MONROE - For junior quarterback Cam Elmer, it didn't matter how the Friday's game against Edgewood started, but rather how it finished.
"I loved it, personally," said Elmer, Monroe's third-string quarterback who was pushed into starting duties. "We had a chance to go down and get a touchdown, but we just couldn't pull it all together."
The Cheesemakers' offense - and defense - showed resiliency in the fourth quarter and nearly mounted a comeback before falling to Madison Edgewood Friday, 14-6.
"It was tough, because you always want to beat Edgewood. (The coaches) were like, 'You're going. Get ready.' But I believe in my guys and I believe in my line," Elmer said.
With original starting quarterback senior Michael Barrett sitting out the year with a concussion and sophomore backup Alex Barenklau sidelined Wednesday during practice, Monroe had to rely on Elmer to lead the offense - and not get hurt.
"We had a little adversity this week. We lost (Barenklau) at the end of practice Wednesday so Cam had one day to prepare," Monroe head coach Curt Miller said. "He was efficient and he made good decisions. I'm proud of the way he played. Early in the season I said that I thought we had the conference's best third-string quarterback and now we're seeing him play."
Miller had his offense returned to a base I-Formation for much of the game instead of the shotgun spread it had grown accustomed to.
"That style of offense fits Cam a little better, and I think we found out that fits our kids a little better, too," Miller said.
Edgewood took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. After blocking a Cam Wahl punt, the Crusaders (4-1, 2-0 Badger South) drove 30 yards on five plays - with Connor Lagman catching a fade pass from Seth White on 4th and 5 from the Monroe 7-yard line.
After that, the two teams played field position football without much in between.
"We tried to play a little more power football," said Elmer of the I-Formation offense. "It worked for quite a while. Our line did a great job."
Senior Evan Brady gave the Cheesemakers an early spark to open the second half. Brady read White's eyes perfectly on a rollout pass and made a fully-extended leaping interception near midfield. Though Monroe had to punt after a three-and-out, the momentum was starting to swing.
"I'm proud of Evan. He's a kid that just doesn't quit," Miller said. He only had one or two days of practice as well and just had a great game."
Edgewood drove its next possession past midfield, but chose to go for the first down on 4th-and-9. That's when Brady struck again, picking off his second pass of the game and returning it 39 yards to Edgewood's 41-yard line.
"There must have been magnets in my glove or something," said Brady, who was filling in for an ill Tyler Barta at outside linebacker. "The ball came right to me, I saw it and made a play on it and followed my big boys down the field."
Brady, who added a late sack, said he cherished the opportunity to start on defense.
"I was a little nervous coming into the game, but it was a great feeling. I got the call and made a few plays," Brady said, "but it would have felt better with a win."
The Cheesemakers then rattled off an 11-play drive that closed out the third quarter and opened the fourth. Elmer had a QB sneak on 4th-and-inches that picked up a first down and three plays later connected with a Jon Becker at the 12 to put Monroe in the red zone.
Three plays later, Elmer tossed a perfect corner fade pass to senior Bryan Tordoff in the far left side of the end zone.
"It felt real good. It felt a little bit better than what I thought it would," Elmer said of his first career TD pass. Monroe missed the extra point and trailed 7-6.
Edgewood went right back to work, picking up 64 passing yards - 42 on a long run by Jack Zwettler - and a 9-yard TD run by Chris Wells. The extra-point gave the Crusaders an 8-point lead with just 7 minutes, 24 seconds left.
Skylar Stingley then gave Monroe new life, returning the kickoff 42 yards to midfield. Three plays later, Elmer fumbled a QB keeper at Edgewood's 32-yard line - forcing Monroe's defense to get the ball back with 5:56 remaining.
"When I fumbled the ball, I just hit myself in the head (in anger)," Elmer said. "When we got the ball back we had a couple chances to score but couldn't put it all together."
Edgewood drove back to inside Monroe's 33-yard line. On 4th-and-3 with 2:20 left, the Cheesemakers' defensive line jumped offsides, allowing Edgewood to run a handful more plays and leaving Monroe with zero timeouts left.
When Monroe took over on offense again, Elmer had 66 yards to go in just 17 seconds. On 3-and-10 with five ticks left, Elmer dumped it short to Becker, who could only make to the Edgewood 47.
"We were happy to be in the ball game at the time, but two passing breakdowns was the difference in the game," Miller said. "Kids played their hearts out tonight."
Dylan Schwitz had 61 yards on 24 carries for Monroe. The Cheesemakers gained 144 yards of offense in the game while holding Edgewood to 182 total yards.
Monroe (0-5, 0-3) needs to win its final three conference games in order to qualify for playoffs. Next up is Milton (2-3, 1-1), then Monona Grove (5-0, 3-0) and Stoughton (3-2, 1-2).
"Our focus is going to be the same each week. We're going to try to contain (Milton's) Nate Hammon, their quarterback. He's one of the best high school players I've ever seen play. But they don't have a ton of depth around him," Miller said. "We're 0-5, but we still feel like we can be a good football team if we want to be. We had less mental breakdowns and less mistakes today - but a couple of mistakes were very costly."
"I loved it, personally," said Elmer, Monroe's third-string quarterback who was pushed into starting duties. "We had a chance to go down and get a touchdown, but we just couldn't pull it all together."
The Cheesemakers' offense - and defense - showed resiliency in the fourth quarter and nearly mounted a comeback before falling to Madison Edgewood Friday, 14-6.
"It was tough, because you always want to beat Edgewood. (The coaches) were like, 'You're going. Get ready.' But I believe in my guys and I believe in my line," Elmer said.
With original starting quarterback senior Michael Barrett sitting out the year with a concussion and sophomore backup Alex Barenklau sidelined Wednesday during practice, Monroe had to rely on Elmer to lead the offense - and not get hurt.
"We had a little adversity this week. We lost (Barenklau) at the end of practice Wednesday so Cam had one day to prepare," Monroe head coach Curt Miller said. "He was efficient and he made good decisions. I'm proud of the way he played. Early in the season I said that I thought we had the conference's best third-string quarterback and now we're seeing him play."
Miller had his offense returned to a base I-Formation for much of the game instead of the shotgun spread it had grown accustomed to.
"That style of offense fits Cam a little better, and I think we found out that fits our kids a little better, too," Miller said.
Edgewood took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. After blocking a Cam Wahl punt, the Crusaders (4-1, 2-0 Badger South) drove 30 yards on five plays - with Connor Lagman catching a fade pass from Seth White on 4th and 5 from the Monroe 7-yard line.
After that, the two teams played field position football without much in between.
"We tried to play a little more power football," said Elmer of the I-Formation offense. "It worked for quite a while. Our line did a great job."
Senior Evan Brady gave the Cheesemakers an early spark to open the second half. Brady read White's eyes perfectly on a rollout pass and made a fully-extended leaping interception near midfield. Though Monroe had to punt after a three-and-out, the momentum was starting to swing.
"I'm proud of Evan. He's a kid that just doesn't quit," Miller said. He only had one or two days of practice as well and just had a great game."
Edgewood drove its next possession past midfield, but chose to go for the first down on 4th-and-9. That's when Brady struck again, picking off his second pass of the game and returning it 39 yards to Edgewood's 41-yard line.
"There must have been magnets in my glove or something," said Brady, who was filling in for an ill Tyler Barta at outside linebacker. "The ball came right to me, I saw it and made a play on it and followed my big boys down the field."
Brady, who added a late sack, said he cherished the opportunity to start on defense.
"I was a little nervous coming into the game, but it was a great feeling. I got the call and made a few plays," Brady said, "but it would have felt better with a win."
The Cheesemakers then rattled off an 11-play drive that closed out the third quarter and opened the fourth. Elmer had a QB sneak on 4th-and-inches that picked up a first down and three plays later connected with a Jon Becker at the 12 to put Monroe in the red zone.
Three plays later, Elmer tossed a perfect corner fade pass to senior Bryan Tordoff in the far left side of the end zone.
"It felt real good. It felt a little bit better than what I thought it would," Elmer said of his first career TD pass. Monroe missed the extra point and trailed 7-6.
Edgewood went right back to work, picking up 64 passing yards - 42 on a long run by Jack Zwettler - and a 9-yard TD run by Chris Wells. The extra-point gave the Crusaders an 8-point lead with just 7 minutes, 24 seconds left.
Skylar Stingley then gave Monroe new life, returning the kickoff 42 yards to midfield. Three plays later, Elmer fumbled a QB keeper at Edgewood's 32-yard line - forcing Monroe's defense to get the ball back with 5:56 remaining.
"When I fumbled the ball, I just hit myself in the head (in anger)," Elmer said. "When we got the ball back we had a couple chances to score but couldn't put it all together."
Edgewood drove back to inside Monroe's 33-yard line. On 4th-and-3 with 2:20 left, the Cheesemakers' defensive line jumped offsides, allowing Edgewood to run a handful more plays and leaving Monroe with zero timeouts left.
When Monroe took over on offense again, Elmer had 66 yards to go in just 17 seconds. On 3-and-10 with five ticks left, Elmer dumped it short to Becker, who could only make to the Edgewood 47.
"We were happy to be in the ball game at the time, but two passing breakdowns was the difference in the game," Miller said. "Kids played their hearts out tonight."
Dylan Schwitz had 61 yards on 24 carries for Monroe. The Cheesemakers gained 144 yards of offense in the game while holding Edgewood to 182 total yards.
Monroe (0-5, 0-3) needs to win its final three conference games in order to qualify for playoffs. Next up is Milton (2-3, 1-1), then Monona Grove (5-0, 3-0) and Stoughton (3-2, 1-2).
"Our focus is going to be the same each week. We're going to try to contain (Milton's) Nate Hammon, their quarterback. He's one of the best high school players I've ever seen play. But they don't have a ton of depth around him," Miller said. "We're 0-5, but we still feel like we can be a good football team if we want to be. We had less mental breakdowns and less mistakes today - but a couple of mistakes were very costly."
