MONROE — Capping off a successful homecoming week, Monroe defeated Delavan-Darien 48-0 on Friday, Sept. 22. The Cheesemakers celebrated all week with dress up days, a powder puff football game, pep rally and parade — this was just the icing on the cake.
“We had a great crowd. I quickly glanced over my shoulder, and I saw people wall-to-wall all the way up to the concession stands with full bleachers,” Monroe head coach Toby Golembiewski said. “I hope everybody dodged the rain and got out to enjoy it. The kids had fun. We got everybody in the game. It was a great night for Cheesemaker football.”
In its opening drive, Delavan-Darien went 3-and-out thanks to Kaden Kuester’s tackle for loss, which set up fourth-and-4. Kuester took his defensive efforts to offense, where he ran for a pair of 13-yard gains before running another 15 yards to the end zone. With Wes Saunders’ extra point, Monroe took a 7-0 lead in the first four minutes of play.
The Comets’ second drive of the game was streaky, as Delavan-Darien had a first down with four penalties and used two of its first-half timeouts. Homecoming king James Seagreaves tackled Quintin Arizola for a loss, setting up third-and-7. Back-to-back delay of game and false-start penalties pushed the ball back another 10 yards, but the Comets moved the chains with a first-down pass to Kaden Garbe. Garbe, who normally wears 27, wore 10 on Friday and was dubbed “the Mystery Man” by announcer John King.
Delavan-Darien used its first timeout with six minutes left in the first quarter, as the team experienced issues with its headset and couldn’t call a play in time. The communication issues continued, as the Comets suffered another delay of game penalty and called its second timeout less than a minute after the first. The drive ended with a false start penalty, setting up fourth-and-11.
“We just worry about ourselves and take advantage of what they are giving us,” Golembiewski said. “We keep trudging forward and try to avoid those things for ourselves.”
In the closing seconds of the first quarter, Monroe extended its lead to 14-0 with another rushing TD from Kuester. The Cheesemakers opportunities to score earlier in the drive, but key plays were called back due to penalties.
After a false start penalty on the Cheese, Kuester ran over 20 yards and was tackled near the 5-yard line. His rush was brought back to the 36-yard line. On the next play, Ben Gatdula took it back to the end zone for a touchdown, which was negated by a holding penalty. Kuester finally punched it in on a 10-yard run with 30 seconds left in the first quarter.
The second quarter mirrored the first, as stout defense led to a Cheesemaker score early. Seagreaves and Jacob Flom sacked the Comet quarterback, leading to a fourth-and-18.
Monroe started its drive at its own 32-yard line and used three backs to get down to Delavan-Darien’s 15-yard line. Brady Wyss had a carry, Nathan Fuchs ran for six yards and Gatdula had four carries for 47 yards. Kuester ended the drive with a 15-yard rushing TD. With Saunders’ XP, the Cheesemakers took a 21-0 lead with 7:28 left in the first half.
The Comets were plagued by three false start penalties and a fumble — recovered by Garbe — as they turned the ball over on downs at their own 47-yard line. The drive took four minutes off the clock, giving Monroe three minutes left in the half.
Despite a series riddled with penalties on both teams, Kuester rushed four yards to the end zone with 26 seconds left on the clock. Saunders’ XP was blocked, as Monroe took a 27-0 lead into halftime.
The second half kicked off much like the first, as Lane Meier returned the kick off to Monroe’s 37-yard line. After back-to-back first downs by Meier and Kuester, Gatdula ran the final 13 yards to the end zone for another TD — the first of the game not by Kuester.
“Going into halftime, we found out our stuff, and came out foot on the pedal and kept going,” offensive lineman Peyton Herbst said. Peyton, a sophomore, cracked the varsity lineup in Week 3, taking the spot of his older brother, Taylor, who was out with a concussion. Since Taylor’s return in Week 4 against, Evansville, both brothers have remained on the offensive line at right tackle and right guard.
Monroe got the ball back after another empty possession for Delavan-Darien. The Cheesemakers broke the Comet defense down, yard by yard, ending in a 5-yard TD rush from Wyss in the opening seconds of the third quarter. Saunders’ kick gave Monroe a 41-0 lead and began the running clock.
Following a three-and-out by the Comets, Monroe blocked the punt and recovered at the 1-yard line. Despite a fumble recovery and tackle for loss, Wyss punched it in on a third-and-6 for a 48-0 lead, which ended up being the final. The Cheesemakers, who had seven shutouts last season, tallied their first shutout of the 2023 campaign.
“That’s always good to chalk those [shutouts] up and build confidence,” Golembiewski said. “They earned it. They worked very hard all week defending their plays and getting themselves ready. They came out and executed and weren’t fooled by anything.”
The Cheesemakers utilized multiple backs to tally 418 rushing yards — Kuester (11 att, 139 yds, 4 TDs), Gatdula (13 att, 167 yds, 1 TD), Wyss (4 att, 19 yds, 2 TDs), Meier (2 att, 21 yds), Flom (6 att, 48 yds) and Fuchs (6 att, 27 yds). Quarterback Ethan Rosenstiel completed one pass to Aaron Benzschawel for 16 yards.
Despite fewer penalties, Monroe had more penalty yards. The Cheesemakers tallied 112 penalty yards on seven flags, while the Comets had 10 penalties for 65 yards.
“The biggest thing coming down to it is, as we start to win, teams are going to get chippy,” Taylor Herbst said. “Players need to shut their mouths and get back into the huddle.”
The win gives the Cheesemakers (4-2, 4-0) a one-game lead in the Rock Valley Conference over Evansville and McFarland, who are both 3-1. With the loss, Delavan-Darien drops to 2-2. Last week, Monroe clinched a spot in the playoffs, but the Cheesemakers are still working for more.
Seeding is still up in the air, but the Cheesemakers hope to play the first round on their home turf at T.R. Holyoke Field.
“We don’t know how the seeding is going to work out, but this might have been our last shot at T.R. Holyoke — one of our favorite places to play,” Golembiewski said. “Hopefully we can get seeded high enough to get a home game. It’s a beautiful venue with a great crowd.”
