MONROE — The Cheesemakers passed its third test of the shortened spring football season, beating Jefferson 23-9 April 9 at TR Holyoke Field.

It was Monroe’s first home game in nearly 18 months, and seniors like Tyler Matley, Caleb Bunker, Trevor Rodebaugh and Max Golembiewski were more than happy to be playing back at home in front of family and friends — even if it was limited attendance. 

“It almost felt like a normal (attended) game. We had a great student section, (and) all of our parents put up a really good crowd. It felt just like normal, and that’s all we can hope for,” Max Golembiewski said.

Jefferson (2-1) and Monroe (3-0) run plays out of similar formations, but the Eagles use more traps, counters and misdirection compared to Monroe’s sweeps and dives. Neither team likes to pass much, so the clock doesn’t have many chances to stop, making the game move along even faster than others.

“There’s a lot going on there, and I’m sure it just looks like a pile to everyone else. But when you are running the scout cards against them and our guys are running against it, there are little differences from play to play that they have to recognize and not be fooled on,” coach Toby Golembiewski said. “It is very different, and without the proper discipline and the right read, you can get burned quick on it. (Jefferson) does a great job with it. I think it’s a great system. I had been worried about it all week because it is so different from what we had seen.”

Neither team scored in the first quarter, although the Eagles reached Monroe’s red zone before turning the ball over on downs at the 14 on the opening drive, which lasted 13 plays and 67 yards and took nearly 8 minutes off the clock. The Cheesemakers went 3-and-out, and a shanked punt put the Eagles in business at the Monroe 29. Six plays later — and 56 seconds into the second quarter — Jefferson put the first points on the board with a 32-yard field goal by Carson Fairfield, who subsequently left the game with an injury.

Monroe’s second drive went a bit longer than its first, lasting seven plays and 28 yards, but Max Golembiewski’s pass on fourth down went through JT Seagreaves’ hands, turning the ball back over.

“We noticed we were a block away on each of those drives from being able to get first down after first down, so it was only a matter of time,” Max Golembiewski said. “We got the job done eventually.”

The Cheesemaker defense stepped up on the next drive, with Aaron Roidt nearly intercepting the ball on third down. The Eagles punted a play later after a 3-and-out of their own.

Starting at the Monroe 36, the Cheesemakers had learned just enough of Jefferson’s defense to begin to move the chains. 

“Without having played them, we really weren’t sure how they would defend us. We had a pretty good idea, but we really had to drill against three or four fronts that we thought we might see — we ended up seeing two,” Toby Golembiewski said. 

A pass interference on fourth down kept the drive alive early on, and on another fourth-and-3, Max Golembiewski found Seagreaves on a corner route for a 26-yard touchdown pass with just 1:05 left in the half. Matley, the raining WSN Spring Football Player of the Week, made it 8-3 with a sweep rush on the 2-point conversion.

“(Seagreaves) is an easy target to throw to. He’s a phenomenal athlete, and it’s always nice knowing you have a guy like that you can throw it to on third and fourth down,” Max Golembiewski said.

Jefferson threatened to score in the final minute, but Seagreaves picked off a pass on the final play of the half. A dominant edge rusher, Seagreaves made plays on defense all game, with three knockdowns in the half alone. On the interception, he followed his cues from the offense, and using his 6-foot-6 frame and state-qualifying vertical leaping ability, rose up to snag the Evan Neitzel pass out of the air. 

“In practice we worked on a screen/tight end pass, so I was staying with the tight end, and then (Neitzel) kind of lobbed the ball up a little bit and I just went up and picked it off,” said Seagreaves, who played varsity as a freshman but has really come into his own this year, his junior season. “I think for sure my confidence is going up every single week. Me and Caleb both working hard coming off the edge and making plays, and I think the teams know that and have to adjust their game plans around it.”

The momentum swing carried over in the second half. 

Monroe’s first drive took just six plays to score, with the last four run plays of 15, 19, 13 and 12 yards split between Keatin Sweeney, Rodebaugh and Matley, who scored the touchdown. Sweeney ran in the sweep to the right side to make it 16-3.

On Jefferson’s first play of the ensuing drive, a pitch to the running back hit the turf, resulting in a 6-yard loss. Neitzel fumbled the snap on the next play, losing three more, and then his pass to Joel Martin went for just two yards. Monroe also went 3-and-out, but Henry Brukwicki sent a mesmerizing spiral punt inside Jefferson’s 20, pinning the Eagles deep into their own territory. 

The Eagles then ran off an 11-play, 55-yard drive that again was turned over on downs, as Neitzel’s scramble on fourth-and-8 came up short of the yard to gain. The Cheesemakers took over at their own 27, and then ground out a 15-play, 73-yard drive that took 9:06 off the clock. All of the snaps were rushing plays, which culminated in Matley’s 1-yard plunge with 1:57 left in the fourth quarter and a 23-3 lead for the Cheesemakers.

“It felt really good to have them on their heels in the second half. We were in control. It took some stress off of everyone,” Max Golembiewski said. “We definitely have some stuff to work on next week; stuff we can build on.”

Jefferson’s sputtering first-team offense took advantage of Monroe’s second-string defense, as Nate McKenzie bolted 92 yards for a touchdown. Monroe recovered the onside kick, then Matley ran for 18 yards on a first down on the first play and the Cheesemakers were able to kneel it out to close the win.

McKenzie’s 92-yard dash got him to 99 yards on 10 carries — he had just 7 yards on the previous 9 carries in the game. It also put Jefferson past Monroe in total yardage in the game, 284-239. 

The Eagles were just 4 of 10 passing for 79 yards, while Max Golembiewski was 2-for-4 for 48 yards and a score. Rodebaugh led Monroe with 81 yards rushing on 16 carries. Sweeney added 74 yards on 10 totes and Matley had 27 yards on 8 carries with two scores. 

“Jefferson, McFarland, Evansville — I see a future of really good games against these teams,” Toby Golembiewski said of some of Monroe’s new Rock Valley rivals. “There was nothing easy about this.”

Monroe travels to Whitewater (0-3) in Week 4 on April 16, then is set to host East Troy (2-1) April 23 for the regular season finale.