday night, beating the Chippewa Falls Cardinals 28-27.

It was a back-and-forth game with a photo finish. The Cardinals got on the board first with a passing touchdown early in the first quarter. River Falls answered back on a 9-yard rushing touchdown by running back Jonah Severson to even the score at 7-7.

River Falls ran it right back and took the lead on another rushing TD by Severson with 4:00 left in the second quarter. That’s when the fireworks happened as the Cardinals scored two passing touchdowns in the final 2:37 and took a 21-14 lead going into halftime.

The third quarter was a stalemate, but River Falls and the legs of Severson scored back-to-back touchdowns in the fourth to take the lead back at 28-21.

Chippewa Falls got the ball back with just enough time to make a run at tying the game. And, with just 90 seconds left, they connected on a 58-yard passing touchdown to bring them within one. The Cardinals decided to go for it all on the two-point conversion, but the Wildcat defense stepped up and came away with a huge stop to secure the win, 28-27.

The offense in this game ran through Severson who had 34 carries for 220 yards and four touchdowns. Quarterback Jacob Range added 79 yards through the air and 113 yards rushing on just 13 carries. Head Coach Ryan Scherz sayid they executed their game plan well, something they’d like to do against Menomonie this Friday as well.

“We want to run the ball, and as a big running back, Jonah really wears on defenses. We were consistently picking up chunks of yardage on the ground, so there wasn't really a reason to go away from it,” Scherz said. “As for Menomonie, we are still improving in all areas. Some of our younger players are getting better every week, so we hope we can keep it rolling. We have to win one more game to be guaranteed a spot in the playoffs. If we can continue to win, we'd have an opportunity for a home playoff game, so we are highly motivated to give our guys that opportunity.”

The Wildcats advance to 3-2 in conference play on the season ahead of their away game against the 3-2 Menomonie Mustangs. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

SV stung by Hornets

The Spring Valley Cardinals took a tough loss in Cadott Friday night losing to the Hornets by a score of 16-8.

The Cardinals just couldn’t get anything going in this one. Each team had one long run for a touchdown, leaving the score at 8-8 going into halftime. That’s the way the score remained until the fourth quarter when the Hornets pushed one in and completed the two-point conversion to take a 16-8 lead and the victory.

Quarterback Wyatt Goveronski was just 5-12 on passing attempts for 44 yards and had just 15 yards rushing on 13 attempts. Even the normally unstoppable running back Diego Schmitt had just 44 yards rushing on 13 carries and 19 yards receiving on two catches. The lone bright spot was multi position player Cade Stasiek who completed his only pass for 29 yards, had three catches for 25 yards, and rushed for 57 yards and a touchdown on just eight carries.

Overall, the Cardinals had better numbers than Cadott. They ran half again as many plays, had nearly half again as many offensive yards while the defense held the Hornets to just 150 yards of total offense, 1-8 on third downs and 0-1 on fourth downs.

In light of this, and their track record of success, this game seemed to be just a minor speedbump for the Cardinals. They still control their own destiny as they are just one game back of Boyceville who still needs to get through Spring Valley in Week 9 to win the conference championship. In other words, if the red birds win their final two games, they will have earned their fourth consecutive championship.

Head Coach Ryan Kapping gives credit where credit is due and understands where they need to improve if they’re going to win their division.

“Cadott did a really good job of winning the line of scrimmage battle. In addition to that, we turned it over twice, gave them a short field on a bad punt snap and committed seven penalties,” Kapping said. “We take it one week at a time, so talk of a conference championship isn't something that we worry about or discuss. We clinched a playoff spot last week, but we won't know anything about where we play until the end of the season.”

Understandably, the Cardinals will try to regroup from this loss and look towards their final away game of the season in Elmwood this Friday.

“Elmwood-Plum City is a very good football team that executes their offense at a high level,” Kapping said. “They have a lot of moving parts to their offense that can create a lot of confusion for a defense. So we will be working hard to identify keys and reading them correctly and then get guys running to the ball.”

The Cardinals are now 4-1 in conference play on the season as they travel to play the 3-2 Wolves. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. this Friday in Elmwood.

Ellsworth finds its footing

The Ellsworth Panthers drubbed the Osceola Chieftains by a score of 38-0 in Osceola Friday night.

For a game that was 0-0 in the second quarter, things got out of hand really fast for the Chieftains. Ellsworth suddenly looked explosive behind rookie quarterback Jack Stoltenburg in the second start of his career. A 3-yard touchdown run was following by a 58-yard passing touchdown and a 48-yard touchdown run by the end of the half, taking a 24-0 lead after three straight successful two-point conversions.

The Panthers added on two more 50+ yard touchdown runs in the second half to bring the final score to 38-0 after the extra-point kicks.

The Ellsworth defense was on fire in this one, holding the Chieftains to 0-10 on third down attempts and forcing a whopping seven turnovers. The offense did their part too with 95 yards through the air and 332 on the ground.

With this win, the Panthers stop a three-game skid that was at minimum partially due to losing their starting quarterback Griffin Blomberg for the season due to an ACL tear in his leg. Since then, the Panthers have turned to sophomore Stoltenburg. Head Coach Rob Heller likes what he sees from the rookie so far.

“Jack is progressing nicely and had a nice long touchdown pass to George Rohl to get the offense rolling. We have been impressed with his ability to prepare the last couple of weeks given his inexperience. He is a great student of the game,” Heller said. “It was a breath of fresh air to get back on track Friday night. The kids played extremely well, and we were able to win all three phases of the game. When you are able to score a special teams touchdown, hold a team to 80 total yards, and create seven turnovers you give yourself a great chance to win. The kids bought into the game plan this week and executed it flawlessly.”

Ellsworth is now tied for second in the conference with Prescott at 2-3 in conference play, and wouldn’t you know it, the Cardinals are coming to town this Friday. A conference title is mathematically out of reach for the Panthers, but in Wisconsin if you finish .500 or higher in your conference you clinch a playoff berth. 

“Friday is a must win for us in a big rivalry game with Prescott and all of the usual distractions that come with homecoming week,” Heller said. “We need to make sure we continue to stay focused, work hard, and be diligent in preparation if we want to play more football this season.” 

Kickoff is at 7 p.m. at Ellsworth High School.