MONROE — It took seven weeks to achieve victory, but the Cheesemakers steamrolled Fort Atkinson 49-8 in front of an electric homecoming crowd Sept. 28. 

“It just feels good to get our first win on homecoming,” junior running back Nick Bansley said. “I think we play a lot better when the stands are loud. We all get into it. It makes it a lot more fun.”

The Cheesemakers didn’t just punish Fort Atkinson on a brisk first Friday of autumn, they kept their foot on the Blackhawks’ throat all game long. Monroe set season-best marks in almost every category — total offense (501 yards), total defense (104 yards), rushing (496 yards), yards per carry (10.6) and touchdowns (seven).

“This week our coaches decided to keep it really simple so we could play fast and hard and we did that,” senior running back Jordan Montgomery said. “With our defense that definitely helped — we were playing very hard — and it worked out for us.”

Three Monroe players passed the century mark in rushing — Montgomery had 197 yards and four touchdowns on 13 attempts, Ethan Kleckler bulldozed his way to 163 yards and a score on 21 carries and Bansley ended the night with 129 yards and two scores on nine carries. Monroe’s 496 rushing yards are the most by the program since a Week 1 win over Portage in 2016 — Coach Toby Golembiewski’s first year at the helm when the Cheesemakers won their first 11 games of the season.

“It worked out pretty well that they all had a pretty nice game statistically that went along with a win,” Golembiewski said. “They worked pretty hard at what they do.” 

Fort Atkinson (0-7, 0-5) came into the game with the same record as the Cheesemakers, but had only scored two touchdowns all season. Meanwhile, Monroe had a legitimate shot at a victory during halftime in four of its first six games. 

“It’s a great feeling for the kids to get a win and let them know that all the hard work that they’ve been doing — and their dedication — it’s actually paying off,” Golembiewski said.

The Cheesemakers scored the game’s first touchdown on their second possession. After a shanked punt, Monroe took over at Fort Atkinson’s 30-yard-line. Kleckler bulldozed 24 of those yards on four carries, including the final yard to give his team the early lead. 

The scoring spree continued uninterrupted on Monroe’s next two possessions. Kleckler picked up 38 yards up the sidelines to set up Montgomery’s 7-yard dash to make it a two-score game with 2:30 left in the first, and Montgomery added a second touchdown with 7:37 left before halftime on an 11-play, 59-yard drive in which his No. 32 jersey ripped in half and had to be replaced with a spare No. 25.

“My runs, I want to attribute those to my freshman wide receiver JT (Seagreaves),” Montgomery said. “He was handling that guy out there. He’s developing into a really good football player.” 

While the offensive line was opening up holes at the point of attack that could fit a dump truck through it, Seagreaves and wideout Wade Sweeney were planting defensive backs on their backsides in the secondary throughout the game.

“Wade and JT did an excellent job on the edge,” Golembiewski said. “They were making pancake blocks on people.” 

Monroe’s final two drives of the first half ended in fumbles in Fort Atkinson territory, otherwise the final score could have been even more lopsided.

“It was potentially a running clock at half if we don’t put those two balls on the ground,” Golembiewski said. “Definitely we have some things to shore up.” 

The Cheesemakers defense was putting on the pressure all game — Fort’s first seven drives failed to gain a first down and Monroe held the Blackhawks to a negative yard of offense in the first half while collecting 237 yards itself.

If Monroe’s play of the first half hadn’t shown that the football gods were in the team’s favor, then the lucky bounce to open the second half sure did. Senior kicker Anthany Hernandez hit a low-line drive that bounced off a Fort up-man on the kickoff and the Cheesemakers recovered at Fort’s 48-yard line. On the first play of the third quarter, Bansley burst free for a score. 

The Blackhawks’ only score of the game came on the ensuing possession when they pulled off a hook-and-ladder pass play facing a 4th-and-7 at the 50 that went the distance. Monroe countered with 36 seconds left in the third as Bansley took off for another score — this one from 38 yards out and hurdling a tripping attempt by a member of the Fort secondary, putting the score at 35-8.

“It was there all night,” Kleckler said of the running lanes opened up by the offensive line. “We all had monster games. Anybody could run behind what they were giving us.”

The Blackhawks gained just one first down before the fourth quarter, and attempted to convert on 4th-and-nine from their own 36, only for the trick-play double-reverse to end in disaster with the pigskin hitting the turf and Monroe’s Jacob Setterstrom recovering before stumbling at the 23.

“I got that fumble recovery — and I’ve dreamt about that for a while,” Setterstrom said. “I was just thinking ‘score-score-score,’ and tripped up. But you know, it happens.”

On the first play of Monroe’s possession, Montgomery took it in to make it 42-8.

Fort’s longest drive of the night came moments later, lasting nine plays before turning the ball over on downs at the Monroe 9. Three players later, cue Montgomery on a 79-yard scamper to the north end zone to start the running clock.

“It’s always fun to run 70 yards down the field to celebrate a touchdown,” Setterstrom said before reflecting that “it feels great because we really work so hard in practice and we just haven’t been able to get it going. So, it feels really good to get going.”

The Blackhawks finished with just 14 passing yards on 16 attempts and collectively had 90 yards rushing on 32 carries. 

Next up for Monroe (1-6, 1-4) is Madison Edgewood (2-5, 1-4). Both teams are clinging to hopes of advancing to the postseason, although the winner will have to get help along the way. In order to make the automatic qualifying a team has to go .500 or better in conference and with just two games left that is impossible for both squads.

“Like we say, we have 24 hours to cheer if we win or sulk if we lose,” Montgomery said. “So, Sunday, Monday, when we come back to practice we need to act like we need a win — because we do if we want to get to the playoffs.”