MONROE — After a comeback victory was necessary to knock McFarland out of the playoffs in Level 3 of the 2023 postseason, Monroe spent a generous amount of time preparing for its next conference matchup on Sept. 27, 2024. The work paid off, as the Cheesemakers defeated McFarland 45-22.
“Coach (Gerry) Herbst spent time watching our game from last year’s playoff — what they were doing and the small details,” Monroe head coach Tom Witt said. “I told him to make some cards so our scout D knows what he wanted to see. Our scout team at times was very disruptive stopping our offense. That made tonight easier. We were prepared.”
Because of the extensive studying, seniors Cam Newcomer and Aaron Benzschawel showed up and showed out. In 11 carries, Newcomer ran for 231 of the team’s 415 rushing yards with three touchdowns. Benzschawel, meanwhile, was dominant on both sides of the ball. He had a 31-yard touchdown reception, a 40-yard pick-6, a blocked PAT and two sacks.
“He (Benzschawel) has got some skill,” Witt said. “In my mind, he’s working toward Defensive Player of the Year” — an honor won by Monroe’s James Seagreaves last season.
After a great opening kickoff return by Tony Wolf, Newcomer broke out for a 49-yard touchdown run. But McFarland responded with a 34-yard field goal by Tate Eccles. Another 49-yard rush, this time by quarterback Bryce Roelli, put Monroe ahead 12-3.
The Cheesemakers came up with a stop, as Garrett Crull threw three consecutive incomplete passes. But the Spartans got the ball back quickly with a Cheesemaker fumble inside the 20-yard line.
With a short field, McFarland scored in three plays, as the Spartan pile pushed Crull into the end zone. But the momentum stopped there, as Benzschawel got through the line and blocked the extra point.
“We emphasize special teams a lot in practice and thought that was a spot that we could take advantage of,” Benzschawel said. “A gap opened up and luckily the kick was low enough that I could block it.”
Benzschawel was rewarded for all of his defensive work with a touchdown pass early in the second quarter. After small gains by Wolf set Monroe up at McFarland’s 46-yard line, Roelli lofted a pass to Benzschawel to make it an 18-9 game.
“As much as I like all the defensive stuff, I love catching passes on offense,” Benzschawel said. “With Monroe running the Wing-T it doesn’t happen all that often, so it was very special.”
After a scoreless drive by McFarland, Eccles helped his team by pinning Monroe at the 3-yard line with his punt. The Cheesemakers compounded problems further with a fumble — which was recovered — and back-to-back false start penalties. With two incomplete passes intended for Ben Gatdula, Monroe punted away.
But on the very first play of McFarland’s next drive, Benzschawel bailed out his offense with a 40-yard pick-6, snagged right at the line of scrimmage.
“It was a screen. We knew throughout the week that they are a screen-heavy team. We prepped and practiced that a lot,” Benzschawel said. “On that play, I got through a little too easy — a tell-tale sign. Another big sign is the quarterback just keeps backing pedaling. When that happens, you try to put the brakes on. I was thinking the pass would go over my hands, but it was low enough I was able to grab it with one hand and there was nobody else out in front.”
With four minutes left in the first half, McFarland attempted to make the most of the clock and score. The Spartans recovered from a 5-yard tackle for loss by Benzschawel with a 17-yard pass to Parker Roh. Three minutes into the drive and 44 yards later, McFarland called a timeout. A roughing the passer call gave the Spartans 15 extra yards and a fresh set of downs. Hayden Harrison then caught a pass from Crull and ran out of bounds to stop the clock with 50 ticks left. Nathan Fuchs tackled Jayen Bloodsaw in-bounds for no gain, forcing another Spartan timeout on third-and-5. Two incomplete passes to Harrison later, Monroe received the ball at its own 16-yard line.
The Cheesemakers, too, attempted to score with remaining time on the clock — 35 seconds — but even with a 39-yard rush from Wolf, Monroe was unsuccessful. The team still took a 24-9 lead into halftime.
A blunder early in the third quarter led to another McFarland score, as Monroe fumbled inside the 20-yard line. In three plays, Crull connected with Bernhardt for a 6-yard touchdown pass to make it 24-16.
On the sideline, assistant coach Shawn Paulson yelled out, “Answer the call.” And Monroe did just that. On its first play of the ensuing drive, Newcomer broke out for an 80-yard touchdown run.
“Our O-line played a great game. Our guards — Owen Douglas, Peyton Herbst — they made some great blocks for us,” Newcomer said. “Once it got open, our linebackers got to the secondary, so that opened up room for me to take off and run.”
Monroe almost put up a definitive stop, forcing McFarland 3-and-out on its next drive, but Eccles faked the punt and rushed 10 yards for the first down. The Spartans once again kept the possession alive, drawing a pass interference call that set them up just outside the red zone. Three plays later, Bernhardt and Crull connected.
But it was the last score McFarland had as Monroe added on another two. Newcomer ran for a 68-yard touchdown, and Wolf scored from 13 yards out.
With second-string players in the game, Alex Anastacio ended the game on a high note for the Cheesemakers, recovering a fumble.
With the win, Monroe not only clinched a spot in the WIAA postseason, but the Cheesemakers took sole possession of first place in the Rock Valley. Delavan-Darien, Edgerton and Evansville are tied for second at 3-1.
Monroe travels to Delavan-Darien (4-2) in Week 7 and then Evansville (5-1) in Week 8 before ending the regular season at home against East Troy (1-5, 1-3).
Monroe 45, McFarland 22
(Friday, Sept. 27 at Monroe)
Monroe …… 12 12 7 14 — 45
McFarland … 9 0 13 0 — 22
First Quarter
M: Cam Newcomer 49-yd rush (Seth Schmidt PAT failed), 6-0, 11:08
McF: Tate Eccles 34-yd field goal, 6-3
M: Bryce Roelli 49-yd rush (Nathan Fuchs 2-pt rush failed), 12-3, 6:35
McF: Garrett Crull 1-yd rush (Eccles PAT blocked by Aaron Benzschawel), 12-9, 1:37
Second Quarter
M: Benzschawel 31-yd pass from Roelli (Roelli 2-pt pass to Newcomer failed), 18-9, 8:56
M: Benzschawel 40-yd interception (Schmidt PAT failed), 24-9, 4:00
Third Quarter
McF: Blake Bernhardt 6-yd pass from Crull (Eccles PAT good), 24-16, 7:40
M: Newcomer 80-yd rush (Schmidt PAT good), 31-16, 7:27
McF: Bernhardt 4-yd pass from Crull (Eccles PAT failed), 31-22, 3:36
Fourth Quarter
M: Newcomer 61-yd rush (Schmidt PAT good), 38-22, 7:57
M: Tony Wolf 13-yd rush (Schmidt PAT good), 45-22, 2:49
Team Statistics
First downs — M: 14; McF: 20. Rushing — M: 34-415 (5 TD); McF: 28-140 (1 TD). Passing (comp-att-INT, yds-TD) — M: 2-3-0, 34-1; McF: 22-50-1; 172-2.
Individual Leaders
Rushing — M: Cam Newcomer 11-231 (3 TD), Tony Wolf 12-113 (1 TD), Bryce Roelli 7-56 (1 TD); McF: Ryan Hudgens 8-71 (1 TD). Passing — M: Roelli 2-3-0, 34-1; McF: Garrett Crull 21-47-1, 169-2. Receiving — M: Aaron Benzschawel 1-31 (1 TD); McF: Blake Bernhardt 11-90 (2 TD).
