BELLEVILLE - New Glarus-Monticello snapped their 3-game losing streak with a solid 35-13 win over Belleville-Albany Friday.
"We put in a lot of hard work this week," said Lukas Kolasch, NGM's senior quarterback. "We spent a lot of our time focusing. Practice was very intense. The guys were just fired up."
The two teams have an obvious rivalry. Despite New Glarus and Belleville sitting just seven miles apart on Wisconsin 69, the two schools co-op in soccer, track and wrestling.
"We try to take every game the same, regardless of the caliber. But it's always good to come to Belleville and get a win," Kolasch said.
It was Kolasch who was the big star. The senior QB followed his offensive line and made a few moves of his own throughout the game. Kolasch had 247 yards on 20 carries out of the option, including three touchdowns.
"That 18 (Kolasch) was shifty out there. We had guys missing tackles left and right," Belleville-Albany coach Barry Lengfeld said. "The guys have a lot of communication on defense. We did a fairly decent job and had our ends get further downfield because we knew he cuts outside all the time. But you try and then you just don't complete it (the tackle)."
Spencer Jones had the first touchdown of the game for NGM. The junior running back scored from one yard out in the first quarter just two plays after Kolasch broke for 21 on a 3rd and short.
Late in the second quarter, Kolasch had runs of 17 and 20 yards on consecutive plays to make it 12-0. The Knights got the ball when Bryce Anderson forced a fumble off Wildcat QB Tanner Wallom on a sack at the 32.
"The thing that bugs me is that it is 6-0 with three or four minutes left in the half, and we let them score some more," Lengfeld said. "We're just not playing sound ball. We work on tackling every day, but we're just not fundamentally sound."
With 46 ticks left in the first half, NGM took over at their own 34 after a punt. But on the first play of the possession, Kolasch read the defense perfectly on a mid-option keeper to the right side, scoring from 66 yards out. The Knights went into the half with a 20-0 advantage.
In the third, Kolasch, on 3rd and 7, faked a pass and broke two tackles on a 32-yard scamper to pay dirt.
"The line was incredible. I will give all the credit to them. Guys were blocking downfield and I fortunately got the ball put in my hands," Kolasch said.
On the following possession, Kolasch ran successfully for first downs on 4th and 6, as well as 4th and 4 on runs of 7 and 19 yards, respectfully. The latter rush took the Knights to the 1-foot line, where Jones capped NGM's scoring.
"The offensive line did a nice job, considering we had some last minute changes and switched people around," NGM coach Jeff Eichelkraut said. "Overall it was a good solid team effort."
Belleville-Albany (0-6) finally got on the board in the fourth. After consecutive plays of 18 and 19 yards against NGM's second-string, the Wildcat players called their own play. Forty-five yards later, Garrison Woods was in the end zone after an impressive run.
Then, with 3:08 left, Cody Wiederholt took a screen pass from Wallom 61 yards for a score.
But something awfully familiar happened in Belleville again this year. A late blind side hit nearly 30 yards from the ball at the end of the play sent NGM sophomore Kyle Larson to the ground. Larson left on a stretcher in the ambulance.
Belleville-Albany knows all too well the risks of hard hits. The Wildcats have lost several players to injuries and concussions this year, and in one game had four different players hospitalized.
"It was a little ugly at the end," Eichelkraut said. "Who knows what a high school kid is thinking, but it looked pretty blatant. I'm not really happy with it, but we'll move on."
The Knights (3-3, 1-1 Capitol South) need to win two of their final three games in order to qualify for playoffs. On the schedule is Homecoming next week against Wisconsin Heights (1-5, 0-2), then away at Waterloo (3-3, 2-0) before closing out the season at home against Cambridge (5-1, 1-1).
The Wildcats travel to Cambridge next week.
"We put in a lot of hard work this week," said Lukas Kolasch, NGM's senior quarterback. "We spent a lot of our time focusing. Practice was very intense. The guys were just fired up."
The two teams have an obvious rivalry. Despite New Glarus and Belleville sitting just seven miles apart on Wisconsin 69, the two schools co-op in soccer, track and wrestling.
"We try to take every game the same, regardless of the caliber. But it's always good to come to Belleville and get a win," Kolasch said.
It was Kolasch who was the big star. The senior QB followed his offensive line and made a few moves of his own throughout the game. Kolasch had 247 yards on 20 carries out of the option, including three touchdowns.
"That 18 (Kolasch) was shifty out there. We had guys missing tackles left and right," Belleville-Albany coach Barry Lengfeld said. "The guys have a lot of communication on defense. We did a fairly decent job and had our ends get further downfield because we knew he cuts outside all the time. But you try and then you just don't complete it (the tackle)."
Spencer Jones had the first touchdown of the game for NGM. The junior running back scored from one yard out in the first quarter just two plays after Kolasch broke for 21 on a 3rd and short.
Late in the second quarter, Kolasch had runs of 17 and 20 yards on consecutive plays to make it 12-0. The Knights got the ball when Bryce Anderson forced a fumble off Wildcat QB Tanner Wallom on a sack at the 32.
"The thing that bugs me is that it is 6-0 with three or four minutes left in the half, and we let them score some more," Lengfeld said. "We're just not playing sound ball. We work on tackling every day, but we're just not fundamentally sound."
With 46 ticks left in the first half, NGM took over at their own 34 after a punt. But on the first play of the possession, Kolasch read the defense perfectly on a mid-option keeper to the right side, scoring from 66 yards out. The Knights went into the half with a 20-0 advantage.
In the third, Kolasch, on 3rd and 7, faked a pass and broke two tackles on a 32-yard scamper to pay dirt.
"The line was incredible. I will give all the credit to them. Guys were blocking downfield and I fortunately got the ball put in my hands," Kolasch said.
On the following possession, Kolasch ran successfully for first downs on 4th and 6, as well as 4th and 4 on runs of 7 and 19 yards, respectfully. The latter rush took the Knights to the 1-foot line, where Jones capped NGM's scoring.
"The offensive line did a nice job, considering we had some last minute changes and switched people around," NGM coach Jeff Eichelkraut said. "Overall it was a good solid team effort."
Belleville-Albany (0-6) finally got on the board in the fourth. After consecutive plays of 18 and 19 yards against NGM's second-string, the Wildcat players called their own play. Forty-five yards later, Garrison Woods was in the end zone after an impressive run.
Then, with 3:08 left, Cody Wiederholt took a screen pass from Wallom 61 yards for a score.
But something awfully familiar happened in Belleville again this year. A late blind side hit nearly 30 yards from the ball at the end of the play sent NGM sophomore Kyle Larson to the ground. Larson left on a stretcher in the ambulance.
Belleville-Albany knows all too well the risks of hard hits. The Wildcats have lost several players to injuries and concussions this year, and in one game had four different players hospitalized.
"It was a little ugly at the end," Eichelkraut said. "Who knows what a high school kid is thinking, but it looked pretty blatant. I'm not really happy with it, but we'll move on."
The Knights (3-3, 1-1 Capitol South) need to win two of their final three games in order to qualify for playoffs. On the schedule is Homecoming next week against Wisconsin Heights (1-5, 0-2), then away at Waterloo (3-3, 2-0) before closing out the season at home against Cambridge (5-1, 1-1).
The Wildcats travel to Cambridge next week.
