MONROE - In the final game of the season Saturday, Monroe's fourth grade Blaze team defeated St. Francis 27-6.
Monroe won the opening toss and captain Noah Becker sent the offense onto the field. The Blaze scored on the opening drive of the game on a Derrick Ritschard 3-yard touchdown run. St. Francis came back with a scoring drive of their own to tie the game at 6-6 in the first quarter. Monroe took over the game from there, with strong performances on both offense and defense.
Travis Edmunds, who finished with 130 yards, scored on a 58-yard touchdown run with Nick Bansley adding the two-point conversion. On St. Francis' next possession, defensive ends Shaun Sweeney and Patrick Rielly stepped up with a sack each to end the drive. Monroe then scored on another Bansley 53-yard touchdown run, with Alex Witt adding the point-after-touchdown to put Monroe ahead 21-6 at halftime.
Being down in the second half, St. Francis went to their passing game. The Blaze defense was up to the task, with Sweeney adding two more sacks and Dayne Lawinger, Brady Biba and Jared Dillon each adding sacks, and Ben Figi, Logan Leuzinger, Kaiden Klitzke, Bodie Minder, Henry Hanson and Graham Kuckuk making key tackles.
The Blaze put the game out of reach on a Bansley 40-yard touchdown run at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Bansley finished with 144 yards rushing as Monroe ran for a total of 306 yards. The fourth grade Blaze finished the season with a record of 6-1.
Fifth Grade White
The Blaze fifth grade White team defeated St. Francis Black (Cross Plains) by a score of 26-12 Saturday at the YMCA field.
After a sluggish start and spotting St. Francis a 12-0 lead after the first quarter, the Blaze put together two successful drives in the second quarter.
The Blaze recovered a St. Francis fumble and drove 35 yards to take a 12-6 lead on a 6-yard run by Nick Schumacher. After a defensive stop, the Blaze then drove 60 yards in seven plays and scored on a 5-yard run by Jordan Montgomery. The extra point run by Nick Schumacher gave the Blaze a 13-12 halftime lead.
In the second half, the Blaze defense continually stopped St. Francis and also came up with a score to increase their lead. Nick Schumacher sacked the quarterback, causing a fumble, and Hunter Huschitt picked up the ball and ran 40 yards for a score, giving the Blaze a 19-12 lead. In the fourth quarter, the Blaze drove 65 yards in six plays, scoring on fourth down via a 12-yard pass from Schumacher to Hunter Huschitt.
For the game, the Blaze ran 38 times for 226 net yards and completed 1 of 1 passes for 12 yards and a touchdown and lost two fumbles.
St. Francis ran 25 times for 86 net yards and completed 3 of 5 passes for 63 yards and lost two fumbles.
The Blaze finished the year with a 5-2 record and played their best football at the end of the year, especially in the final two games.
Fifth Grade Red
Finishing up the season, the Monroe fifth grade Blaze Red team ended with a tough, 12-6 loss to Memorial Spartans Green, bringing their league record to 5-2 (5-3 overall).
Monroe opened up the game with an impressive drive capped by a Colby Argall 23-yard touchdown run. The two-point attempt failed, leaving the score 6-0. The Spartans were able to push in a score with just 8 seconds left in the first half. Their two-point attempt failed leaving a halftime score tied at 6.
With less than 2 minutes left to go in the game, the Blaze had a chance to tie the game with a touchdown in the last drive but lost the ball on a fumble inside the 2 yard line. Argall rushed for 111 yards and one touchdown.
Evan Thompson finished with 39 yards, and Jacob Amacher had 24 yards. Leading the defense in tackles were Argall with 14; Thompson with nine; Evan Blumer and Cole Lincicum each with eight; Kade King with five; and Jacob Setterstrom with four.
Sixth Grade
The sixth grade Blaze ended their season with a 5-2 record, with a 28-0 loss to Middleton Cardinals White. A forced fumble by Dempzy Foley was recovered by Sam Kind. The Blaze offense struggled despite good plays by Travis Wolf, Jonah Tostrud, Kieran Bazley, Brett Dorsey, Jevon Gibson and Sam Hanson.
Seventh Grade
The seventh grade Blaze lost a tough game 20-6 to the Southside Raiders Saturday. The Blaze had a solid team effort but came up short to the powerful Raiders team. The seventh grade ended their season with a 4-3 league record.
Eighth Grade
The eighth grade Blaze ran into a top team from Warner Park and lost 34-0 in a hard-fought game. It was by far the eighth grade Blaze's toughest opponent of the season. The Blaze ended the season with a 4-3 record.
Monroe won the opening toss and captain Noah Becker sent the offense onto the field. The Blaze scored on the opening drive of the game on a Derrick Ritschard 3-yard touchdown run. St. Francis came back with a scoring drive of their own to tie the game at 6-6 in the first quarter. Monroe took over the game from there, with strong performances on both offense and defense.
Travis Edmunds, who finished with 130 yards, scored on a 58-yard touchdown run with Nick Bansley adding the two-point conversion. On St. Francis' next possession, defensive ends Shaun Sweeney and Patrick Rielly stepped up with a sack each to end the drive. Monroe then scored on another Bansley 53-yard touchdown run, with Alex Witt adding the point-after-touchdown to put Monroe ahead 21-6 at halftime.
Being down in the second half, St. Francis went to their passing game. The Blaze defense was up to the task, with Sweeney adding two more sacks and Dayne Lawinger, Brady Biba and Jared Dillon each adding sacks, and Ben Figi, Logan Leuzinger, Kaiden Klitzke, Bodie Minder, Henry Hanson and Graham Kuckuk making key tackles.
The Blaze put the game out of reach on a Bansley 40-yard touchdown run at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Bansley finished with 144 yards rushing as Monroe ran for a total of 306 yards. The fourth grade Blaze finished the season with a record of 6-1.
Fifth Grade White
The Blaze fifth grade White team defeated St. Francis Black (Cross Plains) by a score of 26-12 Saturday at the YMCA field.
After a sluggish start and spotting St. Francis a 12-0 lead after the first quarter, the Blaze put together two successful drives in the second quarter.
The Blaze recovered a St. Francis fumble and drove 35 yards to take a 12-6 lead on a 6-yard run by Nick Schumacher. After a defensive stop, the Blaze then drove 60 yards in seven plays and scored on a 5-yard run by Jordan Montgomery. The extra point run by Nick Schumacher gave the Blaze a 13-12 halftime lead.
In the second half, the Blaze defense continually stopped St. Francis and also came up with a score to increase their lead. Nick Schumacher sacked the quarterback, causing a fumble, and Hunter Huschitt picked up the ball and ran 40 yards for a score, giving the Blaze a 19-12 lead. In the fourth quarter, the Blaze drove 65 yards in six plays, scoring on fourth down via a 12-yard pass from Schumacher to Hunter Huschitt.
For the game, the Blaze ran 38 times for 226 net yards and completed 1 of 1 passes for 12 yards and a touchdown and lost two fumbles.
St. Francis ran 25 times for 86 net yards and completed 3 of 5 passes for 63 yards and lost two fumbles.
The Blaze finished the year with a 5-2 record and played their best football at the end of the year, especially in the final two games.
Fifth Grade Red
Finishing up the season, the Monroe fifth grade Blaze Red team ended with a tough, 12-6 loss to Memorial Spartans Green, bringing their league record to 5-2 (5-3 overall).
Monroe opened up the game with an impressive drive capped by a Colby Argall 23-yard touchdown run. The two-point attempt failed, leaving the score 6-0. The Spartans were able to push in a score with just 8 seconds left in the first half. Their two-point attempt failed leaving a halftime score tied at 6.
With less than 2 minutes left to go in the game, the Blaze had a chance to tie the game with a touchdown in the last drive but lost the ball on a fumble inside the 2 yard line. Argall rushed for 111 yards and one touchdown.
Evan Thompson finished with 39 yards, and Jacob Amacher had 24 yards. Leading the defense in tackles were Argall with 14; Thompson with nine; Evan Blumer and Cole Lincicum each with eight; Kade King with five; and Jacob Setterstrom with four.
Sixth Grade
The sixth grade Blaze ended their season with a 5-2 record, with a 28-0 loss to Middleton Cardinals White. A forced fumble by Dempzy Foley was recovered by Sam Kind. The Blaze offense struggled despite good plays by Travis Wolf, Jonah Tostrud, Kieran Bazley, Brett Dorsey, Jevon Gibson and Sam Hanson.
Seventh Grade
The seventh grade Blaze lost a tough game 20-6 to the Southside Raiders Saturday. The Blaze had a solid team effort but came up short to the powerful Raiders team. The seventh grade ended their season with a 4-3 league record.
Eighth Grade
The eighth grade Blaze ran into a top team from Warner Park and lost 34-0 in a hard-fought game. It was by far the eighth grade Blaze's toughest opponent of the season. The Blaze ended the season with a 4-3 record.
