BELLEVILLE — Despite falling behind 21-7 in the first half, the Wildcats didn’t panic. Instead, they scored 25 unanswered points the rest of the way to defeat St. Mary’s Springs 32-21 in the opening round of the WIAA Division 6 football playoffs on Friday, Oct. 23.

“The message all week was to just leave everything out there (on the field),” said Belleville coach Mike Nolden. “If it doesn’t go our way and you leave everything out there, there’s nothing to be upset about. I told them after the game that they did everything they needed to get themselves a game next week, and that’s all that matters.”

The fifth-seeded Ledgers (5-5) took a 21-7 lead with just over two minutes left in the second quarter. Rather than panicking, Belleville’s coaching staff had its players double down on keeping their focus and taking it play by play.

A quick 90 second drive ended in a 36-yard field goal by junior Brody Funseth, making it 21-10 going into halftime. In the second half, Belleville (8-2) suffered one quick turnover setback before the offense began to click on all cylinders, while the Wildcats defense locked down the Ledgers’ passing attack.

“The big thing defensively is we had to get him (QB Zander Lenz) to throw an incomplete pass,” Nolden said. “We just need to be a little better in our pass coverage. We needed to hit guys when we needed to hit them. Ultimately, though, when we went into halftime, we weren’t feeling bad. We just needed to keep playing.”

St. Mary’s Springs punted on the first drive of the third quarter, and the Wildcats began sustaining an offensive possession. After a fourth down conversion followed immediately by another first down run, it appeared the Ledgers were on their heels. However, DL Logan Blankenheim read a developing screen pass, tipped the ball into the air and intercepted it himself. Belleville QB/DB Rayden Taylor didn’t let himself get down, and the Wildcat defense forced another quick punt.

The Belleville offense took over at its own 13-yard-line and proceeded to march right down the field. Taylor eventually found the end zone, bolting 21 yards to the end zone. However, holding was called on new right tackle and former backup running back Marcus Hebgen at the five yard line. On the next snap, Jack Fahey dashed 14 yards to the 1, and then punched it in on the very next play. Taylor kept it himself on an option to convert the two-point try, making it 21-18.

Following a three-and-out and a shanked punt, the Wildcats had the ball back almost immediately in scoring range. This time, Taylor converted a fourth-and-1 by breaking a would-be tackle for a loss and then finishing the drive with a 25-yard TD run. Funseth’s extra point gave Belleville the four-point 25-21 lead with just 6:09 left in the fourth quarter.

The Wildcats sustained their mojo on defense, as Charley Spiegel broke up a pass at the first-down marker on third-and-7. On the fourth down try, Landon Yarbough rushed Lenz, sacking him for a 13-yard loss and giving Belleville the ball back on downs at the St. Mary’s Springs 18.

“Big time players make big time plays, and you rely on your seniors to make plays in games like that. That’s what we needed to happen, and he came through again,” Nolden said of Yarbough.

Two plays later, Fahey was into the end zone for another score with 4:31 left.

While the two-score lead on paper can look safe, the Wildcats know the momentum can flip on a dime. That’s when Hebgen stepped up from his linebacker spot and intercepted a pass, which proved to seal the victory.

“I saw that ball coming in and it hit me right in the stomach, so I caught it and ran,” said Hebgen.

Nolden called Hebgen a “superstar” defender that has played at an “all-state” level the past few seasons.

“We know we can just rely on him to make a play and do his job, and he did,” Nolden said.

Hebgen was the team’s third leading rusher this year, and No. 2 running back on the depth chart. After the offensive line was riddled with some injuries, the 5-foot-9, 176-pound senior volunteered to the coaching staff to switch positions.

“I didn’t play a lot on offense, so I told our quarterback (Taylor) that I’d be willing to go play line, and he told our coach the next day and we made the switch,” said Hebgen, who then had to switch jersey numbers from 26 to 51. “I was pretty confident with the guys around me. My right guard is really good and he helped me out all night.”

Though he had never played offensive line and had just three days of practice, he was still able to make a noticeable positive impact in Level 1.

“He’s a senior captain and volunteered to play the O-Line if it makes our team better. He had three days of practice and he did an absolutely fantastic job,” said Nolden. “I didn’t want to say this to his face, but I almost wish he was playing right tackle all year.”

Belleville finished the game with 194 rushing yards split nearly evenly by Fahey (95 yards) and Taylor (99 yards). Both players scored two touchdowns, as Taylor opened the scoring on the night with a score less than two-and-½ minutes into the game. Taylor also finished 7-for-17 passing for 78 yards. Spiegel had four catches for 52 yards, while Funseth caught three passes for 26 yards. Funseth also completed a 20-yard WR reverse pass to Max McCluskey, picking up a fourth down conversion in the third quarter.

Defensively, Hebgen had a team-high 12 tackles, while Dawson Smith had 11 tackles. The Ledgers had just 187 yards of offense, including 54 rushing on 27 carries (2.0 ypc).

Belleville now gets another week of practice before going on the road to face off against top-seeded Bonduel (10-0) in Level 2. Bonduel is located northwest of Green Bay, and the Wildcats bus ride will be upwards of three hours long.

Longer playoff trips are not new to the Belleville Wildcats. Over the past few seasons, the team has been a lower seed in the playoffs but went on the road to knock off the big dogs. Two years ago, eight-seeded Belleville reached the state semifinals, knocking off top seeded Cambridge and second-seeded Lancaster along the way. Last year, the Wildcats won road games at Markesan and Crandon before falling in Level 3 to eventual state champion Darlington.

“Our attitude in practice will be the same this week: Go play our best,” Nolden said. “It’s going to be a long bus ride, and let’s enjoy it like last year.”

Bonduel dumped Lancaster (4-6) in Level 1, 35-7. The Bears are a run-heavy team, collecting more than 2,200 this season on the ground, while passing for more than 580 yards. Two backs do the heavy lifting for Bonduel, Carter Moesch (1,103 yds, 20 TDs) and Malachi Gray (835 yards, 14 TDs). Both runners average more than 10 yards per play combined.

Belleville is more balanced in its offensive approach, running for more than 1,700 yards while passing for another 1,200 yards. Taylor has 1,212 yards through the air and 924 on the ground (6.8 ypc), leading the team. Fahey has gained 683 yards (6.0 ypc).

“We just have to have another amazing week of practice like we had this week, then play like we did this fourth quarter the whole game,” Hebgen said.