OSHKOSH — Recent Wisconsin Football Coaches Association (WFCA) Hall of Fame inductee Jim Matthys picked up the clipboard one last time, as he coached the South in a 31-13 loss to the North in the WFCA Small School All-Star Game Saturday, July 20.
“It will probably all settle in,” Matthys said of the emotions of coaching his last game after announcing he’d relinquish the reins at Brodhead-Juda last fall. “It was awesome not just to coach Blake and for him to be back at inside linebacker — which is his wheelhouse — I had some friends to coach with like Dave Puls from Lodi and his son (Brady). I couldn’t ask for a better week or a better group of guys.”
Despite the loss, the South jumped out to a 13-0 lead in the first quarter.
Gibsen Sporle (Mineral Point), a SWAL first-team all-conference quarterback, connected with Randy Moore (Milwaukee Academy of Science) for two short passes before back-to-back first-down plays put the South near midfield. Sporle kept the ball and ran for the team’s third consecutive first down, getting pushed out of bounds at the North 45-yard line.
After a short running gain by Chauncey Jackson (Milwaukee Academy of Science), Sporle lofted a 29-yard pass to Carter Leibham (Lake Country Lutheran), a Metro Classic first-team all-conference wide receiver. It took the South just two plays in the red zone to score — an 8-yard pass to Leibham in the end zone. Roman Friederick (Potosi-Cassville), the lone Six Rivers first-team all-conference kicker, tacked on the extra point for a 7-0 lead seven minutes into the game.
The North had the ball for just 54 seconds before turning the ball over. After back-to-back runs by all-state running back Karter Butt, the South’s Jadon Lewis (Living Word Lutheran) practically took the handoff from Cal Smith (Baldwin-Woodville) and ran it back 12 yards to the North 28-yard line.
Gunner Boegli (Brodhead-Juda), a SWC first-team all-conference wide receiver, came up big in the South’s second drive. He caught two passes from Carter Schwartz (Horicon-Hustisford), the second setting up second-and-5. The North’s Caymen Gebheim (Somerset), an all-state outside linebacker, set the South back with a tackle for loss and 9-yard sack.
After a South timeout, Schwartz and Boegli connected yet again on a fourth-and-15 play. Initially, the pass looked to be intercepted by Teegan Streit (Edgar), but Boegli caught the deflection and stretched the ball over the goal line for a touchdown. This time, though, Friedrick missed the extra point wide right. The lapse foretold the rest of the game.
Although the South dominated the first quarter — scoring 13 points with 110 rushing yards in 8:34 of possession — the tides turned in the second.
The team was unable to score after a 41-yard catch from Boegli, putting the South at the North 25-yard line. Walter Berns (Aquinas) tackled Leibham for a loss, and Carson Clausen (Freedom) — an all-state defensive end — sacked Schwartz 10 yards short of the line of scrimmage. The South then shot itself in the foot with a delay-of-game penalty, setting up a third-and-26 play.
After a 41-yard punt from Boegli, the North ran just four plays to make it to the end zone. Demetrius Bergmann (Pepin-Alma), an all-state running back, carried the ball on back-to-back plays, including a 67-yard touchdown run.
The South went 3-and-out, eating up just 31 seconds.
The North methodically moved down the field, alternating between backs Ethan Mathe (Winneconne) and Butt. With a tackle for loss by Henry Koeppen (Lodi), the North faced second-and-11 at the South 26-yard line with 1:35 left in the half.
After a timeout, Austin Remington (Mondovi) caught a pass from Smith through triple coverage, setting the North up two yards from the end zone. With back-to-back tackles for loss, the South limited the damage to a 22-yard field goal and kneeled out the half with a 13-10 lead.
The North went 3-and-out to open the second frame, but defensive back Teegan Streit intercepted Schwartz’s pass and took it back 32 yards for a pick-6. AJ Seidler (Xavier) kicked the extra point, giving the North a 17-13 lead it did not relinquish.
Just over a minute later, the North scored again as Evin Olson (Pepin-Alma) got beyond the secondary for a 77-yard touchdown pass.
In its first series in the fourth quarter, the South appeared to be gaining momentum. Boegli ran for 15 yards on a reverse play and caught a short pass from Schwartz at the South 30-yard line. But on third-and-8, the North intercepted another pass — this time it was by Brady Lehnherr (Aquinas). That North series — and the subsequent one which also started with an interception — did not end in scores.
Instead, the North used the last three minutes of the game to score its final touchdown. The drive started with optimal field position at the South 47-yard line. Chase Matthias (Two Rivers), an all-state running back, ran for back-to-back first downs. With just over a minute left, each team used timeouts to stop the clock. The stoppage did little to slow the North, which scored on a 5-yard run from Matthias for a final score of 31-13.
Boegli finished with 15 rushing yards and 78 receiving yards for 93 all-purpose yards. He also had six punts for 295 yards. Darlington’s Carter Murray had four tackles, Blake Matthys four tackles, Black Hawk-Warren’s Andrew Figi three solo tackles and Brodhead-Juda’s Marcus McIntyre two assisted tackles. Boegli and Matthys will continue their football careers with UW-La Crosse.
