GAME OF THE WEEK (Sept. 26–Oct. 2)

PREP FOOTBALL: Potosi/Cassville 21, #2 Bangor 6

CASSVILLE — Coming into this season, Potosi/Cassville football coach Mark Siegert had a good idea of just what his team was capable of. 

It wasn’t until last Friday night that his co-op team lived up to those expectations, beating defending WIAA Division 7 state champion Bangor 21–6 in non-conference action.

The win gives coach Siegert’s squad an overall record of 5–2, and goes a long ways when it comes to seeding for the WIAA playoff field.

Bangor (6–1, 3–0 Scenic Bluffs Conference) came into Friday night’s contest with the state’s longest active wining streak of 20 games. They were also ranked second in the D7 state rankings by the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association, and hadn’t lost a regular-season contest since 2013.

 All that changed last Friday night under the lights at Cassville High School, where the co-op team celebrated the first of two consecutive homecoming weeks.

“This showed what we are capable of when we bring a ton of energy on every single snap,” said coach Siegert. “Not that we haven’t played with energy, this was just at a different level. We amped it up quite a bit, and it was great to see.

“We just played with a tremendous amount of energy all night. The kids were really focused.”

The Cardinals came into Friday night’s contest averaging 39 points per game, while allowing an average of just 6.2 points per contest to their first six opponents.

Bangor’s strength coming into the game had been their ability to run the ball on offense with an average of 340 rushing yards per game, and their ability to stop the run on defense, allowing an average of just 64.8 rushing yards per contest.

On Friday night, the Cardinals were limited to just 180 yards rushing on 52 attempts, for an average of 3.5 yards per attempt. On the flip side, Potosi/Cassville rushed for 280 yards on 42 attempts for an average of 6.7 yards per attempt.

“In terms of game planning, the kids just executed everything we were talking about, and the adjustments that we needed to make, they made them,” said Siegert. “They just did a great job of following through with everything that we asked them to do. In terms of just execution and being there for each other, it was a great night.”

After a scoreless first quarter by both teams, Bangor took a 6–0 lead midway through the second quarter on a one-yard TD run by Carter Horstman.

Horstman led the Cardinals with 151 yard and one TD on 26 carries, while no one else on the team had more than 20 yards rushing.

Just before the first half had come to an end, Potosi/Cassville took a 7–6 lead on a 28-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Will Bierman to tight end Mason Infield, while Cyrus Siegert added the extra-point kick.

The second half belonged to the Chieftains, who not only held the Cardinals scoreless, but also got a 10-yard TD run from senior Colin Esser in the third quarter, and a four-yard TD run by Bierman in the fourth, while Siegert added both extra-point kicks.

Esser finished the game with 103 yards and one TD on 15 carries, while senior teammate Ty Bausch had 100 yards on 15 carries. Ben Udelhofen chipped in 67 yards on seven rushing attempts, while Bierman had 10 yards on five attempts.

Through the air, Bierman completed 3 of 8 passing attempts for one TD, one interception and 50 yards.

Infield had one reception for a 28-yard score, while Brady Curtis had one catch for 18 yards and Ben Udelhofen one catch for five yards.

Defensively, the Chieftains were without Siegert, their leading tackler, who was limited to kicking duties Friday night while nursing an injury.

Leading the team in tackles on Friday was Bausch with 19, while Ben Udelhofen had 17, Jaydon Carbone 14, Kaleb Hauk 13 and Colin Esser 12. Carbone also had a team-high three sacks, while Ryan Kruser had the team’s only interception.

“A lot of kids stepped up and were able to fill that void as far as getting to the ball,” said coach Siegert. “They just did a fabulous job all night long.

“Really everybody had a hand in doing something that would have prevented plays from gaining big yardage. We had some kids that were able to make some really crucial solo tackles from the backside, or they were staying home on counters. I can think of a play that every single kid made.”

NEXT: With their next two games being played against Belmont (1–6) and Kickapoo/La Farge (0–6) coach Siegert hopes to get his team healthy, where they are 100 percent going into the playoffs.

If Friday night is any indication of what to expect from the Chieftains come playoff time, fans might want to prepare for the colder weather that comes in early and mid November.

“We knew this was going to be an important game in terms of playoff seeding, and also in terms of giving us momentum. To beat an elite program and an elite team like this, really gives us a lot of momentum going forward,” Siegert said.

Potosi/Cassville 21, #2 Bangor 6

(from Friday, Sept. 28 @ Cassville)

Bangor 0 6 0 0 —   6

Potosi/Cassville 0 7 7 7 — 21

Second quarter

B: Carter Horstman 1 run (run failed), 6:55

P/C: Mason Infield 28 pass from Will Bierman (Cy Siegert kick), 6:55

Third quarter

P/C: Colin Esser 10 run (Siegert kick), 6:58

Fourth quarter

P/C: Bierman 4 run (Siegert kick), 0:46

Team statistics

First downs — B: 9, P/C n/a. Rushing – B 52-180, P/C n/a. Passing (comp-att-int, yards) — B 1-4-1, 29, P/C 1-1-0, 28. Fumbles-lost – B 0-0, P/C 0-0. Penalties-yards — B 6-55, P/C 0-0. 

Individual Leaders 

Rushing — B: Carter Horstman 26-151; P/C: . Passing — B: Trevor Jones 1-4-1, 29; Will Bierman 1-1-0, 28. Receiving — B: Brayden Horstman 1-129; P/C: Mason Infield 1-28. Tackles — P/C: Ty Bausch 19, Ben Udelhofen 17, Jaydon Carbone 14, Kaleb Hauk 13, Esser 12.