MONROE - The Monroe football team entered a game against DeForest with a plan to get the ball to senior wide receiver Charlie Kind by using a quick passing game.
Monroe showed some flashes with the quick passing game, but lost a non-conference game to DeForest 35-6 Friday, Sept. 6.
DeForest (3-0), has a defense that is giving up just 8.6 points per game. The Norskies bottled up the Cheesemakers' running game limiting them to 45 total rushing yards. Monroe freshman Tyler Elmer wiped out the shutout bid when he hooked up with freshman Alex Tordoff on a 4-yard TD pass at the end of the game.
"There is no way to simulate the best when you are playing the best and we were short-handed tonight," Monroe coach Curt Miller said. "I think we have played some of the best. It should only prepare us for what is to come in our conference."
The Cheesemakers (0-3) had four starters out with injuries including senior Ryan Hughes, (offensive line, linebacker), senior Noah Thompson (tight end), senior Blake Bast (safety) and sophomore Jaron Kuester (linebacker).
"If tonight was a game to get to the playoffs they might have been able to play," Miller said. "I don't know if they would have been cleared to play. We just wanted them to get another week of rest. There is a great chance some of them will be cleared to play next week."
Kind entered the game with more interceptions this season (three) than receptions (zero). Kind had four receptions for 75 yards and junior quarterback Jake Flannery was 4 of 7 passing for 75 yards.
"It felt great to get those catches under my belt," Kind said. "We knew we were coming in as the underdog. When we run our plays right, we can compete with them (Badger South Conference schools). We definitely expect to compete. We have a lot of talent on this team."
On the Norskies' second possession in the first quarter, they capped a drive with Lucas Miller ramming his way in for a 2-yard TD run. The big play of the drive was Brendon Lapp's 57-yard pass to Bryce Bellefeuille.
The Cheesemakers had two turnovers and the first came on DeForest senior Cory Barman's interception. DeForest cashed in on the golden field position with Miller scoring on a 1-yard plunge to give the Norskies a 14-0 lead. Miller rushed for 33 yards on 11 carries and scored three touchdowns.
The Cheesemakers were able to force a turnover of their own. Kind got off a pooch punt early in the second quarter that hit a Norskie player and Monroe senior Grant Keith recovered. Monroe senior Blake Duffy just missed a 47-yard field goal.
"Blake had a great kick," Miller said. "It just came up a little short. That would have gave us some momentum."
Instead, the Norskies answered with Lapp's 10-yard TD pass to Jeff Berry. Lapp was 4 of 8 passing for 108 yards and two touchdowns. Berry had three receptions for 50 yards and two touchdowns.
Flannery continued to make strides at quarterback for the Cheesemakers connecting with Kind on a 33-yard pass play. Miller is confident that Flannery can become the playmaker at quarterback even though he doesn't have a lot of experience at the position.
"He did a nice job of throwing the football tonight," Miller said. "It's still a new position for him. The first time he played quarterback was on the junior varsity last year. He will develop into the position. When he does, he will be a nice weapon to have."
The Cheesemakers received a scare when Duffy was injured on a punt return by the Norskies late in the second quarter. Officials called an early halftime with 1 minute, 41 seconds to go in the second quarter. Duffy was carted off the field in an ambulance.
Miller said Duffy had a neck injury and he was carted off in an ambulance as a precaution.
It didn't take the Norskies long to add to their lead after the half. Two plays later, Miller bulled in for a 3-yard TD run to give the Norskies a 28-0 lead with 1:16 to go in the second quarter.
Besides the improved short passing game, another highlight for the Cheesemakers was the jolt the freshman connection Elmer and Tordoff had going late in the fourth quarter. Elmer completed 3-of-4 passes for 23 yards and connected with Tordoff on a 4-yard TD pass on fourth-and-goal to end the game. Tordoff finished the game with three receptions for 23 yards and one touchdown.
"It felt great," Elmer said of his first touchdown pass on the varsity. "Playing varsity as a freshman is great. We are on the sidelines and don't think we are going to get in. When we go in, it's our time to shine."
Monroe showed some flashes with the quick passing game, but lost a non-conference game to DeForest 35-6 Friday, Sept. 6.
DeForest (3-0), has a defense that is giving up just 8.6 points per game. The Norskies bottled up the Cheesemakers' running game limiting them to 45 total rushing yards. Monroe freshman Tyler Elmer wiped out the shutout bid when he hooked up with freshman Alex Tordoff on a 4-yard TD pass at the end of the game.
"There is no way to simulate the best when you are playing the best and we were short-handed tonight," Monroe coach Curt Miller said. "I think we have played some of the best. It should only prepare us for what is to come in our conference."
The Cheesemakers (0-3) had four starters out with injuries including senior Ryan Hughes, (offensive line, linebacker), senior Noah Thompson (tight end), senior Blake Bast (safety) and sophomore Jaron Kuester (linebacker).
"If tonight was a game to get to the playoffs they might have been able to play," Miller said. "I don't know if they would have been cleared to play. We just wanted them to get another week of rest. There is a great chance some of them will be cleared to play next week."
Kind entered the game with more interceptions this season (three) than receptions (zero). Kind had four receptions for 75 yards and junior quarterback Jake Flannery was 4 of 7 passing for 75 yards.
"It felt great to get those catches under my belt," Kind said. "We knew we were coming in as the underdog. When we run our plays right, we can compete with them (Badger South Conference schools). We definitely expect to compete. We have a lot of talent on this team."
On the Norskies' second possession in the first quarter, they capped a drive with Lucas Miller ramming his way in for a 2-yard TD run. The big play of the drive was Brendon Lapp's 57-yard pass to Bryce Bellefeuille.
The Cheesemakers had two turnovers and the first came on DeForest senior Cory Barman's interception. DeForest cashed in on the golden field position with Miller scoring on a 1-yard plunge to give the Norskies a 14-0 lead. Miller rushed for 33 yards on 11 carries and scored three touchdowns.
The Cheesemakers were able to force a turnover of their own. Kind got off a pooch punt early in the second quarter that hit a Norskie player and Monroe senior Grant Keith recovered. Monroe senior Blake Duffy just missed a 47-yard field goal.
"Blake had a great kick," Miller said. "It just came up a little short. That would have gave us some momentum."
Instead, the Norskies answered with Lapp's 10-yard TD pass to Jeff Berry. Lapp was 4 of 8 passing for 108 yards and two touchdowns. Berry had three receptions for 50 yards and two touchdowns.
Flannery continued to make strides at quarterback for the Cheesemakers connecting with Kind on a 33-yard pass play. Miller is confident that Flannery can become the playmaker at quarterback even though he doesn't have a lot of experience at the position.
"He did a nice job of throwing the football tonight," Miller said. "It's still a new position for him. The first time he played quarterback was on the junior varsity last year. He will develop into the position. When he does, he will be a nice weapon to have."
The Cheesemakers received a scare when Duffy was injured on a punt return by the Norskies late in the second quarter. Officials called an early halftime with 1 minute, 41 seconds to go in the second quarter. Duffy was carted off the field in an ambulance.
Miller said Duffy had a neck injury and he was carted off in an ambulance as a precaution.
It didn't take the Norskies long to add to their lead after the half. Two plays later, Miller bulled in for a 3-yard TD run to give the Norskies a 28-0 lead with 1:16 to go in the second quarter.
Besides the improved short passing game, another highlight for the Cheesemakers was the jolt the freshman connection Elmer and Tordoff had going late in the fourth quarter. Elmer completed 3-of-4 passes for 23 yards and connected with Tordoff on a 4-yard TD pass on fourth-and-goal to end the game. Tordoff finished the game with three receptions for 23 yards and one touchdown.
"It felt great," Elmer said of his first touchdown pass on the varsity. "Playing varsity as a freshman is great. We are on the sidelines and don't think we are going to get in. When we go in, it's our time to shine."
