MONROE — The Rock Valley has shown this season to be without a worthy contender for the Cheesemakers on the gridiron. In Week 7, Monroe, ranked No. 1 in the state in Division 3, trounced Edgerton 52-0 on Homecoming night.

“The kids are really knocking it out of the park,” Monroe coach Toby Golembiewski said. “They are physically capable; mentally capable; they understand their different roles that they may have from time to time. This is just a great team. Everyone knows what’s best for the team and is sticking to the plan.”

Monroe (7-0, 5-0 RVC) opened the game with a steady, nearly six minute, 12-play, 77-yard drive, culminated with a 1-yard touchdown run by Kaden Kuester. The offense never slowed down, either, going up 40-0 by halftime and gaining 370 yards rushing.

“I feel like the team wanted some physicality from our opponents. The last two weeks there was one, two, maybe three plays and then we scored and were out. I think we wanted a game where we needed to compete,” Hernandez said. “The first drive serves the purpose of shaking off the nerves. It’s no secret that everyone is nervous before the start of a football game, regardless of your record and what you’re expected to do. That second drive was just us doing what we do best and moving the rock.”

Keatin Sweeney had 146 yards and three TDs on 13 carries, while Homecoming King Alex Hernandez had 141 yards and two scores on 11 touches. Kuester ended the half — and night — with 78 yards on eight attempts. Monroe finished with 526 yards of offense.

Monroe’s second and third string played the entire second half. Lane Meier had 39 yards and a touchdown in the fourth quarter, with Jacob Flom gaining 60 yards and a TD on runs of 32 and 28.

Defensively, the Cheesemakers shut down the Crimson Tide (2-5, 2-3). Edgerton had just 16 yards of offense in the first half — and that was despite an 18-yard screen pass on 3rd-and-20 and an 11-yard scramble on a 2nd-and-17. Overall, Edgerton finished with 63 yards of offense. Monroe reserve Cole Meighan made a stellar pick in the fourth quarter to thwart a potential Tiders scoring opportunity.

“We work really hard all week in practice. Our scout team always gives us the best look they possibly can to simulate the other team’s offense,” senior lineman Sean Rufenacht said. “I love watching the younger guys get a chance to play on the field. I get really hyped. Not getting to play in the second half isn’t always fun, but that means we did our job in the first half — we put up the points and kept them from scoring, and that’s what we need to do.”

Monroe’s lone blemishes were a trio of pre-snap 5-yard penalties and an interception on a heavy rush in the second quarter, allowing Edgerton to take over deep inside Monroe territory. That drive ended in a blocked field goal, with Sweeney darting 61-yards for a score three snaps later. 

“That’s not going to be easy to overcome down the road. We have to continue to clean that up,” Golembiewski said of the pre-snap penalties for his offensive linemen. “It’s weird that it didn’t happen in previous weeks, and now it’s happening. I really think they are getting in a little personal content of seeing how far and how many guys they can knock down and how hard they can make them fly, so they are getting a little jumpy beyond just executing the play, because they want to execute the play with mass destruction.”

Things went from bad to worse for the Tide late in the second. Monroe scored on a quick 70-yard drive with 1:23 left in the half to make it 34-0. Then on the ensuring kickoff, a squib stopped about two yards short of the end zone, and the Edgerton returner muffed the ball when trying to pick it up. Meier then dove on top to recover at the 6. Three plays later, with 21 seconds left, Hernandez plunged in from a yard out for the score.

Up next for the Cheesemakers is East Troy (2-5, 1-4). The Trojans have been outscored 211-106 this season, while Monroe has five shutouts and outscored opponents 316-34. East Troy’s biggest offensive weapon is quarterback Caiden Dessart, who leads the team in rushing with 284 yards, and has added 869 yards through the air with a combined total of seven touchdowns.

Monroe still leads the state in rushing with 3,050 yards — an average of 435.7 yards per game and 10.4 per carry. Hernandez is just 11 yards from 1,000 on the season, averaging 9.9 yards per tote. Sweeney has 822 yards (11.0 ypc), while Kuester is at 447 (11.8 ypc) and Tucker Markham 260 (13.7 ypc). Ben Gatdula (12.6 ypc) was hurt in the second game of the season and is projected to return by the time the playoffs arrive.

The Cheesemakers have clinched a playoff spot and are one win from clinching at least a share of the Rock Valley title. Mathematically, the Cheesemakers still could finish outside of the top spot. Both Evansville and McFarland are 4-1 in conference play — with each losing by more than five scores to the Cheesemakers. Both schools will face off in Week 9.

“We still want to win each day. Each day takes us to Friday, and then we certainly want to win that game. Mathematically we could still blow a conference championship. So we want to win the day, win the game, and then if we do that, you’re looking at seeding and getting a chance to host some playoff games,” Golembiewski said.