EDITOR'S NOTE: The Swnews4u.com Athlete of the Week is a web-only feature that will publish each Thursday or Friday throughout the calendar year.

By Jason Nihles, The Platteville Journal / Fennimore Times / Boscobel Dial

Tyler Kisamore, Sr., RB/LB, Belmont football
BELMONT — Belmont's Tyler Kisamore was a jack of all trades Saturday to keep his teams season alive.

The senior running back/linebacker/kick returner piled up 350 yards all-purpose yards, scored four TDs and made a team-high 17 tackles to lead the No. 4 seeded Braves to a 44–32 comeback victory over No. 5 De Soto last Saturday in the first round of the WIAA 8-Player football playoffs.

Kismore finished the day with 144 yards rushing and four touchdowns on 25 carries, caught two passes for 62 yards and returned five kickoffs for another 144 yards to propel Belmont's comeback from a 24–12 halftime deficit. He was also the lead of the Braves' defense with a career-high 17 tackles to help hold the Pirates (5–3) to just eight points in the second half.

Kismore scored three times after halftime as the Braves outscored the Pirates 32–18 in the final 24 minutes of play to advance to face No. 1 seed Oakfield (9–0) this Friday night.

"Tyler is a phenomenal player and leader for our team," said Belmont head coach Brandon Wiese. "He has a motor on both sides of the ball that never quits which is a big piece of our success last week and this season." 

Belmont (8–1) opened the third quarter with the ball, and the offensive effort started slow as it tried to make strides against a restrictive defense. The Pirates even picked off Temperly a few plays into the quarter, but a holding penalty against them landed the ball back in the Braves’ hands. 

Before long, Kisamore’s arms wrapped around the ball as he punched in a 10-yard touchdown run to pull Belmont within four points at 24–20, , and after a successful two-point conversion.

De Soto didn’t look the same to the final whistle, either. Senior Boone Havens made perhaps the play of the game when he snatched and interception at Belmont’s 5-yard line and returned it for a 95-yard touchdown run, which gave the Braves a 28–24 lead late in the third quarter. The defensive touchdown forced the only lead change of the game, and the Braves did not look back. 

Kisamore scored on a 35-yard run early in the fourth quarter, then after a 22-yard TD pass by De Soto, put the nail in the coffin with a 12-yard touchdown run late in the game. Another successful Belmont two-point try (the Braves' fourth of the second half) provided the final 44–32 margin of victory.

Kisamore also had a 9-yard touchdown run in early in the second quarter to tie the game at 12–12.

“It certainly was a back-and-forth game of big momentum plays,” said Wiese. “Our goal going in was to be as disciplined as possible and lead the turnover ratio. We were able to win the turnover battle, but our discipline was challenged in the first half.

“I am just proud of this group for buying into each other and earning an opportunity in the postseason, as well as a chance to keep going. They put in a lot of time in the offseason as a group to work our program back to the postseason, so for that to become a reality is a good feeling overall.”

HONORABLE MENTION (in alphabetical order)
Adalee Berget, Sr., Darlington girls cross country
Berget zoomed to her second career individual conference title with a winning-time of 19:07.0 (46.4 seconds faster than runner-up Maci Reichmann of Southwestern/Benton) to lead the Darlington girls to a second-straight team title at last Thursday's SWAL Championship Meet at Cuba City's Cole Acres Golf Course.

Liam Carey, Sr., QB/DB/K, Mineral Point football
Carey booted a 19-yard field goal on the final play of the game to lead Mineral Point to a 39–36 comeback victory over visiting Fennimore last Friday night. Carey also threw a 22-yard TD pass to Bryce Vamstad with 2:02 left in the game, then complete a two-point conversion pass to Brett Bosert to tie the game at 36–36. Four plays after Fennimore botched a punt attempt and turned the ball over on downs at their own 5-yard-line, Carey kicked the game-winner. Carey finished the night 11 of 20 for 141 yards with one TD, rushed for 116 yards and 2 TDs on 22 carries, and kicked four extra points. 

Owen Drier, Fr., Richland Center/Ithaca boys cross country
Drier's individual conference title (15:53.6) led the Richland Center/Ithaca boys (32) to a SWC title over Dodgeville/Mineral Point (45) at last Thursday's SWC Championship Meet at UW–Platteville. The Hornets had four of the top nine finishers, and all seven of their varsity runners finished in the top 18.

Maddie Driscoll, So., and Kylie Olmstead, Lancaster girls cross country
Driscoll (19:19.5) and Olmstead (19:49.4) finished first and second individually (out of 59 runners) to lead the Lancaster girls to the team title at last Thursday's SWC Cross Country Championships at UW–Platteville.

Darian Jackson, Jr., RB/LB, Prairie du Chien football
Jackson rushed for 140 yards and 5 TDs on 26 carries, and recorded three tackles to lead Prairie du Chien (6–3, 6–1 SWC) to a 50–30 victory at Richland Center, which clinched a share of this year's SWC title with New Glarus (8–1, 6–1). 

Beau Podnar, Sr., QB/DB, Black Hawk/Warren football
Podnar completed 3 of 7 passes for 83 yards and 2 TDs, rushed for 84 yards and a three score on 11 carries, and made a team-high 12 tackles to lead the D7 #3 Warriors (9–0, 7–0 SRC) to a 28–21 victory over #2-ranked Potosi/Cassville (8–1, 6–1), which lifted Black Hawk/Warren to the Six Rivers title.

Josh Richardson, So., Southwestern/Benton boys cross country
Richardson won the boys' individual title at last Thursday's SWAL Cross Country Championships with a winning-time of 16:56.3. Richardson's Wildcats only had four runners, so they could not compete for a team title.

Bobby Schmidt, Fr., Fennimore boys cross country
Schmidt finished third out of 84 runners in the boys’ race with a team-best time of 17:33.3 to lead the Golden Eagles to the conference title at last Thursday's SWAL Championship Meet. Schmidt earned a spot on the 15-runner Boys All-SWAL first team. He was joined by senior teammates Griffin Fry (17:54.2) and Orlando Bonilla (18:29.3), who finished ninth and 12th respectively, as well as freshman Avery Hrubes, who finished 14th at 18:31.5.

Brylie Zink, Jr., Setter, Fennimore volleyball
Fennimore's two-year starting setter passed out her 1,000th career assist at the La Crosse Aquinas Invitational Saturday, Oct. 4. Zink was recognized for her achievement at Fennimore's final home match, a 3–0 sweep of Riverdale on Oct. 9. Zink and the Golden Eagles (28–11, 4–3 SWAL) earned a No. 1 seed in their WIAA Division 4 half sectional and had a first-round bye when the playoffs began Tuesday night.

Zeke Zuberbuhler, Jr., QB/LB, Darlington football
Zuberhbuhler completed 13 of 16 passes for 131 yards and 2 TDs, and rushed for a team-high 84 yards and another score to lead the undefeated Redbirds (10–0, 7–0) to a 42–21 victory over second-place Belleville (5–4, 5–2) in last Friday's regular season finale. Darlington clinched the SWAL title with the win.