MCDONALD'S SWNEWS4U GAME OF THE WEEK (WIAA D7 Football): No. 2 River Ridge 25, No. 1 Cochrane–Fountain City 21

Timberwolves battles back to topple #1-ranked Pirates

The River Ridge football team beat #1-ranked Cochrane–Fountrain City 25–21 to win a WIAA Division 7 sectional title last Friday night. Coach Wade Winkers' Timberbwolves will face Glenwood City Friday at 7 p.m. in Chippewa Falls for a chance to play in next Thursday's WIAA D3 state championship game. - photo by A.J. Gates

River Ridge FB — The River Ridge football team beat #1-ranked Cochrane–Fountrain City 25–21 to win a WIAA Division 7 sectional title last Friday night. Coach Wade Winkers' Timberbwolves will face Glenwood City Friday at 7 p.m. in Chippewa Falls for a chance to play in next Thursday's WIAA D3 state championship game. - photo by A.J. Gates

MCDONALD'S SWNEWS4U.COM GAME OF THE WEEK (Nov. 2–9)
WIAA DIVISION 7 FOOTBALL: #2 River Ridge 25, #1 Cochrane–Fountain City 21
By A.J. Gates, Herald Independent

Timberwolves battles back to topple #1-ranked Pirates

FOUNTAIN CITY – Opponents be warned...

If you should ever cross paths with this year’s River Ridge football team, you’d better be physically and mentally prepared for a full 48-minute battle against a hungry pack of wolves, whose motto this season is “One Pack, One Mission.”

While that message may be a little too late for Cochrane-Fountain City, rest assured the Pirates certainly got the message loud and clear last Friday night.

On a frigid evening following a nearly three-hour bus ride, the Timberwolves extended their season into mid November with a 25-21 victory over C-FC, claiming a division 7 sectional title and a spot in this Friday night’s state semifinals.

For Cochrane-Fountain City (11-1) it was their first-and-only loss of the season, and ended any hopes of making a return trip to Camp Randall Stadium, where they finished as the D7 state runners-up a year ago.

Last Friday night’s victory, gave coach Winkers’ squad a season record of 11-1, which establishes a new program record for most wins in a single season.

The Timberwolves have been battle tested all season, and have faced their fare share of adversity over the course of a 12-game schedule, but as they have proven last Friday night, they still have a lot of gas left in the tank.

Going into Friday night’s sectional final, opponents of Cochrane-Fountain City had been limited to just 44 yards rushing on average and 150 yards of total offense.

Behind a dominating offensive line and a group of talented runners, the Timberwolves paid no mind to those numbers, finishing Friday night’s contest with 274 yards on the ground and 374 yards of total offense.

“I knew they had never seen anything like our offense, as far as the style, quickness and physicality,” said coach Winkers of C-FC’s defense. “And we’ve been tested in the Six Rivers all year with the teams we have to play. They probably haven’t been as tested in those moments, and haven’t played a full 48 minutes much.”

The River Ridge offense got right down to business on their opening possession, marching 66 yards in 13 plays to take an early 7-0 lead following a six-minute and 13-second scoring drive. Senior fullback Noah Copsey went the final one yard for the score, while sophomore Luke Wehrle added the extra-point kick.

Cochrane-Fountain City answered with a 10-play, 66-yard scoring drive on their first offensive possession, getting a 31-yard TD pass on fourth down in the final seconds of the first quarter. The extra-point kick evened things up at 7-7 with 46 seconds remaining on the clock.

On the ensuing kick off, River Ridge fumbled the return, which was recovered by the Pirates deep in the Timberwolves’ territory. C-FC used just two plays to take a 14-7 lead with five seconds remaining in the opening quarter.

To River Ridge’s credit, they did not flinch, they simply went back to work, putting together a five-play scoring drive that covered 62 yards on their very next possession.

Following three straight runs by Noah Copsey and a keeper by quarterback Blake Reynolds, a pass to senior Kameren Reynolds to the front corner of the end zone was ruled simultaneous possession, giving River Ridge the score with 9:43 to play in the second quarter. Wehrle’s extra-point kick sailed wide left, leaving C-FC with a lead of 14-13.

Before the first half had come to an end, C-FC had added to their lead on a 13-yard TD toss, to make it 21-13, and was turned away late in the half by a stout defensive stop by the Timberwolves to prevent any further damage.

“We gave up the two explosive plays on some missed communication, but I think on the D-line, we weren’t doing some things correctly in the first half, giving up some leverage to their left side with a left-handed quarterback,” said coach Winkers.

“We didn’t make any special adjustments as coaches. Defensively we just made a change with our alignment of our defensive tackles,” Winkers added.

The second half essentially belonged to River Ridge, who on defense pitched a 24-minute shutout, and on offense came up with two big scores in the fourth quarter to keep their season alive.

Despite being set up with a first-and-goal at the seven-yard line, a penalty and lost fumble prevented River Ridge from scoring late in the third quarter, but came back early in the fourth with a crucial scoring drive that covered 59 yards in nine plays.

A one-yard TD plunge by Noah Copsey pulled the Timberwolves to within 21-19 with 9:03 to play in the contest, and looking to even the score, a two-point passing attempt fell incomplete.

Following a crucial touchdown by the River Ridge offense, the defense then came up big, forcing a three-and-out to put the ball back into the hands of quarterback Blake Reynolds with 7:17 remaining in the contest and 75 yards to go.

With Blake Reynolds, Noah Copsey, Kameren Reynolds and Aaren Bedward each getting carries in the ensuing drive, it was a 28-yard TD pass to junior Preston Gage that gave River Ridge the lead with 2:58 to play.

Gage caught a beautiful ball from Blake Reynolds, thrown just over the reach of two C-FC defenders, and sprinted to the end zone for the go-ahead score. The two-point pass fell incomplete, but the damage had already been done.

With one last chance to change the narrative, C-FC began their final offensive drive at their own 34-yard line with 2:58 to play.

Pressure by the River Ridge defense, specifically Cael Koenig and Tony Hernandez, made it nearly impossible for quarterback Parker Kujak to find an open receiver, as he was sacked twice for substantial losses before the threat ended with an interception.

“Cael pretty much eliminated him from rolling out, and the immediate pressure from our D tackles and back-side pressure from the D end was outstanding,” said coach Winkers. “When they wanted to sit back and throw late in the game they were going to be in trouble.”

As for the play of Tony Hernandez, “He’s a tough one. He’s got great ball get-off, and a low center of gravity,” said coach Winkers. “He’s not easy to push around.”

A couple of knees taken in victory formation brought an end to Friday night’s contest and the start of a jubilant River Ridge celebration.

Make no mistake about it, this game was won in the trenches, where Tony Hernandez (C), Brogan Mezera (RT), Emery Simerson (LT), Landon Udelhofen (RG) and Mason Mezera (LG) paved the way for River Ridges stable of talented running backs.

“We dominated the line of scrimmage,” said coach Winkers. “I thought our offensive line played incredible, and the defensive line as well. They were giving us some creases that we were fortunate to have.”

Senior fullback Noah Copsey finished the night with a team-high 150 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 23 carries. He enters this week’s state semifinal contest with 1,045 yards and 14 rushing touchdowns.

Halfbacks Aaren Bedward and Preston Gage combined for 43 yards on nine attempts, Gage rushing for 18 yards on six carries and Bedward for 25 yards on three.

With Copsey picking up yards on inside and outside veers, Bedward and Gage were particularly effective on counter plays when River Ridge needed a big play.

“When you run enough veer you can get that counter to go back against their defense,” explained Winkers.

Reynolds, who rushed for 65 yards on 15 attempts, also completed 7-of-10 passing attempts for 100 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

Kameren Reynolds led the receiving corps with three receptions for 55 yards, followed by Bedward with three receptions for 17 yards and Gage one reception for a 28-yard touchdown.

While accounting for 24 first downs to their opponent’s 12, River Ridge committed four penalties for 40 yards, lost two fumbles and one interception.

“Obviously we faced a lot of adversity there with the turnovers, but they didn’t flinch. There was no panic,” Winkers said of his squad. “We had a couple key penalties that put us behind the chains on a couple of spots. If those don’t happen I think we score a couple more touchdowns,” Winkers added. “The game was a little bit closer than maybe it should have been. Obviously it was exciting to finish it that way, but I would have rather had a two-touchdown lead at the end.”

Defensively the Timberwolves were led by Blake Reynolds, who had nine total tackles, and was followed by Koenig and Simerson with five each. Koenig also had a team-high two sacks, while Hernandez had one.

Coming away with one interception each were Lane Copsey and Aaren Bedward, while Koenig recovered one fumble.

Friday night’s division 7 state semifinal played at Chippewa Falls will pit River Ridge (11-1) against Glenwood City (11-1), who shared the Dunn-St. Croix conference title with Spring Valley. In their regular-season meeting, Glenwood City lost to Spring Valley, 28-14.

The Hilltoppers have a 1,237-yard rusher in senior Brock Wood, who has accounted for 16 of his team’s 33 rushing touchdowns this season. Quarterback Jack Main has a completion percentage of 50.9% while throwing for 668 yards, 14 touchdowns and six interceptions this season.

“They have a heavy senior class. They don’t have a lot of size, but they have an O-line that gets off the ball really well and works well together. They have some fast kids all over the place, so it will be a challenge,” said Winkers of the Hilltoppers. “But, I like our chances and we’ll try to find a way to get through another one.”

In other playoff action last Friday night, Iowa-Grant (10-2) was a 50-0 winner over Ithaca-Weston in D7 action, while Darlington (12-0) defeated Durand-Arkansaw 47-28 and New Glarus (11-1) beat Saint Croix Falls 31-22 in D5 action.

River Ridge 25, Cochrane-Fountain City 21

(D7 sectional final from Friday, Nov. 6, at Fountain City)

River Ridge.....7 6 0 12 – 25

C-FC..............14 7 0 0 – 21

First quarter

RR - (5:47) - Noah Copey, 1-yard run (Luke Wehrle kick)

C-FC - (0:46) - Maverick Arneson, 31-yard pass from Parker Kujak (Ryker Duellman kick)

C-FC - (0:05) - Aidan Lisowski, 2-yard run (Duellman kick)

Second quarter

RR - (9:43) - Kameren Reynolds, 38-yar pass from Blake Reynolds (kick failed)

C-FC - (3:31) - Ethan Holzer, 13-yard pass from Kujak (Duellman kick)

Fourth quarter

RR - (9:03) - Noah Copsey, 1-yard run (pass failed)

RR - (2:53) - Preston Gage, 28-yard pass from Blake Reynolds (pass failed)

Team statistics

First downs - RR 24, CFC 12. Rushing - RR 50-274, CFC 30-94. Passing yards - RR 100, CFC 123. Passes - RR 7-10-1, CFC 6-14-2. Fumbles-lost - RR 1-1, CFC 2-2. Penalties-yards - RR 4-40, CFC 4-20.