Prescott falls to Baldwin-Woodville, Elmwood/Plum City routs Colfax

By Reagan Hoverman

Three local high school teams had three dramatically diuerent results in the week seven football games on Friday night. River Falls lost a heartbreaking game in overtime, Prescott got blown out by Baldwin-Woodville and Elmwood/Plum City scored nearly 50 points in a rout of the Colfax Vikings.

For River Falls, a lingering injury from last week’s game kept star junior running back Jonah Severson on the sideline against Chippe- wa Falls. River Falls' ouense struggled on the road against Chi-Hi, which included multiple turnovers and penalties that ultimately proved to be too much to overcome for the Wildcats.

Throughout the 2022 season, River Falls has averaged 23 points per game. River Falls scored just 14 points in the Friday night game without Severson. Even without their star running back, the Wildcats got out to a 14-0 lead on the road, which included a two-yard touchdown run by senior running back Gavin Kohel and a five- yard rushing touchdown by senior wide receiver Jordan Karras.

River Falls took a twoscore lead into the halftime intermission but it was Chi-Hi that began the second half firing on all cylinders. Soph omore running back Jackson LeMay got the Cardinals on the board with a seven-yard touchdown run to make it a 14-7 contest midway through the third quarter, still favoring River Falls.

Chi-Hi scored again with just over three minutes left in the third quarter. That’s when junior quarterback Mason Von Haden connected with senior running back Mason Howard for an 18-yard touchdown pitch and catch to tie the game 14-14.

A stalemate of a fourth quarter sent the contest to overtime. Chippewa Falls won the OT coin toss and elected to get the ball first. After a couple of short plays and facing fourth down, the Cardinals decided to try a 37– yard field goal.

That’s when River Falls defenders broke through the ouensive line, blocked the kick, and tried to return it but were stripped in the process.

Chippewa Falls picked up the ball and ran it nearly 40 yards to the endzone for the game-winning touchdown.

Chi-Hi sent River Falls home with a 20-14 defeat.

The heartbreaking OT loss gave River Falls its first defeat of the season and dropped the overall record to 6-1 and the Big Rivers record to 4-1 and into a tie with Hudson for first place in the BRC standings.

River Falls will look to bounce back on Friday, Oct.

7, at home against the 2-5 Menomonie Mustangs. That game is slated to begin at 7 p.m.

Elmwood/Plum City routs Colfax 48-18 The Elmwood/Plum City Wolves earned a 48-18 victory at home against Colfax on Friday, Sept. 30, and improved to 5-2 overall and 4-1 in the Dunn-St. Croix Conference.

It was another week of ouensive brilliance for the Wolves, especially senior running back Trevor Ash- er. The Wolves' first-half scoring barrage included 42 points, including a couple of touchdown passes through the air, which head coach Mike Birtzer has been working to implement for weeks.

Those passing plays came from junior Aaden Birtzer, who finished the game with two completions on three attempts for 55 yards and two passing touchdowns. Having the passing game be a viable weapon for the Wolves completely changes the entirety of the ouense, as it will give the rushing attack more room to operate.

The aforementioned se- nior standout Asher finished the game with 14 carries for 266 yards and four rushing touchdowns, which helped secure Elmwood/Plum City's fifth win of the season. Junior running back Blake Allen finished as the Wolves' second-leading rusher with three carries for 59 yards and a touchdown.

Up next for the Wolves is a road game against the Turtle Lake Lakers. That game is scheduled for Friday, Oct.

7, at 7 p.m.

Baldwin-Woodville blows out Prescott 49-0 It was another tough week for the Prescott Cardinals football team, which got beat 49-0 on the road against Baldwin-Woodville on Friday, Sept. 30. That blowout marks the fourth consecutive defeat for the Cardinals in Middle Border Conference play.

The Baldwin-Woodville Blackhawks wasted no time getting out to an early lead against Prescott. Senior quarterback Mason Werner got the Blackhawks’ scoring going with a five-yard touch down run less than four min- utes into the first quarter to make it 7-0, Baldwin-Woodville.

After Prescott’s quick ouensive series, Bald win-Woodville got the ball back and almost immediately scored. This time it was senior running back Logan Gordon who broke free for a 17-yard touchdown scamper that made it 14-0.

Three minutes later, Gordon struck again with a short touchdown rush to make it 21-0, and then Werner threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Sean Van Someren to cap ou the 28-point first quarter for Baldwin-Woodville.

By the time the second quarter had started, the game had long been decided. Baldwin- Woodville piled on an additional 21 points in the second quarter to make it 49-0 before pulling nearly all of its starters in the second half.

In the defeat, Prescott’s ouense accumulated only 65 total yards and didn’t manage to get in the endzone.

Sophomore running back Barrett Temmers led the way for Prescott as he tallied 57 yards on 14 carries. Prescott drops to 2-5 overall and 1-4 in Middle Border Conference action.

Up next for the Cardinals is a home game against the 6-1 Ellsworth Panthers in the annual Hwy. 10 rivalry game on Friday, Oct. 7. That game is slated to begin at 7 p.m.