BELLEVILLE - New Glarus-Monticello senior quarterback Ryan Bright didn't want to sugarcoat the Knights' red zone struggles Friday after escaping with an 8-6 win over Belleville-Albany.
The Knights (6-1, 3-0 Capitol South) ran 10 plays inside the Wildcats' 20-yard line in the second half, but failed to score.
"It's kind of heartbreaking to say it, but I think we lost our edge," Bright said of the Knights' offense. "We are five points away from being 1-2, out of it in conference and turning our shoulder pads in. This football team is lucky. We have been lucky the last two weeks."
Belleville-Albany (2-5, 0-3) had four sacks from its defense, forced two turnovers and delivered a critical fourth quarter goal line stand as the Wildcats tried to comeback from an 8-6 deficit in their homecoming game.
The Knights couldn't capitalize on a drive midway through the fourth quarter, as the Wildcats forced a fumble that was recovered by Dylan Riley.
Three plays later, Belleville-Albany sophomore quarterback Collin Adams, who completed 10 of 17 passes for 83 yards, fumbled a shotgun snap and the Knights recovered with 58 seconds left. However, the Knights couldn't run the clock out.
The Wildcats forced a turnover on downs and Adams had one final shot with 34 seconds left. He completed a short pass to Tommy Stadelman, who caught three passes for 36 yards. On the last play, he zipped a 20-yard pass to Stadelman over the middle, but time expired and the Knights survived.
"Those kids (Belleville-Albany) were fighting for their playoff lives and we were playing for ours," New Glarus-Monticello coach Jeff Eichelkraut said. "We did a good job of controlling the clock to put them in a bad situation. The biggest thing we have to start doing is finishing drives."
The Wildcats opened the game with a nine-play, 50-yard drive, culminating in senior Nick Davis' 21-yard TD run, but the Knights blocked the extra point. Davis ran for 94 yards on 18 carries.
The Wildcats bottled up the New Glarus-Monticello offense for most of the first half. That's until the Knights drove 77 yards in two plays in 27 seconds to take the lead. Bright set up the score when he broke loose for a 44-yard run. Bright then hooked up with senior Cameron Jeglum, who made a leaping catch for a 33-yard TD. Bright scrambled and did a dive to break the pylon for a two-point conversion to give the Knights an 8-6 lead.
"We are literally seconds away from two (more) wins," Belleville-Albany coach Barry Lengfeld said. "There is no doubt in my mind we could have won this game. It was a tough loss for a lot of them. It was homecoming and it was close. We still don't have the killer instinct. We are down, but our season is not over."
Bright completed 5 of 14 passes for 102 yards with a touchdown. Jeglum had five catches for 102 yards and a touchdown to lead the Knights. New Glarus-Monticello junior Tyler Dorn rushed for 53 yards on 11 carries.
The Knights had a golden scoring opportunity late in the second quarter after Dallas Boley's sack forced the Wildcats to punt deep in their own territory with less than a minute before halftime. The Knights couldn't capitalize on the field position after fumbling the punt.
"Kudos to our defense," Eichelkraut said. "That and our special teams were a big part of the win."
The Knights (6-1, 3-0 Capitol South) ran 10 plays inside the Wildcats' 20-yard line in the second half, but failed to score.
"It's kind of heartbreaking to say it, but I think we lost our edge," Bright said of the Knights' offense. "We are five points away from being 1-2, out of it in conference and turning our shoulder pads in. This football team is lucky. We have been lucky the last two weeks."
Belleville-Albany (2-5, 0-3) had four sacks from its defense, forced two turnovers and delivered a critical fourth quarter goal line stand as the Wildcats tried to comeback from an 8-6 deficit in their homecoming game.
The Knights couldn't capitalize on a drive midway through the fourth quarter, as the Wildcats forced a fumble that was recovered by Dylan Riley.
Three plays later, Belleville-Albany sophomore quarterback Collin Adams, who completed 10 of 17 passes for 83 yards, fumbled a shotgun snap and the Knights recovered with 58 seconds left. However, the Knights couldn't run the clock out.
The Wildcats forced a turnover on downs and Adams had one final shot with 34 seconds left. He completed a short pass to Tommy Stadelman, who caught three passes for 36 yards. On the last play, he zipped a 20-yard pass to Stadelman over the middle, but time expired and the Knights survived.
"Those kids (Belleville-Albany) were fighting for their playoff lives and we were playing for ours," New Glarus-Monticello coach Jeff Eichelkraut said. "We did a good job of controlling the clock to put them in a bad situation. The biggest thing we have to start doing is finishing drives."
The Wildcats opened the game with a nine-play, 50-yard drive, culminating in senior Nick Davis' 21-yard TD run, but the Knights blocked the extra point. Davis ran for 94 yards on 18 carries.
The Wildcats bottled up the New Glarus-Monticello offense for most of the first half. That's until the Knights drove 77 yards in two plays in 27 seconds to take the lead. Bright set up the score when he broke loose for a 44-yard run. Bright then hooked up with senior Cameron Jeglum, who made a leaping catch for a 33-yard TD. Bright scrambled and did a dive to break the pylon for a two-point conversion to give the Knights an 8-6 lead.
"We are literally seconds away from two (more) wins," Belleville-Albany coach Barry Lengfeld said. "There is no doubt in my mind we could have won this game. It was a tough loss for a lot of them. It was homecoming and it was close. We still don't have the killer instinct. We are down, but our season is not over."
Bright completed 5 of 14 passes for 102 yards with a touchdown. Jeglum had five catches for 102 yards and a touchdown to lead the Knights. New Glarus-Monticello junior Tyler Dorn rushed for 53 yards on 11 carries.
The Knights had a golden scoring opportunity late in the second quarter after Dallas Boley's sack forced the Wildcats to punt deep in their own territory with less than a minute before halftime. The Knights couldn't capitalize on the field position after fumbling the punt.
"Kudos to our defense," Eichelkraut said. "That and our special teams were a big part of the win."
