Chris Caporale, sports@wolfrivermedia.com
Leader Photo by Chris Caporale Bonduel High School sophomore running back Jordan Boldt looks for an opening in the Southern Door defense during Bonduel’s 41-27 loss Friday.
Leader Photo by Chris Caporale Bonduel High School senior running back Blake Stoss dives over a defender for extra yardage during Bonduel’s playoff loss Friday.
Blake Stoss caught a 4-yard pass from Trevor Pedersen early in the fourth quarter as Bonduel grabbed its first lead of the game Friday, but it would not last long.
Southern Door senior Trevor Hawkey took a reverse 47 yards to the end zone just three minutes later to push the Eagles in front. They tacked on two more touchdowns in the final eight minutes to secure a 41-27 victory in a WIAA Division 5 Level Two playoff game at Southern Door.
“A lot of ups and downs this game. You’re playing a good team, you’ve got to be disciplined,” Bonduel head coach James Westrich said. “You’ve got to be on the same page. A couple of times, they’ve caught us on different pages and our defense didn’t communicate some times. Turnovers, so we had some mistakes, but I’m proud of our kids. They play every game with a ton of effort, a ton of passion.”
Bonduel (8-3) fell behind 13-0 early in the second quarter before sustaining a 10-minute drive on its subsequent possession, which ended with a fumble in the red zone. Bonduel lost three fumbles on the night.
Once the Bears got the ball back, they narrowly averted another turnover as, on fourth down, a high snap forced Pedersen to scramble to recover the ball, slip past defenders and get the punt off.
On the very next play, Southern Door tried a wide receiver pass back to the quarterback that was intercepted by Eric Ballestad, setting the Bears up with good field position with under a minute remaining in the half.
“We just got too greedy and tried running a play that wasn’t there,” Southern Door coach Pat McCarty said. “It was something we had never run before. The kid probably should have thrown it away, but instead, they get an interception and a lot of momentum.”
Pedersen rambled into the end zone on a designed rollout for the 2-yard score with just four seconds remaining in the half.
In the third quarter, a Bonduel turnover set up another quick score as the Eagles (9-2) extended their lead to 19-7.
The Bears responded by taking control of the line of scrimmage and running the ball consistently through the Southern Door defense, scoring the next two touchdowns to take the lead, 20-19, with 11:21 remaining in the game.
Hawkey scored back-to-back touchdowns as the Eagles gained control of the game before Bonduel was able to add a 56-yard score on a slant route by Trebor Rueckert late in the game.
Stoss finished the game with 101 rushing yards on 25 rushes. Pedersen threw for 100 yards on seven completions.
“I’m really proud of our kids,” Westrich said. “They fought to the end. I wish they had another game, but that’s the way it is.”
Derik LeCaptain led the Eagles in rushing with 81 yards.
Southern Door will face undefeated Amherst, champion of the Central Wisconsin Conference-8, in the next round of the playoffs.
SOUTHERN DOOR 41, BONDUEL 27
Bonduel 0 7 7 13 — 27
Southern Door 7 6 6 21 — 41
First quarter
SD: Jandrin 1-yard run (PAT good) 8:39.
Second quarter
SD: Derik LeCaptain 25-yard run (PAT blocked) 11:41.
B: Pedersen 2-yard run (PAT good) 0:04.
Third quarter
SD: Nicholas LeCaptain 3-yard run (conversion missed) 10:37.
B: Banker 2-yard run (PAT good) 4:13.
Fourth quarter
B: Stoss 4-yard reception from Pedersen (conversion missed) 11:21.
SD: Hawkey 47-yard run (conversion good) 8:38.
SD: Hawkey 4-yard reception from N. LeCaptain (PAT good) 4:07.
SD: Jandrin 2-yard run (PAT good) 1:39.
B: Trebor Rueckert 56-yard reception (PAT good) 1:15.