MONROE - When Monroe High School senior running back Jacob Kind is at full strength and the Cheesemakers football team unleashes him, it turns into a track meet and a nightmare for opposing defenses.
Kind had 193 total yards and scored three touchdowns to help Monroe roll to a 34-14 homecoming win over Oregon Friday.
Kind rushed for 117 yards on 14 carries and scored two touchdowns. He also had a punt return for a touchdown.
Monroe (7-0, 4-0 Badger South), ranked seventh in the WisSports.net Division 3 Coaches' poll and No. 10 in the Associated Press medium division poll, stays on top in the hunt for a conference championship.
"I wasn't feeling well and was kind of sick the last couple of games," Kind said. "I started feeling better in practice this week. Coach G (Toby Golembiewski) noticed that, and he decided to give me a lot more carries this week and it worked. Coaches always tell me to stay behind your blockers. When I stay behind them good things happen."
There were a lot of good things happening for the Cheesemakers' offense. It was a strong one-two punch with senior Isaac Allen rushing for 216 yards on 27 carries. Monroe gashed the Panthers for 381 rushing yards.
"He (Kind) was feeling better this week," Monroe coach Toby Golembiewski said. "From an athletic standpoint him (Kind) and Cole (Murray) are special football athletes."
Monroe senior Dylan Beaver had one sack and a fumble recovery on the Panthers' first possession in the first quarter that set up the Cheesemakers' first scoring drive. Kind ripped off a 20-yard run. After a penalty, Kind bowled his way in for a 2-yard TD run.
The Cheesemakers added to their lead on their second drive. With the Cheesemakers facing fourth-and-6 from their own 41-yard line, senior Tyler Elmer ran a fake punt for eight yards to pick up a key first down to keep the drive alive. Elmer hooked up with Allen on a 33-yard TD pass with 50 seconds to go in the first quarter to give the Cheesemakers a 13-0 lead.
Elmer completed 2 of 5 passes for 42 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
"It definitely felt good to set up the pass," Elmer said. "It made the run a lot better. They really didn't come hard off the edge. That made it a lot easier."
Monroe poured it on in the second quarter. The Cheesemakers capped a seven-play, 50-yard drive with Murray punching in a 5-yard TD run midway through the quarter to give the Cheesemakers a 20-0 lead.
Kind then returned a punt 67 yards for a touchdown late in the second quarter to give the Cheesemakers a 27-0 lead.
"I saw a lot of white jerseys coming at me," Kind said. "I tried to run to the sidelines. I got a couple of good blocks, and it was a foot race from there on out."
The Panthers responded with a 12-play, 80-yard drive, culminating in junior Kardelle Phillips' 18-yard TD run to cut the Cheesemakers' lead to 27-7 at the half.
The Cheesemakers entered the game giving up an average of 99 rushing yards per game. Oregon ran for 247 total yards.
Oregon senior fullback Brett Wannebo rushed for 130 yards on 16 carries. Phillips had a 57-yard run wiped out for a block in the back in the first half and another long run in the first quarter called back due to a holding penalty.
"They (Oregon) did a good job," Golembiewski said. "We reacted poorly a couple of times, and we got burned."
The Cheesemakers had five penalties for 45 yards.
"We had some drives stall because of penalties," Golembiewski said. "We probably had our most penalized game tonight. Sometimes getting those going into the wind are hard to overcome. We are still not as good as we can be. We are not playing at our best yet. We are winning games by doing things right at the right times."
Oregon senior quarterback Steven Moravec connected with senior Jacob Rosenmeier on a 40-yard TD pass to cut the Cheesemakers' lead to 27-14 with 9:02 left in the third quarter. That is as close as it would get.
The Cheesemakers answered with a seven-play, 56-yard drive, punctuated by Kind's 9-yard TD run to put the game away.
Elmer left the game for a moment in the second half after getting hit in the arm on an incomplete pass. He came back into the game after sitting out one play.
"I just got a stinger and the coaches had me sit out one play," he said. "I wanted to go back in."
Monroe will play at Stoughton next week. With a win, the Cheesemakers can assure at least a share of the conference title.
"We have to have a good prep week," Golembiewski said. "There are a lot of people that read your paper, and they along with some parents are looking at what could be. We can't look at what could be unless we go 1-0 this week. All we can do is go out and do our best."
Kind had 193 total yards and scored three touchdowns to help Monroe roll to a 34-14 homecoming win over Oregon Friday.
Kind rushed for 117 yards on 14 carries and scored two touchdowns. He also had a punt return for a touchdown.
Monroe (7-0, 4-0 Badger South), ranked seventh in the WisSports.net Division 3 Coaches' poll and No. 10 in the Associated Press medium division poll, stays on top in the hunt for a conference championship.
"I wasn't feeling well and was kind of sick the last couple of games," Kind said. "I started feeling better in practice this week. Coach G (Toby Golembiewski) noticed that, and he decided to give me a lot more carries this week and it worked. Coaches always tell me to stay behind your blockers. When I stay behind them good things happen."
There were a lot of good things happening for the Cheesemakers' offense. It was a strong one-two punch with senior Isaac Allen rushing for 216 yards on 27 carries. Monroe gashed the Panthers for 381 rushing yards.
"He (Kind) was feeling better this week," Monroe coach Toby Golembiewski said. "From an athletic standpoint him (Kind) and Cole (Murray) are special football athletes."
Monroe senior Dylan Beaver had one sack and a fumble recovery on the Panthers' first possession in the first quarter that set up the Cheesemakers' first scoring drive. Kind ripped off a 20-yard run. After a penalty, Kind bowled his way in for a 2-yard TD run.
The Cheesemakers added to their lead on their second drive. With the Cheesemakers facing fourth-and-6 from their own 41-yard line, senior Tyler Elmer ran a fake punt for eight yards to pick up a key first down to keep the drive alive. Elmer hooked up with Allen on a 33-yard TD pass with 50 seconds to go in the first quarter to give the Cheesemakers a 13-0 lead.
Elmer completed 2 of 5 passes for 42 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
"It definitely felt good to set up the pass," Elmer said. "It made the run a lot better. They really didn't come hard off the edge. That made it a lot easier."
Monroe poured it on in the second quarter. The Cheesemakers capped a seven-play, 50-yard drive with Murray punching in a 5-yard TD run midway through the quarter to give the Cheesemakers a 20-0 lead.
Kind then returned a punt 67 yards for a touchdown late in the second quarter to give the Cheesemakers a 27-0 lead.
"I saw a lot of white jerseys coming at me," Kind said. "I tried to run to the sidelines. I got a couple of good blocks, and it was a foot race from there on out."
The Panthers responded with a 12-play, 80-yard drive, culminating in junior Kardelle Phillips' 18-yard TD run to cut the Cheesemakers' lead to 27-7 at the half.
The Cheesemakers entered the game giving up an average of 99 rushing yards per game. Oregon ran for 247 total yards.
Oregon senior fullback Brett Wannebo rushed for 130 yards on 16 carries. Phillips had a 57-yard run wiped out for a block in the back in the first half and another long run in the first quarter called back due to a holding penalty.
"They (Oregon) did a good job," Golembiewski said. "We reacted poorly a couple of times, and we got burned."
The Cheesemakers had five penalties for 45 yards.
"We had some drives stall because of penalties," Golembiewski said. "We probably had our most penalized game tonight. Sometimes getting those going into the wind are hard to overcome. We are still not as good as we can be. We are not playing at our best yet. We are winning games by doing things right at the right times."
Oregon senior quarterback Steven Moravec connected with senior Jacob Rosenmeier on a 40-yard TD pass to cut the Cheesemakers' lead to 27-14 with 9:02 left in the third quarter. That is as close as it would get.
The Cheesemakers answered with a seven-play, 56-yard drive, punctuated by Kind's 9-yard TD run to put the game away.
Elmer left the game for a moment in the second half after getting hit in the arm on an incomplete pass. He came back into the game after sitting out one play.
"I just got a stinger and the coaches had me sit out one play," he said. "I wanted to go back in."
Monroe will play at Stoughton next week. With a win, the Cheesemakers can assure at least a share of the conference title.
"We have to have a good prep week," Golembiewski said. "There are a lot of people that read your paper, and they along with some parents are looking at what could be. We can't look at what could be unless we go 1-0 this week. All we can do is go out and do our best."
