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MCDONALD'S GAME OF THE WEEK (WIAA Football D6 playoffs): Highland 19, Potosi 13
Highland wins on fumble recovery in the end zone on final play
Highland
Highland recovered a pair of Potosi/Cassville fumbles in the final two minutes to earn a 19–13 victory over the host Chieftains in a WIAA Division 6 Level 2 playoff football game last Thursday night. - photo by A.J. Gates
A.J. Gates
Published: Nov 25, 2020, 9:49 PM

MCDONALD'S SWNEWS4U.COM GAME OF THE WEEK (Nov. 18–25)
WIAA FOOTBALL DIVISION 6 LEVEL 2 PLAYOFF: Highland 19, Potosi/Cassville 13

POTOSI — What turned out to be one of the most bizarre football seasons in recent history, ended with two of the most bizarre minutes for the Potosi/Cassville football team Thursday night.

In a playoff game destined for overtime between two evenly matched teams, a single snap of the ball determined who would finish their season in celebration, and who would not.

Unfortunately for coach Mark Siegert’s co-op team, the season ended with a heartbreaking 19–13 loss to the visiting Cardinals of Highland.

Potosi/Cassville concluded the season with an overall record of 5–3, while Highland finished 8–0 with the second-round playoff win. 

“It kind of mimics the other two losses that we’ve had this season,” said Siegert. “We lost in the last 37 seconds at Highland in Week 4, then in Week 6 there were seven seconds left when we lost to Darlington, and then no time left in this loss against Highland. There were a total of 44 seconds to determine wins and losses, which turned out to be three losses. You do this long enough and I guess that kind of stuff will happen.”

The WIAA made the decision to end the playoffs after Level 2 for all schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the late start to the season.

The two teams played to a 7–7 tie in the first half with the Chieftains getting a 21-yard TD pass from Levi Groom to Robby Roe, capping off a 51-yard scoring drive for the home team. Roman Friederick added the extra point kick with 6:49 to play in the second quarter.

Highland answered late in the quarter with a 5-yard TD run by Cal Dorota and an extra point kick by Maximus Oleson with just 36 seconds to play in the opening half.

The two teams traded scores in the third quarter as well, Highland getting a 12-yard TD run from Owyn Halverson on their first offensive possession of the half, but missing the extra point kick.

With just 59 seconds showing on the third quarter clock, Potosi/Cassville answered with a 16-yard TD pass from Groom to Roe to cap off a 61-yard scoring drive, but like the Cardinals, missed the extra-point kick.

The two teams went into the fourth quarter knotted at 13–13, and both came up with huge defensive stops in the final two minutes.

With possession of the ball late in the fourth quarter, Potosi/Cassville looked poised to take a late lead, and on seven plays moved the ball inside Highland’s five-yard line.

Faced with 4th-and-1 from the four-yard line, the Chieftains fumbled the ball away, which was recovered by Highland with 1:50 to play in the contest.

With momentum now on their side, the Cardinals then marched the ball 94 yards on 15 plays down to the Potosi/Cassville 1-yard line, where they were faced with 4th-and-goal with just seconds remaining in regulation.

Coach Siegert’s defensive squad came up with a huge goal-line stand to preserve a 13–13 tie with only two seconds left.

Taking over at their own 1-yard line, the Chieftains were just one snap away from sending the game into overtime.

“We felt great,” said coach Siegert of his team’s defensive stop. “Momentum was clearly on our side. But we were so far down there that we couldn’t take a knee. There were other options there, but I thought we could just run a QB sneak.”

That’s when disaster struck.

On the very next snap, the ball got away from Groom and rolled into the end zone, where it was recovered by Highland defensive lineman Gabe Benish with no time on the clock.

“It was just an errant snap,” said Siegert. “It was one of those things that we probably didn’t do all year during practice or in a game, and it happened to be then.”

Following 48 minutes of hard-fought football between two evenly matched teams, it all came down to the final snap of the game, leaving one team in jubilation, and the other in heartbreak.

“I feel especially bad for the seniors, who can’t use this as motivation throughout the offseason or anything,” said Siegert. “It’s just there to sting for the rest of their life really.

Groom completed 6-of-11 passing attempts for 150 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

Both scores were caught by Robby Roe, who finished with four receptions for 87 yards. Sam Udelhofen hauled in the other two passes for 63 yards.

On the ground, the Chieftains managed 159 yards on 39 attempts (4.1 avg.). They were led by Tucker Leibfried and Preston Steiner who each gained 40 yards, Leibfried on 11 carries and Steiner on four. 

Defensively for the Chieftains, Owen Vosberg was in on a team-high 18 tackles to go along with 1.5 sacks, while Connor McKillip had eight tackles. Cody Klein and Logan Uppena were each in on seven tackles, while Brayden Edge had one sack.

Coming up with the team’s only interception was Sam Udelhofen, who also recovered a fumble, while Preston Steiner forced the fumble.

While coach Siegert’s squad concluded the season with an overall record of 5–3, he is grateful his team got as many games in as they did, considering the circumstances during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We got eight games in this year, which is more than a lot of teams,” said Siegert. “I can’t imagine them not being able to experience this year, because there were a lot of great things that these kids did and a lot of memories that were made. To not have that opportunity would have been tough for these guys. I’m really grateful that we were able to get our season in now, and keep it pretty normal.”


WIAA Division 6 Level 2 Playoff
Highland 19, Potosi/Cassville 13
(from Thursday, Nov. 19 @ Potosi)
Highland 0 7 6 6 —  19
Potosi/Cassville 0 7 6 0 —  13
Second quarter
P/C: Robby Roe 21 pass from Levi Groom (Roman Friederick kick), 6:49
H: Cal Dorota 5 run (Max Oleson kick), 0:36
Third quarter
H: Owyn Halverson 12 run (kick failed), 8:33
P/C: Roe 16 pass from Groom (kick failed), 0:59
Fourth quarter
H: Gabe Benish fumble recovery in the end zone, 0:00
Team statistics
First downs — H 14, P/C 15. Rushing – H 37-115, P/C 39-159. Passing (comp-att-int, yards) — H 11-23-1, 169; P/C 6-11-1, 150. Fumbles–lost — H 1-1, P/C 2–2. Penalties-yards — H 6-35, P/C 5-50. 
Individual Leaders
Rushing — H: Owyn Halverson 22-125, Cal Dorota 4-9, Max Oleson 1-4, Justin Miller 8-(-21); P/C: Preston Steiner 4-40, Tucker Leibfried 11-40, Connor McKillip 7-29, Roman Friederick 8-29, Levi Groom 7-20, Sam Udelhofen 2-1. Passing — H: Justin Miller 11-23-1, 169; P/C: Levi Groom 6-11-1, 150. Receiving — H: Max Oleson 4-90, Cal Dorota 4-38, Isaac Michek 1-31; P/C: Robby Roe 5-87, Sam Udelhofen 2-63. Tackles — P/C: Owen Vogelsberg 18, Connor McKillp 8, Cody Klein 7, Logan Udelhofen 7.
MCDONALD'S SWNEWS4U GAME OF THE WEEK (Track & Field): SWAL Conference Championship Meet
Fennimore sweeps SWAL track and field titles
Fennimore champs
The Fennimore boys and girls track and field teams hoist the SWAL championship plaque high for all to see after winning both team titles at Monday’s SWAL Conference Championship Meet in Boscobel. It was the Fennimore girls third consecutive conference title and the boys second straight. (photo by John Linden)
Updated: May 22, 2025, 7:14 PM
Published: May 22, 2025, 6:36 PM

MCDONALD'S SWNEWS4U.COM GAME OF THE WEEK (May 13–20)
TRACK AND FIELD: SWAL Conference Championship Meet

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

Fennimore sweeps SWAL track and field titles
BOSCOBEL — Following Monday’s SWAL Track & Field Championships Meet, members of the Fennimore boys and girls track and field teams posed together at midfield for a team photo.

Triumphantly raising the SWAL championship plaque, both Golden Eagle teams were commemorating their second straight sweep of the conference track and field titles. 

The Fennimore girls won five evens and scored 145 points to capture their third consecutive conference title. The host Bulldogs finished a distant second with 113 points, while Cuba City (97) finished third in the girls’ standings

The Fennimore boys shined even brighter, winning nine events and scoring 165 points to win their second straight SWAL Conference Championship meet. The Golden Eagles needed every victory and every point to hold off a strong Cuba City team, which finished just 12 points back at 157. The Darlington boys finished third with 82 points.

Fennimore senior Isaac Henkel was named the Male Athlete of the Meet, while sophomore Brooklyn Ritchie took home the Female Athlete of the Meet honor. Henkel, a three-year WIAA State qualifier won the boys 400 in 50.94 seconds, and 800 in 2:05.56, and also ran the third leg of Fennimore’s winning 4x400 relay, combining with senior Matt Winch and sophomores Logan Koestler and Reece Kelley to post a time of 3:38.43.

Junior Madden Crubel also had a spectacular meet for the Eagles, contributing 30.5 teams points by winning boys’ shot put (52’4), discus (144’0”) and 4x100 relay, while placing second in the 100-meter-dash (11.58) behind sophomore teammate Jakob Kretschman (11.39).

Crubel and Kretschman teamed with Kelley and senior Brandon Seitz to capture gold in the 4x100 with a winning time of 44.85 seconds. The same quartet broke their own school record in the 4x100 at last Friday’s Boscobel “Sparky” Reynolds Memorial Invitational on the very same track with a blazing time of 44.01.

Sophomore Brody Roth added 30 points to the FHS boys’ team title by winning the triple jump (42’10.25”) and 300-meter hurdles (43.55), finishing second in the 110-meter hurdles (17.54) and fourth in the high jump (5’6”).

Ritchie won scored 32.5 points to lead the Fennimore girls by winning the 100 (12.87), 200 (27.02), long jump (16’2”) and the 4x100 relay (53.15), along with junior Peyton Lendosky, sophomore Katie Nelson and freshman Lola Hahn.

Junior Rhiannon-Nelson Hahn scored a team-high 34 points by winning the triple jump (33’6”) and finishing second in the 100 hurdles (16.39), 300 hurdles (52.69) and the high jump (4’10”).

Lendosky finished second in the 100-meter-dash (13.35)  and long jump (15’9”), and fifth in the 200 (29.07). Sophomore Natalie Horsfall was the runner-up in the girls’ 800 meters at 2:28.65.

“It was great to achieve two conference championships with a 3-peat for the girls and repeat for the boys team,” said Fennimore head coach Gregg Davis. “Each athlete played their role to near perfection.”

Fennimore will return to action Tuesday at the WIAA Division 3 Kickapoo/La Farge Regional. The top four finishers in each event will advance to next Friday’s D3 Bangor Sectional.


SWAL Conference Meet
(from Monday, May 19 @ Boscobel)
(Boys)
Team scores — 1.Fennimore 169, 2.Cuba City 157, 3.Darlington 82, 4.Iowa–Grant 72, 5.Boscobel 43, 6.Southwestern 24, 7.Riverdale 4.
Fennimore top finishers (top 6)
100 — 1.Jakob Kretschman 11.39, 2.Madden Crubel 11.58. 200 — 2.Kretschman 23.30, 3.Brandon Seitz 24.11, 5.Grant Biba 24.66. 400 — 1.Isaac Henkel 50.94. 800 — 1.Henkel 2:05.56. 1,600 — 4.Ben Varela 4:55.86. 3,200 — 3.Varela 11:09.58. 110 hurdles — 2.Brody Roth 17.54. 300 hurdles — 1.Roth 43.55. 4x100 — 1.Fennimore (Crubel, Reece Kelley, Seitz, Kretschman) 44.85.  4x200 — 3.Fennimore (Logan Koestler, Seitz, Biba, Kelley) 1:36.95. 4x400 — 1.Fennimore (Koestler, Kelley, Henkel, Matt Winch) 3:38.43. 4x800 — 3.Fennimore (Varela, Orlando Bonilla, Teegan Griswold, Kobe Rosemeyer) 9:12.07. High jump — 3.Kretschman 5’8”, 4.Roth 5’6”, 6.Henkel J5’4”. Pole vault — 2.Winch J11’6”. Long jump — 4.Kelley 17’10.5”. Triple jump — 1.Roth 42’10.25”. Shot put — 52’4”. Discus — 1.Crubel 144’0”, 5.Winch 125’4”.
(Girls)
Team scores — 1.Fennimore 145, 2.Boscobel 113, 3.Cuba City 97, 4.Darlington 77, 5.Riverdale 60, 6.Iowa–Grant 33, 7.Southwestern 29.
Fennimore top finishers (top 6)
100 — 1.Brooklyn Ritchie 12.87, 2.Peyton Lendosky 13.35. 200 — 1.Ritchie 27.02, 4.Katie Nelson 28.16, 5.Lendosky 29.07. 400 — 4.Mayleigh Seitz 1:07.30, 5.Kamryn Loy 1:10.44. 800 — 2.Natalie Horsfall 2:28.65, 5.Keira Kartman 2:48.80. 1,600 — 5.Kartman 5:59.89. 100 hurdles — 2.Rhiannon Nelson-Hahn 16.39. 300 hurdles — 2.Nelson-Hahn 52.69. 4x100 — 1.Fennimore (Nelson, Lola Hahn, Lendosky, Ritchie) 53.15. 4x200 — 4.Fennimore (Eden Fry, Hahn, Trinity Boebel, Letecia Bonilla) 2:04.53. 4x400 — 3.Fennimore (Loy, Kaylie Czaplewski, Seitz, Horsfall) 4:30.23. 4x800 — 3.Fennimore (Horsfall, Czaplewski, Kartman, Kate Kenney) 11:04.17. High jump — 2.Nelson-Hahn 4’10”, 6.Kenney J4’6”. Pole vault — 3.Czaplewski J8’0”. Long jump — 1.Ritchie 16’2”, 2.Lendosky 15’9”. Triple jump — 1.Nelson-Hahn 33’6”. Shot put — 4.Nelson 30’6”. Discus — 4.Nelson 93’3”.