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
Sam Lundell, Sr., WR/DB, Iowa–Grant football
The Iowa–Grant Panthers pulled off another stunning comeback Friday night. Iowa–Grant pulled out a thrilling 34–30 Homecoming victory over River Ridge when senior Sam Lundell turned a short pass from junior Brock Hinderman into an incredible game-winning 44-yard touchdown catch with 1:03 left in the game.
Lundell caught a quick hitch rout near the Panthers’ sideline and slipped the diving tackle attempt of River Ridge junior Noah Copsey near the 40-yard line.
He then spun through an arm tackle by safety Reese Drew near the 20-yard line, broke free of junior Aaren Bedward at the 15 and high stepped his way across the goalline to avoid a diving Cody Mezera as the home fans erupted with delight.
Hinderman added the two-point conversion run to make it 34–28. Two plays later IG junior nose tackle Calvin McHone intercepted a tipped pass at the Panthers’ 44-yard-line with 44 seconds left.
Ridge (3–4, 2–3 Six Rivers) used all three of its timeouts following a kneel down, a QB sneak, and a 4-yard run by sophomore Cole Schauff.
With 26.5 seconds left, Hinderman took the fourth down snap and ran from his own 38 all the way back to his own end zone, then raced from the far side of the field back toward the near side, running more than 20 seconds off the clock before being tackled in the end zone for a two-point safety, making it 34–30.
With 6.3 seconds left, River Ridge returned the ensuing free kick from its own 20-yard-line to the IG 36, but only time for one more play remained. Brandon Davis’ Hail Mary reached the end zone but Lundell batted it away to preserve the victory.
Lundell finished the game with a career-high 10 catches for 137 yards and 3 TDs, and nine tackles on defense.
“Sam was incredible on Friday night,” said Link. “River Ridge did a really nice job tracking Landon (Friesen) and bracketing him and pretty much doing everything under the sun to keep him from getting the ball. Sam has been here all year though, and when you take that much focus off him, he will make you pay. I thought Owen Wyatt, Ty Cutts, and Jonah Wetter had nice night as well, and the offensive line held up extremely well; not to mention Cole Schauff kept our run game going efficiently.”
Lundell scored the game’s first TD on a 17-yard pass on the opening drive, then after River Ridge’s Preson Gage returned the next kickoff for an 84-yard touchdown, Lundell scored again on a 15-yard pass from Hinderman.
Frisen, who was held to just one catch for 27 yards in the game, sniffed out a WR screen pass and returned the interception for a 30-yard TD with just 1:07 left in the second quarter to give IG a 20–16 halftime lead.
HONORABLE MENTION (in alphabetical order)
Maddie Driscoll, So., Lancaster cross country
Driscoll continued to dominate the course, finishing first out of 170 runners at last Saturday's 57th annual Dick McKichan Platteville Invitational. Driscoll's winning time of 18:48.0 beat Tri-State Homeschool junior Ruah Franzmann-Simmert (18:51.1) and Mount Horeb freshman Isla Odgers (18:51.6) and helped the Lancaster girls (53) finish second in the small schools division behind Darlington (30).
Fennimore girls cross country team
Juniors Natalie Horsfall (2nd, 19:48.5) and Kiera Kartman (4th, 20:28.5), senior Kylee Mumm (6th, 20:47.7) and junior Kate Kenney (8th, 21:03.3) each ran to top-10 finishes in to lead the Fennimore Golden Eagles (43) to the Division 3 girls team title at last Friday's Green Lake Nightfall Classic.
Cullen Jacobus, Sr., QB/LB, North Crawford
Jacobus rushed for a game-high 131 yards and 2 touchdowns on nine carries, completed 7 of 8 passes for 91 yards and 2 TDs, and recorded five tackles in the #4 Trojans' 50–8 victory over Highland last Friday night.
Darian Jackson, Jr., RB/DB, Prairie du Chien football
Jackson rushed for a career-high 238 yards and 3 touchdowns on 39 carries, and made seven tackles to lead the Blackhawks (4–3, 4–1 SWC) to a 36–28 upset victory over No. 5 New Glarus last Friday night.
Maddy Kabat, Sr., OH, Mineral Point volleyball
Kabat posted a solid double-double of 12 kills and 17 digs, also with 3 aces and 20 service receptions (all team highs) to lead the Division 3 #8-ranked Pointers (29–4, 5–0 SWAL) to a 30–28, 25–21, 25–18 sweep of second-place Fennimore (25–8, 3–2) last Thursday night. Kabat then led Point to a 4–1 third-place finish at last Saturday's eight-team La Crosse Aquinas Tournament, which included a rematch 2–0 win over Fennimore in the third place match.
Tyler Kisamore, Sr., RB/LB, Belmont football
Kisamore rushed for 152 yards and 2 touchdowns, including the game-winning 4-yard run in overtime, in the #8 Braves' 36–28 OT victory over De Soto last Friday night. Kisamore also caught two passes for 33 yards and a third score, and recorded a team-high 12 tackles in the win.
Lucas Klein, Sr., QB, River Valley football
Klein completed 11 of 15 passes for 158 yards and 3 touchdowns, and made four tackles on defense to lead #9-ranked River Valley to a 28–26 win at Platteville last Friday night. The Blackhawks (6–1, 5–0 SWC) took sole possession of first place after New Glarus (6–1, 4–1) fell to Prairie du Chien, 36–28 last week. #8 River Valley will host #9 New Glaurs this Friday with the SWC title on the line.
Wyatt Temperly, Sr., QB, Belmont football
Temperly completed 13 of 21 passes for 154 yards and 3 touchdowns in Belmont's 36–28 overtime victory over De Soto last Friday night.
