NEW GLARUS — The Glarner Knights wanted to prove they weren’t an over-ranked seed in the WIAA Division 5 playoffs. Despite going 8-1 in the regular season and finishing as co-champions in the SWC, first round opponent Clinton, which was 6-3, felt the two teams were more evenly matched than their records showed.
“We practice hard each day, and we know what they’ve said in the press. We used that as a little bit of fuel,” said senior running back Milo Johnson.
New Glarus, seeded third, settled the debate right there on the field this past Friday, Oct. 24, thrashing the sixth-seeded Cougars 43-0.
“The kids did a great job tonight.,” said New Glarus coach DJ Schuett. “After that first quarter, we did what we normally do and ran the ball really well. We limited their big plays We’re tough to beat when we do that.”
Leading the charge was the Knights defense. The first-string lineup allowed Clinton to gain just 95 yards across the game. The Cougars did gain 70 yards on two plays on the final drive of the game against the Knights’ second-string defense. Clinton called a timeout with eight seconds left and the ball at the New Glarus 10-yard line, and Knights head coach DJ Schuett threw his starters back in to make a bulletin board statement to the other sideline and keep the shutout intact. Carson Prechel, Noah Garcia and Dylan Colstad converged on the quarterback deep in the backfield for a sack to end the game.
“The timeout fired me up a little bit, so I decided to throw the ones back in there for that last play,” Schuett said.
The Knights led 22-0 at halftime, and put the running clock on with just under three minutes left in the third quarter.
“At halftime, coach told us to keep our foot on their throats and to keep the energy up,” said senior linebacker Ashlin Milhbauer.
Prechel and Mihlbauer spent most of the game in the Cougar backfield, pressuring the quarterback and tackling ball carriers for a loss. New Glarus had 13 total tackles for loss, with Mihlbauer and Jaiden Sidwell finishing with three each, while Prechel and Bubba Weeden each had two.
“It’s just so fun blitzing — you’re just so free,” Prechel said, adding that it was “really nice being at home. The energy is high and that just fuels you to make the big hits.”
Offensively, the game belonged to the offensive linemen, which cleared the way for 400 yards of offense, including 324 yards on the ground.
“The defense gets us the ball back, and then the guys up front really work hard to open up holes for us backs,” Prechel said.
Milo Johnson was the lead workhorse, running 21 times for 213 yards (10.1 ypc) and four touchdowns.
“It’s the most touchdowns I’ve scored in a game this season, and to do it in a home playoff game is just great. It feels amazing,” Johnson said.
Prechel had 44 yards on six totes, including a punishing run in the first quarter that capped the opening touchdown of the game. Grady Johnson had four carries for 32 yards and a touchdown. Will Pinnow caught five passes for 64 yards, as QB Matt Roth completed 7 of 16 attempts for 76 total yards. He added another 21 yards on the ground, including a key pickup on a QB draw late in the second quarter.
There were no turnovers in the game, other than on downs.
“We talked before the game that we had a nice first season, but now it’s the second season (playoffs). In the second season you don’t get second chances. We’re just going to go lay it out there on the line each and every chance we get and we’ll see how far this thing goes,” Schuett said.
New Glarus (9-1) will play at second-seeded Racine Lutheran (9-3), which knocked off Milwaukee Academy of Science in Level 1. The winner of New Glarus and Racine will play either at 1-seed Lake Country Lutheran (9-1) or host 5-seed Wittenberg-Birnamwood (5-5) in Level 3.
