MCFARLAND — The Cheesemakers opened the alternative fall football season with a convincing win on the field turf in McFarland, 22-6.

“We were a little worried with how crisp we would be with the amount of preparation time we had, but it ended up being better than we anticipated. They really showed up,” Monroe coach Toby Golembiewski said of his players. “We’ve still got a long way to go, though.”

The last time the Cheesemakers had played in a game was on the same field in a Level 3 WIAA Division 3 playoff loss to eventual champion DeForest. This time around, Monroe took a two-score lead and never relinquished it.

It took Monroe’s offense a couple of possessions to get moving, while the defense was solid throughout. The Cheesemakers turned the ball over on downs on their opening possession near midfield when a 4th-and-1 run by Trevor Rodebaugh came up inches short. On their next possession, the Cheesemakers needed just two plays to score.

Senior quarterback Max Golembiewski rolled to his left on second down and heaved a deep ball on a backside post to senior running back Tyler Matley, who made the catch and broke a tackle before sprinting uncontested to the endzone for a 69-yard touchdown with 5:42 remaining on the clock in the first quarter. 

Monroe made it 14-0 with 10:03 left in the second when Rodebaugh capped a 9-play, 64-yard drive with a 2-yard rumble up the middle.

The Cheesemakers nearly added another score late in the second. Max Golembiewski tried to dive to the pylon on a bootleg run, but the ball came loose before he reached the goal line. McFarland picked up the ball, which had trickled into the end zone, and returned it to the 2 instead of taking the touchback. On the very next snap, JT Seagreaves sacked Cooper Kennedy in the end zone for a safety with 18 seconds before halftime, making it 16-0 Monroe.

Seagreaves was a monster on the defensive line all night for the Cheesemakers. He had multiple sacks, swatted down a multiple passes at the point of contact, and was consistently in Kennedy’s face with QB pressure. Fellow DE Caleb Bunker was Seagreaves’ match on the other side of the pocket, and also made key sacks and QB hits.

“They are going to be a problem for teams,” coach Golembiewski said of his two edge rushers.

Monroe’s defense held McFarland’s spread offense to 95 yards in the first half. The Spartans’ four possessions ended with two turnovers on downs, a lost fumble and the safety. The Cheesemakers, meanwhile, had 225 yards of offense in the opening half.

McFarland’s first two possessions of the third quarter ended in punts. The Cheesemakers turned the ball over themselves with an interception and a lost fumble on the snap, which set the Spartans up for a short 29-yard TD drive, culminating with a toe-tap sideline catch in the corner of the endzone by Tegan O’Brien with 10:42 left in the fourth quarter. Monroe’s next possession went 11 plays and 55 yards, with Rodebaugh scoring from 5 yards out with 3:44 left. Tucker Markham, who recovered the lost McFarland fumble in the first half, picked off a pass with 3:18 to play at the McFarland 43 to all but seal the victory for the Cheesemakers.

Rodebaugh finished the night with 173 rushing yards on 24 carries (7.2 ypc). Matley had 29 yards on 13 carries (3.8), and had some big hits running through defenders that ignited energy on the Monroe sidelines. Keatin Sweeney had 28 yards on 7 attempts (5.4). Seagreaves had two catches for 24 yards and Preston Ambrose caught a 15-yard pass. Max Golembiewski was 4 of 6 passing for 108 yards with a TD and a pick.

“Keatin’s got to work on his blocking — what Matley gave him, he’s got to return back. Matley should have had a little bit more,” coach Golembiewski said. “But hey, we have just have to keep getting better. Some of our guys are seniors, but a lot of our guys are young.”

Kennedy was 16 of 20 for 165 yards, and Dadon Gillen was 1 of 2 for 42 yards, with the one reception coming on a double-pass in the opening possession that went for naught with the eventual turnover-on-downs. O’Brien had four catches for 71 yards. McFarland had -23 yards rushing on 16 attempts, with running back Brandon Dyer-Ysaguirre carrying seven times for -14 yards. 

Up next for Monroe is an away game at Evansville on Thursday, April 1. The Blue Devils finished 8-1 to win a share of the Rock Valley title back in 2019 and thumped Whitewater 43-6 March 26, giving first-year coach Garth Coats his first win at the school.

“They are going to have film on us, and we are going to have film on them. We’re going to have to go and win the week,” coach Golembiewski said. “We’ll have a short prep for next week.”