With a young team competing in wet and windy conditions Wednesday at the WIAA Division 1 regional, Shawano head coach Dean Kugler knew his Hawks could not keep up with the likes of Green Bay Notre Dame and Pulaski.

However, junior Brianna Zook (95) and sophomore Kennedy Klemens (105) advanced to Monday’s sectional as two of the top four individual qualifiers from the regional at Crystal Springs Golf Course in Seymour.

Zook, also a sectional qualifier last year, led the Hawks (450) to a fifth-place finish, behind Green Bay Notre Dame (373), Pulaski (408), Seymour (424) and Bay Port (428).

“I wanted to obviously shoot in the 90s,” Zook said. “I met my goal, and I wanted to make it again this year, so it’s a good feeling.”

Zook is in her third year of golfing. Kugler hopes playing with the top golfers in northeastern Wisconsin will inspire Zook to put in more work in the offseason.

“It’s just a good experience for her again, just like last year,” Kugler said. “Will she take it and run with it? I don’t know. That’s completely up to her.”

Although she was the top individual qualifier to advance to sectionals and posted the fifth-best score on the day, Zook struggled with her driver and putter on Wednesday.

“I wasn’t hitting my drives straight, so I ran into trouble a lot, so I wasn’t too great with that,” Zook said.

Keeping her driver in the bag didn’t seem to be an issue for the par 4s on the course, as she used her 5 iron and still hit her ball as far as the other girls in her group, which included Green Bay Southwest/West’s Maya Hearden, Bay Port’s Victoria Grimm and Ashwaubenon’s Lindsay Zabel.

Klemens stepped into Shawano’s No. 2 position for the regional, and Kugler knew she had the ability to shoot low on the par-72 course.

“With Kennedy, I knew she’s got the game,” Kugler said.

Sophomores Kayla Ward (122), Kiley Rusch (128) and Macie Herm (135) rounded out the Hawks’ scoring.

“It was kind of about giving them the experience and coming here and understanding what it is,” Kugler said about the youth on his team. “That’s about it.”

Notre Dame’s Emily Martin carded the low score with an 89. Pulaski’s Sadie Kelley shot a hole-in-one on the 17th hole to tie Klemens’ round of 105.

WIAA Division 1 regional

Crystal Springs Golf Course

Team scores: Notre Dame, 373; Pulaski, 408; Seymour, 424; Bay Port, 428; Shawano, 450; D.C. Everest, 451; Ashwaubenon, 455; Green Bay Southwest/West, 526.

Sh: Brianna Zook, 95; Kennedy Klemens, 105; Kayla Ward, 122; Kiley Rusch, 128; Macie Herm, 135.

The Bonduel boys cross-country team placed four runners in the top 25 to finish third in the team standings Thursday at the Rosholt Invitational.

Bonduel’s score of 88 would trail only Stevens Point (39) and Rosholt (44) in the 10-team meet. Wittenberg-Birnamwood (96) finished fourth.

In the eight-team girls meet, Rosholt (34) finished first and Wittenberg-Birnamwood (55) second. Clintonville (96) was fourth, followed by Bonduel (124) and Marion (149).

Jared Wondra finished in fifth place with a time of 17 minutes, 57 seconds to pace the Bonduel boys. Also scoring for the Bears were Colin Ewing (18:18) in 14th, Jacob Moede (18:26) in 20th and Austin Kurey (18:42) in 23rd. Alex Schill (19:39) finished in 33rd.

Two Wittenberg-Birnamwood runners finished in the top 20: Cole Schairer (18:14), who took 12th place, and Brendan Resch (18:26), who came in 19th.

Menominee Indian, Clintonville and Marion each had runners competing, but not full teams of five for team scoring.

Clintonville’s Kara Pyatskowit won the girls meet in 18:57, finishing 38 seconds ahead of runnerup Delaney Greene-Gretzinger, of Marion. The Truckers also had three other runners in the top 25.

Wittenberg-Birnamwood had three runners in the top 10: Alexis Balliett (21:11) in seventh, Emily Norrbom (21:18) in eighth and Paige Norrbom (21:26) in 10th.

Bonduel’s best finish was turned in by Arianna Factor, who placed 17th.

Seven Bonduel runners secured personal bests on the day.

Rosholt Invitational

Sept. 29

Rosholt High School

Boys team scores: Stevens Point, 39; Rosholt, 44; Bonduel, 88; Wittenberg-Birnamwood, 96; Pacelli, 149; Laona-Wabeno, 165.

B: 5, Jared Wondra, 17:57; 14, Colin Ewing, 18:18; 20, Jacob Moede, 18:26; 23, Austin Kurey, 18:42; 33, Alex Schill, 19:39.

W-B: 12, Cole Schairer, 18:14; 19, Brendan Resch, 18:26; 22, Damon Wolff, 18:42; 25, Alex Nelson, 19:58; 27, Nathan Miller, 19:02.

M: 34, Reed Weisman, 19:57; 37, Justin Wuske, 20:21; 58, Mcgregor Matz, 26:34.

MI: 38, Sonny Nacotee, 20:25; 40, Richard Wayka, 20:48; 43, Jason Komanekin, 21:01; 47, Tyson Webster, 22:36.

C: 6, Isaac Pyatskowit, 18:04; 16, Trent Marheine, 18:23; 46, Mitchell Behnke, 22:24; 52, William Gwinn, 24:10.

Girls team scores: Rosholt, 34; Wittenberg-Birnamwood, 55; Pacelli, 75; Clintonville, 96; Bonduel, 124; Marion, 149; Manawa, 194.

W-B: 7, Alexis Balliett, 21:11; 8, Emily Norrbom, 21:18; 10, Paige Norrbom, 21:26; 14, Eric Wendler, 22:01; 18, Maddy Pietz, 22:17.

C: 1, Kara Pyatskowit, 18:57; 16, Elly Arndt, 22:03; 20, Kayla Klemp, 22:27; 25, Autumn Hohn, 23:10; 39, Jules Buttles, 26:07.

B: 17, Arianna Factor, 22:14; 22, Ashlyn Schnell, 22:59; 23, Abby Owen, 23:01; 34, Elena Shest, 25:14; 35, Julia Richmond, 25:19.

M: 2, Delaney Greene-Gretzinger, 19:35; 27, Melody Riemer, 23:28; 40, Tailyn Beyersdorf, 26:10; 42, Harmony Riemer, 27:07; 45, Kayla Jung, 28:04.

CROSS-COUNTRY

Lhotka leads Hawks by taking 24th

The Shawano boys took 11th place and the girls 13th at the 13-team Red Raider Invitational on Thursday.

Bay Port won the boys meet with a score of 74. Luxemburg-Casco won the girls meet with an 83.

For the Shawano boys, Chase Lhotka took 24th in 17:26 and Griffin Bohm followed in 44th (18:04). Karsten Anderson (56th), Brandon Pagel (65th) and Ben Carroll (70th) rounded out the scoring for the team at 259 points.

The Hawks girls were led by Alice Hoffman (22:18) in 65th place. Sarah Mente took 80th, Haley Williams 81st, Caitlin Daniel 83rd and Sophia Holstrum 85th to finish the scoring at 394.

GIRLS TENNIS

Shawano 4

Fox Valley Lutheran 3

Shawano freshman Isabella Buettner won her first varsity match to seal the Hawks’ home victory Thursday over the Foxes.

Buettner needed a second-set tiebreaker for the victory, 6-4, 7-6 (5).

Shawano’s Cheyenne Knueppel won in straight sets (6-2, 6-3) at the No. 2 singles position, and Dakota Hass and Julia Haarth at No. 1 doubles won 6-1, 6-4.

BOYS SOCCER

Shawano 2

Menasha 0

Michael Klement scored both goals as Shawano picked up another victory at home on Thursday. Payden Buck and Mitchell Jung each had assists for the Hawks (9-4-2, 4-1-2 Bay).

Tyrell Hesse recorded 10 saves and earned the shutout for Shawano.

Gresham/Bowler 1

Amherst 1

Todd Otradovec scored in the 20th minute to give Gresham/Bowler an early lead in its draw at home Thursday.

Gresham/Bowler (7-7) gave up the tying goal with five minutes remaining in the contest.

Justice Paiser stopped 12 shots for the Wildcats.

VOLLEYBALL

Gresham 3

Marion 0

Sydney Jensen had 14 kills as Gresham cruised past Marion, 25-16, 25-21, 25-2, in Thursday’s road victory.

Mackenzie Hoffman added 11 digs for Gresham (9-6, 5-3 Central Wisconsin Conference-10).

Dani Huntington posted 24 assists in the victory.

Tri-County 3

Tigerton 0

Lonna Minniecheske had 10 kills and two blocks to lead Tigerton in Thursday’s road loss, 25-11, 25-16, 25-14.

Monika Minniecheske added nine kills and four blocks for Tigerton (11-4, 5-3 Central Wisconsin Conference-10).

Charity Desrochers had 15 assists, and Katrina Parrott recorded seven digs.

Witt-Birn 3

Antigo 1

Madison Bushman had 49 assists as Wittenberg-Birnamwood overcame a slow start to win Thursday’s home match, 17-25, 25-15, 25-18, 25-15.

Taylor Nier added 22 kills and 13 digs for Wittenberg-Birnamwood (28-7, 6-0 Central Wisconsin Conference-8).

Marissa Groshek had seven kills, while Lauren Bushman posted 13 kills and nine digs.

With Shawano trailing by six points early in the fourth set, already down 2-1 in games to Seymour, Julia Klement came up with five kills in six points to start a comeback that would lead the Hawks to a five-set victory at home Thursday.

The loss was Seymour’s first in Bay Conference action, allowing the Hawks to move into a tie for second place with the Thunder, one match behind Xavier.

“I think it just shows that when we play our game on our side that we can be unstoppable,” Shawano head coach Breanne Young said. “We have a great offense and a strong defense.”

Klement, who struggled to get kills early in the match, was able to get on top of the ball on her swings, along with getting better sets, in the final two games of the win (25-21, 18-25, 21-25, 25-21, 15-9).

“I was more pumped and I wanted to win,” Klement said. “I had more energy.”

Klement’s fifth kill tied the fourth game at 9-9, but Seymour rolled off four straight points to regain the lead. Klement recorded another kill and Averi Vomastic had two consecutive kills as Shawano forged a tie at 13.

Three straight Seymour hitting errors turned the game in Shawano’s favor, and Klement finished it off with an ace to force the fifth set.

With the teams tied 3-3 in the fifth set, Klement posted a kill before sophomore Bayleigh Laabs added a stuff block for the 2-point lead.

Libero Saige Henning made a diving save under the net to keep a ball alive, which eventually led to a Vomastic kill as the Hawks built an 8-4 lead in the decisive set.

The save was due to a defensive adjustment made by Young in practice on Wednesday to cover tips in the middle of the court better.

“We pulled our libero to the middle of the court because we got beat a lot on tips, and we pulled our outside to cover deep cross, and they did very well adjusting to that,” Young said.

Jenna Krause, who finished the match with 12 kills, would not let Shawano run away with the final set. Her kill pulled the Thunder within 3, and then Kaitlyn VandenHeuvel aced the Hawks to make it an 8-6 game.

Two Seymour hitting errors, combined with two Vomastic kills, increased Shawano’s lead to 7 points at 13-6. The Thunder cut the deficit to five at 14-9 before missing a serve to give the Hawks the match.

“We just fell apart,” Seymour head coach Melissa Trautmann said.

Shawano had 14 hitting errors in the second set, half of the team’s five-set total of 28.

“In the second and third game, we had too many unforced errors on our side, but we came back stronger in the fourth and fifth, keeping better control of the ball on our side,” Young said.

Seymour (15-14, 3-1 Bay Conference) made the mistakes early, missing its first four serves of the match and giving Shawano (20-12, 3-1 Bay) three consecutive overpasses for kills in the first set. Vomastic totaled seven of her 21 kills in the first set.

“Our block wasn’t really there, and defensively, we weren’t picking up balls like we were the second and third game,” Trautmann said.

Seymour setter Rachel Ver Voort had 26 assists, and outside hitter Keegan Campbell tied Krause with a team-high 12 kills. Krause also posted 18 digs.

For Shawano, Laabs added six kills to go with her 35 assists and 19 digs, and Tori DePerry posted four kills. Henning and junior Niki Hoefs each had 21 digs on the night, while Klement posted 15.

A white-tailed deer on an Oconto County hunting preserve has tested positive for chronic wasting disease, State Veterinarian Dr. Paul McGraw announced Friday.

The National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa, reported the final test results back to the state. The animal was an 18-month-old female and was one of more than an estimated 1,450 deer in the 1,363-acre preserve.

The deer was born on the premises and killed on the preserve. Samples were taken in accordance with Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection’s rules, which require testing of farm-raised deer and elk when they die, go to slaughter or are killed. More than 1,000 deer from the preserve have been tested for CWD since 2010.

The sample originally tested positive at a regional laboratory and required a confirmatory test at the NVSL. The DATCP Animal Health Division’s investigation will look at animal movement records, but since the deer was born on the preserve, there will not be any trace back investigations of any other herds.

The business will be allowed to conduct hunts on the quarantined preserve, because properly handled dead animals leaving the premises do not pose a disease risk.

Strong defense, aided by four interceptions, helped Bonduel overcome a six-turnover performance Friday in a 34-7 victory over Wittenberg-Birnamwood.

The victory also made the Bears eligible for the WIAA playoffs for the fourth straight season. It was the team’s third Central Wisconsin Conference-8 victory, ensuring at least a .500 finish in the CWC-8.

In addition, Friday’s contest was the last conference game for the senior class on its home field, as the Bears travel in their final two regular season games.

“It was a little sloppy at first, but to get a win for them, I’m really happy, really excited,” Bonduel head coach James Westrich said. “Hopefully we can keep it going for a little while.”

Two Jordan Boldt interceptions, along with one apiece from Eli Mastey and Riddik Bohm, helped secure the win. Senior Sam Griesbach and Jacob Banker each eight tackles, while Griesbach added two tackles for loss.

Griesbach has stepped up big for Bonduel in its new four-lineman scheme.

“He’s really excited because he’s on defense,” Westrich said. “We were playing him one way, trying to keep him healthy, but he’s really good on both sides of the ball, and he needs to be out there. He’s doing a really nice job for us.”

Jacob Banker had a tackle for loss and a sack on the defensive side of the ball. His pressure on Wittenberg-Birnamwood quarterback Trevor Groshek caused an interception at the 5-yard line by Mastey, keeping the Chargers off the board in the second quarter.

The Bears then marched 91 yards in over five minutes while trying to extend their 7-0 lead, but Mastey fumbled at the Chargers’ 4-yard line, one of four first-half fumbles for the Bears.

Bonduel forced a punt, but Wittenberg-Birnamwood’s Dylan Zeinert intercepted Bonduel quarterback Parker Bohm on a ball that tipped off a receiver’s hands just 17 seconds later.

Bonduel answered with an interception of its own when Riddik Bohm picked off Chargers running back Jack Stewart on a trick play to give the Bears possession at the 32-yard line with roughly a minute left in the first half.

“We’ve got to clean it up, but our defense, we bend but didn’t break a couple of times,” Westrich said. “But I’m pretty happy overall.”

Parker Bohm found Colin Hanus down the seam for a gain of 29, and Mastey rushed the final 3 yards to double the Bonduel lead heading into the break.

The Bears (5-2, 3-2 CWC-8) stopped the Chargers (1-6, 0-5 CWC-8) on two red-zone drives.

“We had some good runs, but as you can tell, we got the ball in the red zone, and we kind of died down,” Wittenberg-Birnamwood head coach Bernard Holsey said.

The Bears scoring on each of their first three drives of the second half.

Boldt added two offensive touchdowns, a 1-yard rush in the third quarter and a passing TD to Brandon Olsen on a corner route, to put Bonduel ahead 34-0 with 10 minutes remaining.

Wyatt Erb scored the other touchdown for Bonduel on a 6-yard run.

Wittenberg-Birnamwood used a counter play with Dylan Sprague for a 60-yard score to narrow the lead to 27 points with 8:36 left in the game.

Boldt threw an interception a few plays later, and the Chargers drove into the red zone on their ensuing possession.

“That interception, that really turned the table,” Holsey said. “I wish we could have capitalized on a lot more of the turnovers that we caused.”

Boldt more than made up for his mistake during a goal-line stand, breaking up a pass on third down before intercepting Groshek on the next play for a touchback, allowing the Bears to run out the remainder of the clock.

Mastey finished with 15 carries for 150 yards, and Erb added 52 yards on the ground. Olsen posted 92 yards receiving on three catches.

For the Chargers, Jack Stewart rushed nine times for 89 yards, and Sprague had 76 yards on six carries.

Bonduel 34, Wittenberg-Birnamwood 7

Team 1 2 3 4 F

Wittenberg-Birnamwood 0 0 0 7 7

Bonduel 7 7 14 6 34

First quarter

B: Eli Mastey 68-yard run (PAT good) 7-0 (4:24).

Second quarter

B: Mastey 3-yard run (PAT good) 14-0 (0:24).

Third quarter

B: Jordan Boldt 1-yard run (PAT good) 21-0 (7:11).

B: Wyatt Erb 6-yard run (PAT good) 28-0 (2:27).

Fourth quarter

B: Brandon Olsen 20-yard reception from Boldt (PAT blocked) 34-0 (10:08).

W-B: Dylan Sprague 60-yard run (PAT good) 34-7 (8:39).

The Shawano girls tennis team ended its season at subsectionals in Green Bay on Monday, struggling to win games against the difficult competition.

The Hawks were seeded as either the seventh or eighth seed in every flight, forcing them to face one of the top two seeds in the area at the eight-team subsectional.

“They challenged those players,” Shawano head coach Matt Zoll said. “Compared to playing Ashwaubenon and De Pere in the beginning of the season, we played much better.”

No. 3 singles player Kaleigh Zoll put up the strongest fight, but lost 6-1, 6-2 to Green Bay Southwest’s Jenna Tackmier.

“I really believe it was a match she could have won,” Matt Zoll said. “The girl from Southwest won points because of errors, not winning shots.”

Shawano’s No. 1 doubles team of Julia Haarth and Dakota Hass fell in their match, 6-1, 6-0 to Pulaski’s duo of Katie Chaloner and Brooke Steeno.

“I liked that we had some girls win some games against tough opponents,” Zoll said.

Sydney Steinbach (No. 1 singles) and Lydia Williams (No. 4 singles) both lost to Bay Port opponents.

Zoll said that his team will schedule more Fox River Classic Conference teams, including Bay Port, De Pere, Notre Dame and Green Bay Southwest, next season to improve its strength of schedule to help when the postseason comes around.

“If we don’t play them, we get zero respect,” Zoll said.

The Hawks will lose all three of their doubles teams and No. 2 singles player Cheyenne Knueppel to graduation.

Zoll, in his first year coaching tennis, appreciated the work the girls put in over the course of the season.

“It was just a fun group of kids,” Zoll said. “Everybody came to practice with a smile, came to work.”

Shawano used a quick start, a 50-yard touchdown less than two minutes into Saturday’s homecoming game, to set the tone for a 35-19 victory over Waupaca to become playoff eligible for just the third time in school history.

The Hawks, who are tied with Waupaca for third in the Bay Conference and two games behind undefeated Menasha and West De Pere, controlled the majority of the game before allowing two late scores.

Shawano head coach Al Tomow said making the playoffs was a just reward for the Hawks.

“The amount of time and the effort that this group has put in has been phenomenal,” he said. “That’s what it’s really all about.

“It’s how fast the kids are able to learn things, how much they are able to kind of bond together and play for each other, and that’s the makings of a good team, the foundation, and they showed that today.”

Shawano quarterback Jack Hanauer finished the game with 191 passing yards on five completions, while Connor Klish had three receptions for for 135 yards and two scores. He was also the team’s leading rusher with 83 yards on 20 carries, while Kien Moorman had 57 yards on 15 carries.

With the Comets’ defense focusing on star wide receiver Dylan Sumnicht, it was Klish who found a hole up the seam, beating a linebacker for a 50-yard reception for the opening score in the first quarter.

“We normally start slow and then we pick it up in the second quarter, so to start fast like that and get going, it helps a lot,” Sumnicht said.

Shawano’s defense immediately responded with a big play of its own.

Waupaca, behind 6-foot-1, 195-pound running back Brenden Canterbury, drove its way into Shawano territory before facing a fourth and 4 at the 35-yard line. The Hawks forced a turnover on downs.

On its next possession, Waupaca faced a fourth-and-long. This time, a reverse to Brandon Anderson converted the fourth down, but the Hawks (5-2, 4-2 Bay Conference) kept the Comets (4-3, 3-3 Bay) out of the end zone, maintaining a 7-3 lead with 1:11 left in the first quarter.

“I was really impressed with how we brought the fight to them,” Tomow said. “I think Seth Sousek played a phenomenal game, and he’s been doing that all year, but it was a group effort. I don’t know how many yards we gave up, but I thought our defense played really well.”

Waupaca finished with 418 yards of offense.

After the teams exchanged turnovers, Hanauer again found Klish for a long score, this time down the right sideline for 64 yards.

“I think Connor has been the forgotten man in our offense the last few weeks,” Tomow said. “We think he’s a good playmaker, there just haven’t been many opportunities.”

After Shawano’s defense forced a punt with 4:25 left in the second quarter, Hanauer rushed six times on the next possession, including a 1-yard TD, as the Hawks led 21-3 at halftime.

The Hawks’ defense induced another three-and-out on the first possession of the second half, and then a botched punt gave Shawano possession at the Waupaca 10-yard line. Hanauer punched in another score from 1-yard out for the 28-3 lead.

After Waupaca drove down to the 8-yard line, the defense was at it again as Nick Grignon prevented the Comets from scoring on a fourth-down pass.

Shawano finally got Sumnicht on a good matchup for a 54-yard TD to go ahead by 32 points late in the third quarter. The reception was just his second of the day, but it broke the school’s receiving record, which he set in 2015 with 822 yards.

Sumnicht has 837 receiving yards on the year with two regular season games remaining, but he knows there’s room for improvement.

“In the second half, we weren’t moving the ball as much,” he said. “It’s something we can work on.”

The Comets pushed in two fourth-quarter scores, but could not get within two scores the remainder of the game.

Team 1 2 3 4 F

Waupaca 3 0 0 16 19

Shawano 7 14 14 0 35

First quarter

S: Connor Klish 50-yard reception from Jack Hanauer (PAT good) 7-0 (10:07).

W: Hayden Neidert 30-yard field goal 7-3 (1:11).

Second quarter

S: Klish 64-yard reception from Hanauer (PAT good) 14-3 (9:08).

S: Hanauer 1-yard run (PAT good) 21-3 (0:55).

Third quarter

S: Hanauer 1-yard run (PAT good) 28-3 (9:27).

S: Dylan Sumnicht 54-yard reception from Hanauer (PAT good) 35-3 (2:15).

Fourth quarter

W: Brenden Canterbury 2-yard run (conversion good) 35-11 (6:49).

W: Canterbury 13-yard reception from Neidert (conversion good) 35-19 (6:16).

FOOTBALL

Menominee Indian 32

Oneida Nation 14

Antonio Mahkimetas rushed for 286 yards and two touchdowns, and Kyle Komanekin added 121 rushing yards and two scores as Menominee Indian defeated the Thunderhawks at home Saturday.

Trailing 8-6 at the half, Menominee Indian (3-4, 3-4 Great-8 North) scored 26 unanswered points.

The Eagles racked up two forced fumbles, two interceptions and five sacks.

VOLLEYBALL

Shawano 3

Menasha 1

Sophomore setter Bayleigh Laabs had 38 assists and 14 digs to lead Shawano in Tuesday’s road victory, 25-17, 20-25, 25-16, 25-12.

Averi Vomastic added 20 kills and 18 digs for Shawano (21-12, 4-1 Bay Conference).

Julia Klement and Tori DePerry each had eight kills.

Gresham 3

Rosholt 2

Mackenzie Hoffman had 16 assists, and Makena Arndt added 14 digs as the Wildcats escaped Rosholt with a five-set victory, 28-26, 23-25, 25-14, 22-25, 15-7, Tuesday.

Senior Sydney Jensen posted 13 kills to lead Gresham (12-7, 6-3 Central Wisconsin Conference-10) at the net.

Alyssa Roe added 10 kills for the Wildcats.

Wildcats win home invite

Gresham swept Northland Lutheran in the final match of the day at the four-team Gresham Invitational on Saturday to finish in first place.

The Wildcats (11-7, 5-3 Central Wisconsin Conference-10) topped Northland Lutheran, 25-20, 25-22, 15-10, to end the day with a 7-3 game record, besting Northland Lutheran’s 6-3 mark.

Sydney Jensen had 37 kills to lead Gresham. Dani Huntington added 51 assists, and Mackenzie Hoffman recorded 35 digs. Hailey Hoffman tallied 13 aces for the Wildcats.

BOYS SOCCER

Xavier 3

Shawano 1

Jacob Dickmann scored in the second half, but Shawano could not generate enough offense in Tuesday’s road loss.

Tyrell Hesse stopped 15 shots for Shawano (10-5-2, 4-2-1 Bay Conference).

Xavier scored twice in the first half before adding a late goal in the 87th minute.

Gresham/Bowler 4

Gibraltar 3

Drew Haffner scored twice, while Neal Cerveny and Todd Otradovec each recorded a goal and an assist in Gresham/Bowler’s home victory Tuesday.

The Wildcats (9-8) were not able to find the back of the net in the second half.

Justice Paiser had eight saves for Gresham/Bowler.

Shawano 2

Clintonville 1

Aaron Lammers scored the game-winning goal in the 77th minute as Shawano won at home on Monday.

Michael Klement added a goal in the final minutes of the first half for Shawano (10-4-2, 4-1-1 Bay Conference).

Jacob Dickmann and Braxten Surber each recorded assists, and Tyrell Hesse posted six saves.

Wildcats 2nd at home invite

The host Wildcats dominated their opening game, getting two goals apiece from Zack Fehrman, Todd Otradovec and Drew Haffner, in an 8-0 victory over Tri-County on Saturday at the Gresham Invitational.

Waylan Welch and Zak Burr each scored as well.

Gresham/Bowler (8-8) could not find a goal in the championship game against Central Wisconsin Christian, falling 4-0.

GIRLS GOLF

Zook, Klemens end season at sectional

Shawano Community High School junior Brianna Zook made her second consecutive trip to a WIAA Division 1 sectional meet Monday while sophomore Kennedy Klemens competed in her first sectional, but neither advanced to the state meet.

Zook shot a round of 94 at Royal Scot Golf Club in New Franken. She shot a 46 on the front nine with a 48 on the back of the par-72 course.

Klemens shot a 103, two strokes better than her regional score on Sept. 28 at Crystal Springs Golf Course. She posted a 54 on the front nine and a 49 on the second nine.

Sami Plankey, of Appleton North, shot the low round of 79. Hortonville’s Bree Downie (82) and Green Bay Preble’s Katie Warpinski (85) also advanced to state, along with the teams from De Pere (365) and Notre Dame (377).

CROSS-COUNTRY

Eagles win boys title in Marion

Tyler Komanekin and Sonny Nacotee each posted top-10 finishes at the Marion Mustang Invitational on Monday to help Menominee Indian finish in first place.

The Eagles’ score of 26 topped Clintonville by 3.

Gresham/Bowler was led be Neal Cerveny’s fourth-place finish and Drew Haffner’s 10th-place finish.

The Clintonville girls also took first place with a score of 33, led by Kara Pyatskowit’s victory in 19 minutes, 53 seconds.

Needing points in the decisive fifth set, the Bonduel volleyball team leaned on senior outside hitter Kailee Pedersen to take control.

She came through.

Pedersen came up with three kills in the final four points of Tuesday’s five-set victory to help the Bears top Shiocton, 26-24, 26-28, 10-25, 25-21, 15-13.

“When things are going well, I feel like her athletic ability improves even more in those games, so I feel like she lives for those games, she lives for those moments,” Bonduel head coach Kim Bodoh said. “She wants the ball to be in her hands during that time, and she’s proved it to us time and time again that she’s who we want getting the ball.”

In a must-win fourth set for the Bears, Bonduel trailed 20-19 before Pedersen stepped up again. She posted four kills in the final five points for the 25-21 win.

“They are finally getting that resiliency and that confidence just because something didn’t go right, that they can still win,” Bodoh said.

The Bears (10-15, 3-4 Central Wisconsin Conference-8) struggled to find the open court, as Shiocton (12-10, 4-3 CWC-8) blocked well and refused to let balls hit the floor for the majority of the second, third and fourth sets.

“I just felt like we started tipping more and we weren’t as confident in our hitting,” Bodoh said. “I think that took us out of our game for a little bit until the girls got it back in their heads that they needed to attack the ball.”

Bonduel consistently needed to overcome deficits, trailing 23-20 in the first game before getting a hitting error from Shiocton and two Pedersen kills to climb back into the game, and down 24-21 before senior Kaitlyn Bohr had a kill and two aces to tie the second game at 24. Pedersen added a kill late in the second set, but the Chiefs emerged victorious, 28-26, then dominated the third set 25-10.

“We started off slow defensively just talking, but once we got into the groove, our defense was on top of it, and that definitely builds us momentum offensively as well,” Shiocton head coach Mandy Trautmann said.

Trautmann still wasn’t pleased with the defensive effort, especially after Pedersen’s final three kills could have been played better defensively.

“I’ve seen them play better,” Trautmann said.

Pedersen finished the match with 19 kills, and Brynn Reinke posted 35 assists. Middle hitter Emily Sorenson recorded 35 digs and four blocks for the Bears.

Madisyn Morack, Shiocton’s setter, had 36 assists for go with 10 digs and five aces. Athena Ubl led the Chiefs with 12 kills and six blocks, and Peyton Moder added 11 kills.

VOLLEYBALL

Witt-Birn 3

Manawa 0

The Chargers got 14 kills and 11 digs from hitter Taylor Nier in Tuesday’s road victory to complete an undefeated conference season.

Setter Madison Bushman added 29 assists, and Maykayla Verkuilen posted 13 digs for Wittenberg-Birnamwood (29-7, 7-0 Central Wisconsin Conference-8).

Lauren Bushman had seven kills, and Marissa Groshek added four kills.

It wasn’t quite a Miracle on Ice-type of victory over a rival world superpower, but the Unites States’ win over Europe in golf’s Ryder Cup was a refreshing wind of change.

The 17-11 final score was the first defeat of Europe since 2008 and the largest margin of victory for the U.S. since 1981. The win at Hazeltine National (Minnesota) included some brilliantly played and emotionally charged matches, like Patrick Reed’s 1-up win over Rory McElroy and Phil Mickelson’s halving of the birdie-intensive match with Sergio Garcia.

The crowds got a little too gung-ho at various points, but in the end, the U.S. players were good winners and the Euros – all of whom also have millions of reasons to the left of the decimal point to be cheerful – were gracious in defeat.

Farewell, Arnie: Can’t mention the sport of golf without recognizing one of the game’s all-time greats, Arnold Palmer, who passed away Sept. 25 at the age of 87. A class act and consummate pro throughout his storied career, Palmer personified the sportsmanship and decency with which golf strives to identify.

Oh, say, can you: Kneeling, sitting or with arms interlocked, athletes and teams continued the national anthem protest begun weeks ago by San Francisco 49ers backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick. As yet, no one has protested from a headstand, or tripod position, although members of a high school football team laid on their backs with raised hands, as a “die-in” protest. Kaepernick was there, too, kneeling, to show his appreciation and support for the Castlemont (Oakland, California) high school team.

Kaepernick drew criticism for, among other things, his protest’s lacking clarity of solution (he said he would protest until he was satisfied with changes made toward ending racial oppression) and for wearing socks that illustrated the shooting of a cartoon police officer depicted as a pig.

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin, however, protested while offering a tangible, potential route to resolution. Baldwin asked that attorneys general from all 50 states review their police training policies. The Washington state attorney general quickly responded to Baldwin to arrange a discussion.

A throwback: Meanwhile, at another intersection of pro athlete and social unrest, an old-fashioned anti-war protest was made by New York Knicks center Joakim Noah, who passed on joining the team for a dinner at the mess hall of the West Point facility where the Knicks held a training camp.

Those defending Noah’s respectful-tone decline pointed out that the U.S. is still embroiled in the longest war of its 240-year history.

Lovable, or pathetic? As losing is concerned, one would have to go a ways to match the spectacular level of failure achieved by the Omaha Lancers of the old United States Hockey League. That team went 0-48 in the 1986-87 season, an appallingly bad performance that may never be topped.

Sports’ highest-profile loser over the years, though, has been the Chicago Cubs, whose 108-year World Series drought has been dutifully chronicled.

As baseball’s postseason gears up, you may read and hear, ad nauseam, about curses and nerd fans interfering with catchable foul pop-ups as the Cubs – baseball’s best team in the regular season – try to finally reel in the elusive title.

But there is another team in the mix whose fan base also knows a thing or two about frustration, that being the Washington Nationals.

The Cubs have won two World Series and played in eight others, their most recent appearance coming a brief 71 years ago. The Washington Senators won it in 1924, but that’s all she wrote for October magic in the nation’s capital. They’ve lost two other times, with their most recent appearance coming in 1933 – a grand total of three trips to the Fall Classic.

True, no one walking the tri-state area today was around when the Cubs won their last World Series. But any Washington baseball fans who remember their city’s last World Series championship would be about 98 years old now. Ninety-eight years aboard this Wonderworld/goat rodeo is tribulation enough. They deserve a crumb, too.

Shawano Community High School football coach Al Tomow has been named the High School Coach of the Week by the Green Bay Packers.

Tomow, in his fourth year as the Hawks’ head coach, led Shawano to a 35-19 victory over Waupaca High School on Saturday. The victory improved the team’s record to 5-2, including 4-2 in the Bay Conference, and ensured the Hawks a winning regular season record for only the seventh time in school history.

The win also qualified the school for the WIAA playoffs for only the third time.

“It shows how far we’ve come in such a short amount of time,” Tomow said about the victory on Oct. 1. “Our staff works very hard during the week to prep our kids and put together game plans. The players do a great job of taking the information and asking questions. It’s really been a lot of fun, and it’s great to be a Hawk right now.”

Tomow and his staff oversee a program of 65 players, including 43 players at the varsity level. His assistants are Dave Ambrosius, Austin Gueths, Mike Homan, Luke Neubauer, Ron Schmalz, Steve Zais, Phil Rizzio, Joe Gangl and Alan Leiser.

The Packers recognize one outstanding high school coach each week during the high school football season.

Winners are awarded several items and privileges, including a $1,000 donation to the school’s football program from the Green Bay Packers and the NFL Foundation, as well as recognition of the award on Packers.com, Wissports.net and Wifca.org.

Shawano wide receiver Dylan Sumnicht didn’t shy away from lofty goals this season.

One year removed from setting a school record with 822 receiving yards, he wanted to top that by nearly 200 yards by reaching 1,000.

In Shawano’s homecoming game Saturday, Sumnicht grabbed a deep ball from Jack Hanauer, shook off a tackler and ran for a 54-yard scoring, giving himself 838 yards and a new record just seven games into the season.

“It’s amazing. I can’t believe it,” Sumnicht said. “I was more looking for the record than the 1,000 yards.”

Sumnicht, with at least three games remaining in the season, is averaging nearly 120 yards per game.

This fall has proved to be a challenge, though, as opposing defenses try to focus specifically on Sumnicht and his speed.

In 2015, Sumnicht had senior Adam Bartz, who racked up 658 yards, on the opposite side of the field to take away some of the attention.

“This year, he asserted himself as our top receiver, not only for our conference, but he wants to be one of the top kids in the state,” SCHS coach Al Tomow said. “I think he’s taken steps toward that.

“He became a better route runner, more complete wideout. He’s improved his blocking. He’s really fast, but he’s really doing a lot of small things that help offset some of the coverage things that are happening to him and how teams are trying to take him away.”

His impact without the ball has been most evident in two of Shawano’s biggest games this season, a 27-26 loss to Seymour and Saturday’s 35-19 victory over Waupaca, which made the Hawks (5-2, 4-2 Bay Conference) playoff eligible.

In those two games, Sumnicht recorded 10 catches for 150 yards and three scores, while opening up No. 2 wideout Connor Klish for nine catches for 192 yards and two TDs. For the season, Klish has 17 catches for 273 yards.

Waupaca double-teamed Sumnicht and used a linebacker, instead of a cornerback, to cover Klish, who ran free for two scores of 50 yards or longer.

When Sumnicht found breathing room in the third quarter, he came up with a 54-yard reception for a touchdown to put Shawano ahead by 32 points.

“He understands it’s a team game, and even with being a focal point of their game plan, he still came up with a huge play for us,” Tomow said.

Sumnicht doesn’t mind the extra attention, especially if it allows Klish an opportunity to make plays for the offense.

“It’s fine with me because it left a slower linebacker on Connor, and Connor was wide open, so it works just fine for me,” Sumnicht said.

Sumnicht has one last regular-season home game Friday, against Xavier (3-4, 3-3 Bay) before closing out conference play on the road at West De Pere on Oct. 14.

It’s a few final weeks for the younger athletes in the program to learn from Sumnicht’s work ethic and approach to the game.

“I think it’s big for Dylan to be an example for younger kids, to show you can set goals, and it’s OK to work really hard to achieve those goals, and even if you come up short, you take a lot of pride that you put yourself out there to be one of the top players in the state,” Tomow said. “So I think for him to set that goal and be open about that goal, it’s a big thing for Dylan and his confidence, but also it’ll be a good example for young kids going forward.”

The Bonduel boys and girls cross-country teams finished third and fourth, respectively, Thursday in the 10-team Don Chase Relays in Weyauwega-Fremont.

Bonduel’s Jared Wondra (18 minutes, 35 seconds) paced the boys with a fifth-place finish. Colin Ewing (18:41) was the only other Bears runner to finish in the top 10.

Jacob Moede (19:15) added a 17th-place finish as Bonduel finished with a score of 82, trailing Amherst (55) and Wautoma (60).

Arianna Factor (22:30), who finished 14th, and Ashlyn Schnell (23:03), who took 19th, led the Bonduel girls (122).

Clintonville’s Kara Pyatskowit won the girls race in 19:17 and the Truckers placed second (71).

Marion’s Delaney Greene-Gretzinger finished in third place.

Wittenberg-Birnamwood (57) won the girls title and had three top-10 finishers, Alexis Balliett, Emily Norrbom and Erica Wendler.

Don Chase Relays

Oct. 6

Weyauwega-Fremont High School

Boys team scores: Amherst, 55, Wautoma, 60; Bonduel, 82; Westfield/Montello, 83; Wittenberg-Birnamwood, 88; Weyauwega-Fremont, 166; Clintonville, 178; Menominee Indian, 210.

B: 5, Jared Wondra, 18:35; 8, Colin Ewing, 18:41; 17, Jacob Moede, 19:15; 27, Austin Kurey, 19:38; 32, Alex Schill, 20:04; 42, Craig Rusch, 20:47; 52, Charlie Mews, 22:07.

W-B: 7, Cole Schairer, 18:41; 11, Brendan Resch, 18:48; 23, Nathan Miller, 19:35; 26, Hunter Schroepfer, 19:37; 29, Damon Wolff, 19:48; 30, Teagon Lehman, 19:54; 37, Alex Nelson, 20:26.

C: 13, Isaac Pyatskowit, 18:52; 39, Trent Marheine, 20:37; 40, Tyler Finger, 20:41; 56, Mitchelle Behnke, 22:35; 62, William Gwinn, 24:33.

MI: 38, Richard Wayka, 20:36; 44, Sonny Nacotee, 21:20; 46, Jerome Munson, 21:28; 57, Tyson Webster, 23:00; 58, Morgun Fish, 23:03.

G/B: 50, Levi Schick, 22:01; 51, Noah Bestul, 22:05.

M: 33, Justin Wuske, 20:06; 35, Reed Wiesman, 20:11; 36, Andrew Robinson, 20;14; 63, McGregor Matz, 24:51.

Girls team scores: Wittenberg-Birnamwood, 57; Clintonville, 71; Iola-Scandinavia, 75; Bonduel, 122; Amherst, 128; Wautoma, 128; Weyauwega-Fremont, 166; Westfield/Montello, 168; Marion, 186; Manawa, 248.

C: 1, Kara Pyatskowit, 29:17; 11, Elly Arndt, 22:18; 12, Madison Hohn, 22:20; 20, Kayla Klemp, 23:04; 27, Autumn Hohn, 24:00.

B: 14, Arianna Factor, 22:30; 19, Ashlyn Schnell, 23:03; 21, Abby Owen, 23:17; 25, Laney Richmond, 23:48; 43, Julia Richmond, 26:08; 46, Allyssa Moser, 26:19; 53, Erika Fassbender, 27:49.

M: 3, Delaney Greene-Gretzinger, 20:03; 30, Melody Riemer, 24:24; 48, Tailyn Beyersdorf, 26:50; 50, Harmony Riemer, 27:09; 55, Nancy Taha, 28:52; 56, Kayla Jung, 29:15; 60, Lauren Pamperin, 32:09.

W-B: 7, Alexis Balliett, 21:23; 8, Emily Norrbom, 21:42; 10, Erica Wendler, 22:00; 15, Paige Norrbom, 22:32; 17, Maddy Pietz, 22:49; 31, Molly Gretzlock, 24:30.

Shawano struggled from the beginning of the Seymour Invitational on Thursday, falling off the pace from the start of the 22-team meet.

The boys team, which finished in 15th place, was paced by Chase Lhotka, who finished in 22nd place in a time of 18 minutes, 6 seconds.

“He is doing a fantastic job,” Shawano head coach Steve Stomberg said. “The way the course was, he had to get out there right away.”

Appleton North (55) ran away with the boys title. Second-place Appleton West was 113 points behind.

After Lhotka, Griffin Bohm (19:18) finished 76th, Brandon Pagel (19:19) 77th and Karsten Anderson (19:25) 81st for the Hawks.

Shawano’s girls team, which only ran two seniors, Sophia Holstrum and Hannah Williams, showed promise despite finishing 21st with a score of 567. Alice Hoffman (23:48) finished in 96th and freshman Haley Williams( 24:31) was 112th.

“We’ve got a very young, talented girls team,” Stomberg said.

Hortonville won the girls meet with a score of 74, trailed closely by Appleton North (79).

Stomberg has seem the times drop, which keeps him optimistic, but it’s the effort day in and day out that makes him happy with the performances.

“I’m very proud of what they’ve done,” Stomberg said. “I can’t ask for any more from them.”

The home stretch awaits with an invitational in Merrill on Saturday before the Bay Conference Meet on Oct. 15 and WIAA Division 1 sectionals one week later.

“It’s coming down to the mental toughness of this sport,” Stomberg said. “They are physically in shape.”

Seymour Invitational

Oct. 6

Seymour High School

Boys team scores: Appleton North, 55; Appleton West, 168; Hortonville, 175; Green Bay Preble, 189; Kimberly, 194; Notre Dame Academy, 211; Ashwaubenon, 216; New London, 220; Peshtigo, 267; Kaukauna, 271; Seymour, 287; Green Bay East, 297; Fox Valley Lutheran, 301; Green Bay Southwest, 347; Shawano, 358; Xavier, 367; West De Pere, 389; Oshkosh North, 445; Denmark, 509; Waupaca, 514; Menasha, 614; Shiocton, 653.

S: 22, Chase Lhotka, 18:06; 76, Griffin Bohm, 19:18; 77, Brandon Pagel, 19:19; 81, Karsten Anderson, 19:25; 102, Ben Carroll, 20:09; 103, Karson Rades, 20:10; 124, Brett Lorge, 21:21.

Girls team scores: Hortonville, 74; Appleton North, 79; Pulaski, 135; Xavier, 174; Appleton West, 182; Fox Valley Lutheran, 190; Green Bay East, 195; Green Bay Southwest, 234; Oshkosh North, 235; Peshtigo, 245; West De Pere, 247; Kimberly, 303; Ashwaubenon, 334; Green Bay Preble, 345; Menasha, 405; Kaukauna, 416; New London, 463; Seymour, 524; Notre Dame Academy, 537; Shawano, 567; Waupaca, 668.

S: 96, Alice Hoffman, 23:48; 112, Haley Williams, 24:31; 113, Sophia Holstrum, 24:36; 116, Sarah Mente, 24:44; 130, Caitlin Daniel, 25:13; 144, Hannah Williams, 27:44.

West De Pere’s Ella Perry had a kill and three aces to put the Phantoms ahead in Thursday’s decisive fifth game, and middle hitter Emilie Everard closed out the match with two kills Thursday in Shawano.

With the victory, West De Pere pulled even with Shawano and Seymour in second place in the Bay Conference, all at 4-2 behind Xavier (6-0). A Shawano victory would have given the Hawks, at worst, a second place finish in the conference.

Slow starts and hitting errors plagued Shawano all night in the 25-23, 25-21, 22-25, 14-25, 15-9 loss.

“We fell apart mentally in that fifth game. We couldn’t serve receive,” Shawano head coach Breanna Young said. “We couldn’t execute on offense, so they played tough, we just couldn’t finish.”

Shawano, in total, had 25 kills and 24 hitting errors, which prevented the team from going on any extended runs over the course of the match.

“We played too slow. We thought that this was going to be an easier game,” Young said. “West De Pere showed up, played tough, and we weren’t answering to that.”

West De Pere (11-14, 4-2 Bay) took control from the beginning, jumping out to a 6-0 lead in the first set before the Hawks (21-13, 4-2 Bay) clawed back into it.

Carmen Reed put away the final ball to win the first set, and the Phantoms jumped out ahead in the second as well.

“We never get ahead early,” West De Pere head coach Andrea Mayer said. “We always dig ourselves into a hole.”

The Phantoms missed 22 serves, including seven in the third set as the Hawks cut their deficit to 2-1.

“We shouldn’t be missing that many,” Mayer said.

Strong serves by Shawano sophomore Julia Klement (four aces in five points) in the fourth set helped put Shawano ahead 21-9 en route to a 25-14 win and 2-2 tie in the match.

West De Pere struggled with Klement’s control at the service line. She finished with seven aces and 10 kills.

“Julia can switch it up from a deep float to a short top, so my girls are used to a deep float because that’s what we serve, that’s what we practice,” Mayer said.

Despite having the momentum heading into the fifth set, the Hawks were unable to keep pace with Perry and Everard in the finale.

Mayer was proud of the perseverance of her team, which only has one senior, Daphne Blount, on the road in a critical game. Her message prior to the fifth set was simple.

“I just said, ‘You guys need to learn how to do this, because this is what you can be seeing in regionals and sectionals, and be able to learn to come back from losses. Just do it now so we don’t have to learn later,’” Mayer recalled.

Blount led West De Pere in digs, with 20. Perry recorded nine kills and five aces, and Reed had 18 assists and eight kills.

Junior Averi Vomastic had 17 digs for Shawano, and Bayleigh Laabs added 16 assists.

Conference play closes on Monday with the Hawks hosting New London, Seymour hosting Menasha and West De Pere traveling to Green Bay East.

“I think we just need to have a strong mental game,” Young said. “The girls know what they are capable of, and they just need to play to that talent.”

A ban on baiting for hunting and feeding deer for recreational viewing or other purposes in Oconto and Menominee counties will take effect Nov. 1.

Chronic wasting disease was detected in a captive white-tailed deer on a private hunting preserve in Oconto County and reported by the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection in late September.

State law requires that the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources enact a ban on feeding and baiting of deer in a county in which the county or a portion of the county is within a 10-mile radius of the animal that has been tested and confirmed to be positive for chronic wasting disease.

Menominee County is within a 10-mile radius of the Oconto County property on which a CWD-positive deer was found. The property is also within 10 miles of Shawano County (2.1 miles), but Shawano County was already designated as CWD-affected in 2014, which means a baiting and feeding ban is already in place.

CWD has not been detected in the wild deer population in Oconto and Menominee counties.

DNR staff are aware of the challenge such a sudden change may present for hunters, wildlife watchers and businesses that sell bait and feed. It is important to note that the sale of bait and feed is not restricted, and other uses for the products are allowed.

Individuals may still feed birds and small mammals, provided the feeding devices are within 50 yards of a human dwelling and at a sufficient height or design to prevent access by deer.

For information regarding baiting and feeding regulations and CWD in Wisconsin, visit dnr.wi.gov, and search keywords “bait” and “CWD” respectively.

FOOTBALL

Bonduel 41

Pacelli 7

ELi Mastey rushed 17 times for 130 yards and two TDs, while Jacob Banker added 92 yards and two more scores as Bonduel won Friday’s road Central Wisconsin Conference-8 matchup.

Bonduel (6-2, 4-2 CWC-8) had 58 rushes for 447 yards.

Pacelli (2-6, 1-4 CWC-8) had 176 total yards, including 21 yards on the ground.

BOYS SOCCER

Seymour 2

Shawano 1

Two early goals were too much to overcome on the road Friday night for Shawano.

Shawano (10-6-2, 4-3-1 Bay Conference) gave up goals in the fifth and 11th minutes to fall behind early.

Jacob Moesch scored in the 78th minute to cut the deficit to 1.

Shawano goalkeeper Tyrell Hesse had seven saves on the night.

Xavier took control in the running game and withstood a third-quarter surge from the Shawano Hawks for a 40-18 victory Friday in Shawano.

Shawano cut the Xavier lead to eight points with five minutes left in the third quarter after the second of Kien Moorman’s two touchdown runs. Xavier went on a six-minute drive, ending in an Adam Drees 11-yard TD run to extend the lead.

A bad snap on third down for the Hawks gave Xavier possession again in Shawano territory. Hunter Plamann’s touchdown put Xavier ahead 34-12.

“We needed to change the momentum in this game from their offense, and we had to make it about our offense because there was a window in there where they were going to do whatever they wanted to do,” Xavier head coach David Hinkens said.

The Hawks answered when Jack Hanauer found Dylan Sumnicht for a 48-yard score, but the Shawano defense couldn’t keep the visitors out of the end zone at the end.

Shawano was averaging nearly 38 points per game entering Friday’s showdown. The 18 points for the hosts was their lowest output on the season.

“We were down two scores with 4 or 5 minutes left and we had them on fourth down, and we couldn’t get the stop,” Shawano head coach Al Tomow said. “We were in it all the way through, we just couldn’t get the stop when we needed to on defense.”

Two late first-half scores by Adam Drees, within 35 seconds of each other, put Shawano behind early.

The Hawks’ offense struggled to find rhythm in the first half. Moorman came up with big plays, including a 26-yard run on fourth-and-one to push Shawano almost to the red zone. The drive stalled from there, though, with the Hawks turning it over on downs with 3:44 left in the second quarter.

Hanauer broke the school’s career passing yards record with a 19-yard completion to Sumnicht in the third quarter. Hanauer passed Chase Quinney, a 2007 graduate, with 3,443 yards.

Hanauer, who finished the game 10 for 30 passing for 161 yards and two interceptions, could not find any holes in the read option offense either.

“The No. 1 thing we wanted to do was stop their quarterback from running the football. That was our primary goal,” Hinkens said. “Everything feeds off of him running, so we had to take that out, and that’s what our goal was, and I thought we did a pretty good job of that.”

Xavier (4-4, 4-3 Bay Conference) drove down the field after a big run from Plamann, and a 35-yard completion to David Popelka took the ball down to the 11. Drees bounced a run to the left side before finding his way into the end zone.

Shawano’s next play was an interception on a tipped pass, and three plays later, Drees had his third score of the night for a 20-0 lead.

Plamann completed six of his nine passes for 97 yards while rushing for 157 yards. Drees finished the game with 118 yards and four scores on the ground.

Keeping the Shawano offense down for the duration of the game was going to be a challenge for Xavier, especially after Shawano recovered an onside kick to start the second half.

“If there’s any team in the state that’s going to come back at us, it’s going to be this one,” Hinkens said. “In the third quarter, they were going to throw some punches at us, and they did. We anticipated it.”

Moorman led the rushing attack with 27 carries for 155 yards and two scores. Sumnicht finished the game with six catches for 110 yards.

Shawano (5-3, 4-3 Bay) expected to play Xavier tougher, especially after defeating Waupaca handily last week.

“We don’t want to feel like this ever again,” Tomow said. “This is a tough loss for us against a team we thought we should have been a little more competitive with and we thought we had a chance to beat them.”

The turnaround is quick, however, with West De Pere (7-1, 6-1 Bay) waiting to close out the regular season on Friday.

Xavier 40, Shawano 18

Team 1 2 3 4 F

Xavier 7 13 0 20 40

Shawano 0 0 12 6 18

First quarter

X: Adam Drees 1-yard run (PAT good) 7-0 (0:48).

Second quarter

X: Drees 11-yard run (PAT good) 14-0 (0:55).

X: Drees 2-yard run (PAT missed) 20-0 (0:21).

Third quarter

S: Kien Moorman 20-yard run (conversion missed) 20-6 (10:08).

S: Moorman 5-yard run (conversion missed) 20-12 (5:00).

Fourth quarter

X: Drees 11-yard run (PAT good) 27-12 (10:54).

X: Plamann 16-yard run (PAT good) 34-12 (5:55).

S: Dylan Sumnicht 48-yard reception from Jack Hanauer (conversion missed) 34-18 (4:37).

X: Plamann 34-yard run (PAT missed) 40-18 (2:22).