MCDONALD'S SWNEWS4U.COM GAME OF THE WEEK (Sept. 8–15)
SWAL FOOTBALL: Benton/Scales Mound/Shullsburg 31, D6 #8 Fennimore 28, 2 OT
By Casey Lindecrantz, Tri-County Press

Russell, Knights boot Golden Eagles in double overtime
FENNIMORE — Benton/Scales Mound/Shullsburg just proved they needed to be respected yet again following a 31-28 double-overtime win at Division 6’s #8-ranked team, Fennimore last Friday night.

For the Knights’ head coach, Erik Kudroniwicz, the key to beating the Golden Eagles came down to the battle at the line of scrimmage.

“We felt all week that we could win up front and dominate the lines of scrimmage,” he said. “In a matchup like this, the game usually comes down to which team can win that. I felt our team was physical, decisive, and fundamental from the beginning of the game.”

BSMS (3–1, 2–0 SWAL) got started on the right foot following a Brady Ubersox 58-yard touchdown rush complimented by a successful Maddux Russell PAT in the second period. Then Fennimore (3–1, 0–1) put up three unanswered scores, to close the first half and prevent a scoreless third quarter from both squads.

“We controlled the game — the first half of action, and most of the second half,” Kudronowicz said. “We had to limit the Fennimore ground game, and we definitely did that, outgunning them 408–110. We had to make them one dimensional. They hit us with one huge completion in the second half, which went 77 yards for a touchdown. Otherwise, we made them work for everything they got, and that was only three first downs in the entire second half and overtime.”

Thankfully, the Knights got to work on closing the gap in the fourth quarter. Connor Doyle capped a drive with a 1-yard rushing score, followed later by a Brayden Kilcoyne 21-yard receiving touchdown. Russell went 1-for-2 on PAT’s, leaving a 20–20 tie on the scoreboard. BSMS even got a chance to end the game ahead of an overtime period with a Russell field goal attempt, but a penalty nixed that opportunity.

“We got the ball back with three minutes to go and 70 yards on the field,” Kudronowicz said. “We used our 2-minute offense to drive down the field. We got the ball to the 10 with 15 seconds to go and had a play for Matthew Duerr to run in for the game-winning touchdown. Cooper Imhoff for Fennimore dove and tripped him up in a game-saving effort.”

“With the clock counting down, we spiked the ball with five seconds left to kick the game-winning field goal from the 15-yard line,” he added. “We had our tee back on the bench and had a coach run it onto the field to get it to our players. In this situation, we were flagged for having a coach on the field. We were backed up 15 yards, and ran a final play — a pass into the end zone — that fell incomplete. It was an unfortunate situation, but the team rallied in overtime with excellent play.”

The Knights came into the first overtime period with the starting possession and leaned on Ubersox to close a 7-play drive with a 1-yard rush. They were also successful on a 2-point attempt through the air from Duerr to Kilcoyne to take a 28–20 lead. The Golden Eagles punched back, scoring in five plays and matching BSMS with a 2-point conversion.

Fennimore’s attempt to put the Knights on their heels with a score in a second overtime period was thwarted as Duerr picked off a throw. Soon after, Russell was called upon to seal the game with a field goal, which ended the matchup.

“I loved the toughness and gritty fight of this group in the fourth quarter and two overtimes,” Kudronowicz said. “We found ways to get stronger as the game moved along, and get more stingy on defense. Getting to overtime was important, but winning the game was one of the biggest wins in recent Knights history. This win really sets up the rest of our season, and what this team can accomplish.”

Connor Doyle had a team-high 24 carries that he took for 157 yards and one score, though Ubersox’s 20 carries for 159 yards and two touchdowns was more efficient. Duerr led from under center, completing 9-of-13 attempts for 100 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions. His most effective target was Kilcoyne (3 rec, 47 yds, 1 TD), though Gaige Stocks (2 rec, 27 yds) and Doyle (2 rec, 22 yds) were both critical in the passing game.

“One area this team needs to improve on is ball security and playing clean football,” Kudronowicz said. “Two first half mistakes in a dropped punt by our punter, and a kick return mistake led to the Golden Eagles’ 14 rist half points. Our offense and defense were good enough to shut Fennimore out, but mistakes led to us being down for most of the game.”

BSMS will next take a break from conference play as it travels to Dodgeville Friday night. The Dodgers are 2–2 following a 24–0 shutout at River Valley on Sept. 11.

Benton/SM/Shulls 31, Fennimore 28 (2 OT)

(from Friday, Sept. 11 @ Fennimore)

Benton/SM/Shull....0 7 0 13 8 3 — 31

Fennimore..............0 14 6 0 8 0 — 28

Second quarter

BSMS: Brady Ubersox 58 run (Maddux Russell kick), 10:14

F: Reece Kelley 2 run (Axel Hernandez kick), 2:44

F: Cooper Imhoff 4 pass from Sheckler (kick failed), 0:17

Third quarter

F: Gianni Filardo 77 pass from Sheckler (Hernandez kick), 6:04

Fourth quarter

BSMS: Connor Doyle 1 run (Russell kick), 10:54

BSMS: Brayden Kilcoyne 21 pass from Duerr (kick failed), 6:11

Overtime

BSMS: Ubersox run (Kilcoyne pass from Duerr)

F: Gianni Filardo 8 pass from Sheckler (Filardo pass from Sheckler)

Double Overtime

BSMS: FG Russell 24

Team statistics

First downs — BSMS 11, F 26. Rushing – BSMS 60-408, F 22-40. Passing (comp-att-int, yards) — BSMS 9-14-0, 100; F 7-18-0, 129. Fumbles-lost – BSMS 3-2, F 0-0. Penalties — BSMS 6-64, F 12-84.

Individual Leaders

Passing — BSMS: Matthew Dueerr 9-13-0, 100; F: Jack Sheckler 13-23-1 174. Rushing — BSMS: Brady Ubersox 20-159, Connor Doyle 24-157, Duerr 12-83; F: Reece Kelley 17-79, Colton Tollefson 2-18, Logan Koestler 2-14, Sheckler 4-6. Receiving — BSMS: Brayden Kilcoyne 3-47, Gaige Stocks 2-27, Doyle 2-22; F: Gianni Filardo 6-119, Cooper Imhoff 3-19, Rowan Kinney 1-13, Koestler 1-13, Grant Biba 1-9, Tollefson 1-1. Tackles — F: Tollefson 17, Imhoff 9, Brayden Washburn 9 (2 TFL), Tagan Dresen 6 (1 TFL), Reid Stalsberg 6, Waylon Miles 6. Interceptions — F: none.