MCDONALD'S SWNEWS4U.COM CO-GAME OF THE WEEK (Sept. 21–28)
SWAL FOOTBALL: Benton/Scales Mound/Shullsburg 14, Southwestern/East Dubuque 6

By Tom Gunnell, Tri-County Press

Knights triumph over WarCats, 14–6

HAZEL GREEN – The first-ever meeting on the gridiron between Benton/Scales Mound/Shullsburg and Southwestern/East Dubuque came right down to the wire. But, in the end, the Knights were able to make the key plays at the key moments to spoil Southwestern’s Homecoming celebration by pulling out a 14-6 Six Rivers Conference victory at LB Carns Field on Friday, Sept. 23.

The Knights (4-2 overall, 1-1 SRC) snapped a 6-6 stalemate with a 47-yard Jacob Duerr-to-Nate Lawrence touchdown pass with 7:43 remaining in the fourth quarter, and then sealed their thrilling victory over the WarCats (3-3, 0-2) on an interception by senior Charlie Wiegel in the end zone with 26 seconds to play.

“We knew (SW/ED) would be up for the game. They played extremely hard and forced us to make a couple of plays at the end. Winning is always hard, but our kids kept working earned a hard-fought victory,” said Knights’ head coach Todd Bastian.

The Duerr-to-Lawrence connection appeared to give the Knights the lead earlier in their game-winning drive when Lawrence took a Duerr pass 82 yards to the house. However, a flag for an illegal block brought the ball all the way back to the Knights’ 38-yard line.

Undaunted, Coach Bastian’s squad regrouped and scored just three plays later with Duerr again finding an open Lawrence– this time from 47 yards out– to put the guests ahead 12-6. Then, Duerr teamed with Max Wienen for a key two-point conversion to extend the lead to 14-6 with 7:23 to play.

“Football is like life in that aspect. It is all about how you respond to adversity. Our kids have been responding all year. We expect nothing less. We also had some boys playing banged up. They sucked it up and put themselves on the line for the team,” added Bastian.

The WarCats turned the ball over on downs at midfield with 3:02 remaining, but got another chance with the ball after forcing a quick Knights’ punt with less than a minute coming off the game clock.

Senior QB Parker Shireman’s first two completions of the night accounted for 19 yards on the drive and three short runs by sophomore running back Evan Mead moved the WarCats down to the Knights’ 17. But, with time running down and no timeouts left, Wiegel out-jumped a SWED receiver for a Shireman pass in the end zone to seal the victory for the Knights.

“I was glad to see it, that is for sure. Charlie was presented with the opportunity to make a play and he did. He is a senior and he welcomes the opportunity to make plays,” Bastian commented.

BSMS took an early 6-0 lead in the first quarter after marching 52 yards in 10 plays on their second possession of the game. Duerr found Wiegel open in the end zone from 8 yards out on a fourth-down pass to put the Knights on the scoreboard first. 

The WarCats answered in the second quarter with an 11-play, 90-yard scoring drive capped by a 12-yard TD run by junior Hayden Schemmel with 8:49 left in the half. The Knights stopped the hosts’ try for two to keep the score tied at 6-6.

After rushing for 116 yards on 16 carries (7.25 ypc.) on their first two drives, the WarCats were held to 116 yards on 41 carries (2.8) over their final seven drives of the game. Schemmel led the WarCats with 88 yards and a score on 14 carries. Junior Bradey Huseman added 71 yards on 16 carries and Mead finished with 46 yards on 15 totes for the hosts.

Duerr completed 10-of-17 passes for 169 yards and two TDs to guide the Knights’ offense on the night. Lawrence made two catches for 80 yards and a score, while Wiegel hauled in four catches for 55 yards and a score in the win.

On the ground, senior Colin Montayne rushed 10 times for 58 yards and junior Trevor Andrews added 41 yards on four carries for the Knights. 

Defensively, Duerr recorded six solo tackles and Wiegel had four solo stops along with his pick. Senior Cody Haynes had a fumble recovery and senior Landon Leahy had an interception, while Wienen had a sack and recovered an onside kick and junior Jonah Driscoll added a sack for the Knights.

Sophomore Drew Kieffer and junior Spencer Sindahl each registered five tackles for the WarCats. Senior Will Kunkel and junior Josiah Sullivan recovered fumbles, while senior Easton Schemmel had a sack. 

The Knights head to Argyle on Saturday, Oct. 1, to face Pecatonica/Argyle (0-6, 0-2) in their Homecoming Game, starting at 2 p.m.

The WarCats face another tough task on Friday, Sept. 30, when they host unbeaten and #9-ranked River Ridge (6-0, 2-0) in East Dubuque’s Homecoming at EDHS. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

(from Friday, Sept. 23, at Hazel Green)
B/SM/S.....6 0 0 8 - 14
SW/ED......0 6 0 0 -  6
First quarter
B/SM/S - (3:55) Charlie Wiegel, 7-yard pass from Jacob Duerr (kick failed)
Second quarter
SW/ED - (8:49) Hayden Schemmel, 12-yard run (run failed)
Fourth quarter
B/SM/S - (7:23) Nate Lawrence, 47-yar pass from Duerr (Max Wienen pass from Duerr)
Team statistics
First downs - B/SM/S 11, SW/ED 16. Rushing - B/SM/S 29-137, SW/ED 57-232. Passing yards - B/SM/S 169, SW/ED 18. Passes - B/SM/S 10-17-0, SW/ED 3-6-2.Fumbles-lost - B/SM/S 3-3, SW/ED 1-1. Penalties-yards - B/SM/S 8-62, SW/ED 7-35.
Rushing leaders
B/SM/S: Colin Montanye 10-58, Trevor Andrews 4-41, Jacob Duerr 8-17, Nevada Sandlin 3-13, Nate Lawrence 4-8.
SW/ED: Hayden Schemmel 14-88, Bradey Huseman 16-71, Evan Mead 15-46, Brody Culbertson 8-26, Drew Kieffer 1-3, Parker Shireman 2 (-2).
Passing leaders
B/SM/S: Jacob Duerr 10-17-0, 169.
SW/ED: ParkerShireman 3-6-2, 18.
Receiving leaders
B/SM/S: Nate Lawrence 2-80, Charlie Wiegel 4-55, Max Wienen 3-30, Chad Heffele 1-4.
SW/ED: Brody Culbertson 2-12, Bradey Huseman 1-6.