MONROE — In Week 7, Monroe kept pace with fellow former Badger Conference rival Madison Edgewood for Rock Valley supremacy. The Cheesemakers bullied their way to a 42-14 victory over Evansville.

Junior fullback Alex Hernandez had 114 rushing yards and four touchdowns to lead the way. Quarterback George Brukwicki was nearly perfect passing finishing 5 of 6 for 103 yards and a score. The lone incompletion was a dropped pass in the fourth quarter. Keatin Sweeney and Kaden Kuester each added a score, and Drew Indergand picked up the defense with a pair of timely interceptions.

“I’ve said before that we have big plans for the future, and those big plans are focused on the O-line,” Hernandez said. “It’s no secret that we are a running team, and without them, there is no way it works. I know that they are capable of this and so much more. I feel comfortable with them and that I can run where I want because there will be a hole open.”

Monroe wasted no time getting on the scoreboard. After a shanked punt by the Blue Devils, the Cheesemakers took over at their own 46-yard line. Sweeney then carried a rush around the outside and received a huge pancake block from lineman Isaac Bunker. 

“It’s so fun. Between us (offensive linemen) and coach (Shawn) Paulson, we have a little pancake contest to see who can lay the most people out — and that definitely gets the competition up to see who can hit the hardest,” Bunker said. “I think Austin (Fuchs) has me right now because of those missed games, but I’m coming for him.”

On the next play, Wisconsin-commit JT Seagreaves went 24 yards in the opposite direction. Two plays later, Hernandez bullied his way up the middle for a 12-yard score, less than three-and-a-half minutes into the game.

Brushed back but not knocked out, the Blue Devils responded with haste. Just four snaps later, quarterback Chase Maves chucked a ball deep into Monroe’s secondary, where top wideout Trevor Bahrs was there for a catch-and-run 44-yard TD. A missed extra point kept Monroe in the lead at 7-6. 

“Even though they came down and scored, they missed the kick and we still had the upper hand,” Monroe coach Toby Golembiewski said.

The Cheesemakers kept the ball on the ground on the next series, which covered 70 yards on nine plays and culminated with Hernandez again bullying his way into the end zone, this time from 13-yards out. 

Evansville ran eight plays, with four passes called. Jaden Clark snuffed the first out with a sack. The second pass went for 12 yards and a first down on third-and-9, and the next toss to Bahrs ended in a one-yard gain thanks to a big open field tackle by DB Chase Stoerp. Facing third-and-7, Maves dropped back to pass and fired over the middle: Interception. Indergand’s pick and run back gave Monroe the ball at the Evansville 42. Four plays later, Hernandez had TD No. 3 on the day, and the Cheesemakers led 21-6 with 8:30 left in the second quarter.

“And you know what, he could still be better,” Golembiewski said of Hernandez. 

Alex Johnson nearly took the ensuing kick return to the house, but Monroe kicker and speedster Lucas Flom chased him down at the Monroe 37. 

“They did a good job on kick returns, and we need to be better. Those plays are as big as the scores. You come down on a long drive and score, then they get a big return and mentally you totally revive their sideline and they think they have a chance,” Golembiewski said.

The defense held the Blue Devils to just two yards on four plays, forcing a turnover on downs. Monroe punted away its own possession after a 3-and-out, and three plays into its next drive, Evansville caught the Cheesemaker secondary out of position, as Maves and Bahrs connected for a 67-yard TD with 3:26 left in the half.

On Monroe’s next drive, facing third-and-3 from their own 41, Brukwicki thread the needle through the defense on a rollout pass to his right, connecting with a triple-teamed Seagreaves, who then turned up field for a 36-yard gain. Six plays later on a third-and-goal passing situation, Seagreaves had all eyes on him on the right side, except that Brukwicki rolled to his left and found Hernandez wide open for an easy 10-yard score with just 17 seconds left before halftime.

“It was a big boost (to score), because when we went into the locker room the coaches weren’t too happy,” Hernandez said. “Because we had a two-score lead, it allowed us to focus on some other things to perfect our game.”

The score could have gotten out of hand even earlier in the third quarter, as the Cheesemakers marched down the field after the opening kickoff, only to come up short on fourth-and-1 at the Evansville 13. The Blue Devils reciprocated the effort, turning the ball over on downs themselves at the Monroe 41. 

On the next drive, the Cheesemakers put it in the air three times — nearly the team’s average amount of passes per game. Brukwicki and a quadruple-covered Seagreaves connected for 25 yards on another rollout pass on third-and-10, and three plays later on third-and-9, Brukwicki’s pass was dropped by freshman tight end Tony Wolf. With the line of scrimmage at the Evansville 33, Golembiewski rolled the dice and went back to the freshman, this time with Wolf catching the pass for a 26-yard pickup. Kuester plunged into the end zone three plays later to make it 35-14 with 8:48 left in the fourth quarter.

Evansville never gave up all game, and on the following possession went all-in on the passing game, throwing on all seven snaps. On first-and-goal from the Monroe 10, Maves looked back to his right and floated a ball to the right pylon, only for Indergand make a break on the ball and pick it off. 

“I think this was a team game tonight. I know I may have been the one that had the two interceptions, but I think it was really a team game,” Indergand said. “The secondary, I feel like it was the first time we were playing together as a team. We’ve struggled with that all year. In Week 2 against Mount Horeb, the secondary got burned quite a bit that game. I felt like tonight was a confidence builder — the second half especially. We started reading their routes better; and the defensive line started getting pressure in that second half, and that helps make it way easier in the secondary.”

Pinned at their own three, Monroe couldn’t mount a first down, but a booming 62-yard punt from Henry Brukwicki nearly reversed the first in its entirety. The Blue Devils went three-and-out and turned the ball over at their own 18 on a fourth down sack by Charlie Wiegel, and four plays later Sweeney burst through the right side of the offensive line for the dagger with 1:33 left.

Seagreaves closed the night with 74 yards rushing on 11 totes, while Sweeney had 60 yards on 10 carries. Maves was 15 of 25 passing for 226 yards. Bahrs had six grabs for 124 yards, while Kane Howlett finished with five catches and 65 yards. Alex Johnson had 62 yards rushing on 13 carries. Monroe out-gained Evansville 377-309.

Another positive for the Cheesemakers was the kicking game. Golembiewski said it’s been an open competition each week during practice, but come game time, missed extra points have cost Monroe. In fact, the team’s lone 1-point overtime loss to Mount Horeb came down to missed extra points. In Week 6, Lucas Flom was given the opportunity against East Troy and went 4-for-6. Against Evansville, he was a perfect 6-for-6. 

“We had a competition every week, and he (Flom) never stuck out. But he’s spent a little extra time and he’s found it — and he looks good, too,” Golembiewski said. 

Up next for Monroe (6-1, 5-0 RVC) is a home game against McFarland (3-4, 3-2) Oct. 8 in Week 8, another team that puts the ball into the air with a higher rate of frequency. 

“The key is going to be how many of the high-flying plays are we going to be able to stop?” Golembiewski said. “It just gets harder from here. Everyone we play from here on out is competitive.”

While the Spartans have been outscored 179-110 this year, it has been the first quarter that has hampered McFarland the most. In opening periods this fall, the opponents have outscored the Spartans 55-0.

Cooper Kennedy is the leading passer for McFarland, though he has just a 41.9% completion rate on 86 tosses, gaining 453 yards and six touchdowns while throwing eight INTs in the team’s first six games. Travis Zadra and Chase Quelle are the Spartans’ leading rushers, gaining 337 and 336 yards rushing through the first six games. 

“McFarland is a good team. Games are won with good weeks of practice, and we just have to keep ourselves focused and stay on task. And we can’t get sick — that’s a huge factor that’s starting to play,” Hernandez said. In Week 7, there were 30 games around the state canceled, postponed or forfeited, in large part due to COVID-19 spread affecting entire programs.

Monroe has not struggled to open games, however. The Cheesemakers have outscored opponents 69-20 in the first quarter, 144-50 in the first half and 255-72 overall. Brukwicki’s 100-yard game aside, Monroe has just 201 passing yards this season, but has gained 2,563 yards on the ground.

Sweeney leads the team with 812 rushing yards on just 77 carries (10.5 ypc), including a team-high 11 TDs. Hernandez has gained 670 yards on the ground (5.4 ypc), and Seagreaves has 556 yards (8.6 ypc) and eight TDs. Backup Lucas Flom has 305 yards (8.5 ypc) and six TDs.

Opposing teams have found more success through the air than on the ground against the Cheesemakers. Monroe’s defense has allowed 450 rushing yards and just three touchdowns. Through the air, opposing teams have gained 821 yards and tossed six TDs.

Edgewood (7-0, 5-0) is ranked No. 4 in Division 4 and hosts Evansville in Week 8. The Crusaders and Cheesemakers win, the two former Badger Conference foes will play for the RVC championship Oct. 15 in Week 9 at Breese Stevens Field in Madison. 

“McFarland beat Evansville, so that will be a tough game. Then undefeated Edgerton after that, so we’ve got to lock it in. It will be a battle. If our DBs step up and our offense keeps going, we’ll be fine,” Bunker said.