MONROE — Despite missing their No. 1 running back Alex Hernandez, the Monroe Cheesemakers (10-0, 7-0 Rock Valley) cruised to a 49-20 win over Portage (4-6, 3-4 Badger Small) in Level 1 of the Division 3 WIAA playoffs.
Lane Meier stepped up as the main rusher on Friday, recording 210 rushing yards on 20 carries for an average of 10.5 ypc. Despite just a day notice, Meier entered the game confident.
“I’ve been practicing all week and ready to go. I didn’t have too many nerves,” Meier said. “My line blocked great for me. Everything fell together.”
It took both teams a full quarter to find the endzone, as each defense went to work. The Cheesemakers, who have scored 129 first-quarter points, didn’t let the scoring drought face them.
“We didn’t get wound up about the score,” head coach Toby Golembiewski said. “We knew that we were attritioning them down physically, and it was only going to be a matter of time. We were starting to take over the physicality of the game. It was like a semi-truck parked on a hill with no emergency brake. It can’t be stopped.”
Monroe broke the game open with a touchdown pass from George Brukwicki to Keatin Sweeney and followed it up three minutes later with rushing TD from Brukwicki.
The Cheesemakers ended the half on a seven-yard TD run from Sweeney. Wesley Saunders kicked the extra point, and Monroe took a 21-7 lead into the locker room.
Sweeney didn’t do any cooling down during the break, as he came out and scored two more rushing TDs in the third quarter. The first was for 13 yards, followed by a six-yard run.
The fourth quarter was a near wash, as both teams scored twice. The difference came in Portage’s unsuccessful extra-point attempt. Kaden Kuester scampered 17 yards for a TD, and Sweeney took it to the house for his fourth TD of the night.
Five different rushers carried the ball, with Meier’s 210 yards leading them all. Sweeney ran for 97 yards with four TDs, while Kuester and Brukwicki scored another two. In the air, Brukwicki was 3-for-3 for 33 yards and one TD pass to none other than Sweeney. Defensively, Drew Indergand came away with one interception. Saunders was 5-for-6 on extra-point attempts.
Up next for Monroe is an emotionally memorable opponent: Defending state champion Pewaukee. The two schools have met twice in the playoffs in recent years, and both times the Cheesemakers walked off with their season over.
In 2016, the Pirated edged Monroe by a single point at T.R. Holyoke Field to close off the first year of Golembiewski’s term as head coach. Then last year at Muskego in Level 4, the Cheesemakers let a golden opportunity slip away. Monroe led 14-0 at halftime and received the ball to start the half. But a string of bad luck avalanched on the Cheesemakers, and Pewaukee scored 28 unanswered points in the second half to move on to Camp Randall, where they ultimately won the championship 15-6 over Rice Lake.
This year, the fourth-ranked Pirates sit at 8-2 overall and finished second in the Parkland Conference, one game behind D4 No. 1 Waukesha Catholic Memorial. Pewaukee has outscored opponents 381-94, and has nearly 3,000 yards of offense — 1,024 through the air, and 1,945 on the ground. The Pirates have 20 TD passes to just two INTs, and have scored 28 times rushing the football.
Owen Dobberstein is the starting QB and has completed 64.1% of his passes for 968 passing yards, 16 TDs and both team picks. Andrew Jones leads with 712 rushing yards (8.7 ypc) and eight TDs, while Carter Pearson has 447 yards (7.2) and six scores.
Meanwhile Monroe leads the state in rushing (4,160) and total offense (4,620), and ranks fourth in scoring despite inducing the mercy rule running clock in the second half in 8 of 10 games this fall.
Hernandez leads the team with 1,159 yards rushing (10.1 ypc), while Sweeney is right behind him at 1,150 (11.2 ypc). Kuester has 593 yards (11.0 ypc) and Meier is now over 400 (9.8). Sweeney has 22 TDs, while Hernandez and Kuester each have 12.
“It’s going to be a boxing match. A heavy-weight slugfest going back and forth. It boiled down to special teams last year, and it boiled down to hustle plays. We just have to make sure we’re healthy,” Golembiewski said. “If you want to be the best, you’re eventually going to have to beat the best — whether it’s the last day, or in Level 2. We’re going to take our best shot at them, and we get to do it at home.”
— Adam Krebs contributed to this story.
