PRAIRIE DU SAC - Alex Dammen's name got called a lot in the second half Friday night.
In fact, his name was pretty much the only one that got called on Monroe's two scoring possessions in the half.
"We found a way in the second half to run the football," Cheesemakers' coach Curt Miller said after watching Dammen rush for 132 yards in the half - including all 60 of a nine-play, 60-yard scoring drive that he capped with a 4-yard touchdown run to put Monroe ahead 20-14 on its first possession of the half en route to a 28-14 win at Sauk Prairie.
"In the last two weeks we've been 250 yards passing and not a whole lot rushing, and so one of our focuses tonight was to try to run the football. In the second half we did it and fortunately it paid off and that's what got us the win," Miller said.
Dammen repeated the effort midway through the fourth quarter, rushing for 69 yards on another nine-play scoring drive - this one stretching 70 yards and capped by a Dammen 10-yard touchdown run that all but sealed the game with five minutes, 50 seconds left.
Early on, though, it didn't look as though Monroe (3-3, 1-2 Badger South) was going to be able to pull away by two scores. In fact, it looked as though the game would be a barn-burner.
The Cheesemakers got on the board on their sixth play of the game when quarterback Mitch Tordoff scrambled to his left for a 1-yard touchdown and an early 7-0 lead, capitalizing on an earlier Mitch Tordoff to Bryan Tordoff 80-yard pass that was nearly intercepted by Chad Pings near the 40-yard line before being deflected into Bryan Tordoff's hands.
But Sauk Prairie (1-5, 1-2 Badger North) responded on their fourth play from scrimmage when Zach Fiene found Pings for a 49-yard touchdown to tie it.
Monroe's offense stalled and was forced to punt from its own 21 on its next possession, and it looked as though the Eagles were going to take the lead shortly after.
But Tyler Halverson fumbled on Monroe's one-yard line on what would have been a go-ahead score midway through the first, spoiling a 10-play, 55-yard drive and giving Monroe the ball. Later, Monroe went to a no-huddle attack and Mitch Tordoff found Mitch McArdle for an 8-yard touchdown pass to cap an eight-play 65-yard drive and put the Cheesemakers ahead 14-7 midway through the second.
The Eagles answered two plays later when Zach Buelow scampered 46 yards - and broke two Monroe tackles - for a touchdown to tie it at 14.
"We knew they had some weapons, and those kids just made some great plays," Miller said of his defense's two first-half breakdowns. "We were a little out of position, but a lot of credit to those kids for making those plays."
They didn't matter, though, as Monroe's defense complemented Dammen in the second half by holding Sauk Prairie scoreless.
"Coming out in the second half, our kids just found a way to make those adjustments. And I'm pretty proud of them for shutting them out in the second half," Miller said.
In fact, his name was pretty much the only one that got called on Monroe's two scoring possessions in the half.
"We found a way in the second half to run the football," Cheesemakers' coach Curt Miller said after watching Dammen rush for 132 yards in the half - including all 60 of a nine-play, 60-yard scoring drive that he capped with a 4-yard touchdown run to put Monroe ahead 20-14 on its first possession of the half en route to a 28-14 win at Sauk Prairie.
"In the last two weeks we've been 250 yards passing and not a whole lot rushing, and so one of our focuses tonight was to try to run the football. In the second half we did it and fortunately it paid off and that's what got us the win," Miller said.
Dammen repeated the effort midway through the fourth quarter, rushing for 69 yards on another nine-play scoring drive - this one stretching 70 yards and capped by a Dammen 10-yard touchdown run that all but sealed the game with five minutes, 50 seconds left.
Early on, though, it didn't look as though Monroe (3-3, 1-2 Badger South) was going to be able to pull away by two scores. In fact, it looked as though the game would be a barn-burner.
The Cheesemakers got on the board on their sixth play of the game when quarterback Mitch Tordoff scrambled to his left for a 1-yard touchdown and an early 7-0 lead, capitalizing on an earlier Mitch Tordoff to Bryan Tordoff 80-yard pass that was nearly intercepted by Chad Pings near the 40-yard line before being deflected into Bryan Tordoff's hands.
But Sauk Prairie (1-5, 1-2 Badger North) responded on their fourth play from scrimmage when Zach Fiene found Pings for a 49-yard touchdown to tie it.
Monroe's offense stalled and was forced to punt from its own 21 on its next possession, and it looked as though the Eagles were going to take the lead shortly after.
But Tyler Halverson fumbled on Monroe's one-yard line on what would have been a go-ahead score midway through the first, spoiling a 10-play, 55-yard drive and giving Monroe the ball. Later, Monroe went to a no-huddle attack and Mitch Tordoff found Mitch McArdle for an 8-yard touchdown pass to cap an eight-play 65-yard drive and put the Cheesemakers ahead 14-7 midway through the second.
The Eagles answered two plays later when Zach Buelow scampered 46 yards - and broke two Monroe tackles - for a touchdown to tie it at 14.
"We knew they had some weapons, and those kids just made some great plays," Miller said of his defense's two first-half breakdowns. "We were a little out of position, but a lot of credit to those kids for making those plays."
They didn't matter, though, as Monroe's defense complemented Dammen in the second half by holding Sauk Prairie scoreless.
"Coming out in the second half, our kids just found a way to make those adjustments. And I'm pretty proud of them for shutting them out in the second half," Miller said.
