MONROE - The Monroe football team, after rallying from a two-touchdown deficit in the first half, appeared to be on the brink of upsetting Oregon.
That's until the Panthers scored 24 unanswered second-half points en route to a 44-15 win over Monroe on Friday night at T.R. Holyoke Field.
"It just came down to which team was going to make more plays," Monroe coach Curt Miller said.
The Panthers on their opening drive marched 72 yards in five plays, culminating in Oregon senior quarterback Aaron Nelson's 5-yard touchdown run.
Monroe (1-3, 0-2 Badger South) answered with a bang. On its first play, Monroe senior Josh Popanz made an unbelievable leaping catch and run on a 78-yard touchdown pass from Mitch Tordoff. Monroe senior Alex Dammen took a pitch on the extra point and ran in a two-point conversion to give the Cheesemakers an 8-7 lead.
"Big plays are a huge momentum changer," Miller said. "That gave us a lot of life in the first half."
After being shut out 61-0 last week at Milton, Tordoff, who completed 13 of 26 passes for 256 yards and two touchdowns, wanted a fast start.
"We knew we had to have a quick hitter," Tordoff said. "We got our big hitter."
Oregon did damage with the option throughout the game, racking up 340 total rushing yards. Oregon senior Matt Knipfer on third-and-2, took a pitch on the option and raced 49 yards for a touchdown with 8:25 left in the first quarter. Knipfer rushed for 209 yards on 17 carries and scored two touchdowns.
"Option football is all about responsibilities," Miller said. "When something breaks down, they got an opening and they took advantage of us.
"Oregon just plays sound football. They are disciplined."
The Panthers overcame several penalties midway through the second quarter. Nelson's 46-yard pass on third-and-12 from near midfield set up Nelson's 10-yard touchdown pass to Alex Sachs to give the Panthers a 20-7 lead.
Trailing by two touchdowns, Tordoff again hooked up with Popanz on a 10-yard pass to slice the Panthers' lead to 20-15 at halftime. Popanz finished with four receptions for 120 yards and two touchdowns.
On their opening drive of the second half, the Panthers capped an eight-play, 51-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Joe Stetzer to extend the lead to 27-15.
The Panthers added to their lead when Knipfer rumbled for a 43-yard score to push the lead to 34-15 at 3:07 in the third quarter.
The Cheesemakers' comeback drive at the start of the fourth quarter was thwarted when a shotgun snap on fourth-and-4 sailed over Tordoff's head and the Panthers recovered.
In the second half, Tordoff threw two interceptions.
"I think we got away from our game plan," Tordoff said. "We tried to go for the big hitter and it backfired."
Tordoff said that is the risk offenses take passing downfield.
"It just kind of seemed to crumble," he said.
The Cheesemakers' defense had two sacks and forced one turnover, which came on a second-quarter interception by senior Zach Rast.
That's until the Panthers scored 24 unanswered second-half points en route to a 44-15 win over Monroe on Friday night at T.R. Holyoke Field.
"It just came down to which team was going to make more plays," Monroe coach Curt Miller said.
The Panthers on their opening drive marched 72 yards in five plays, culminating in Oregon senior quarterback Aaron Nelson's 5-yard touchdown run.
Monroe (1-3, 0-2 Badger South) answered with a bang. On its first play, Monroe senior Josh Popanz made an unbelievable leaping catch and run on a 78-yard touchdown pass from Mitch Tordoff. Monroe senior Alex Dammen took a pitch on the extra point and ran in a two-point conversion to give the Cheesemakers an 8-7 lead.
"Big plays are a huge momentum changer," Miller said. "That gave us a lot of life in the first half."
After being shut out 61-0 last week at Milton, Tordoff, who completed 13 of 26 passes for 256 yards and two touchdowns, wanted a fast start.
"We knew we had to have a quick hitter," Tordoff said. "We got our big hitter."
Oregon did damage with the option throughout the game, racking up 340 total rushing yards. Oregon senior Matt Knipfer on third-and-2, took a pitch on the option and raced 49 yards for a touchdown with 8:25 left in the first quarter. Knipfer rushed for 209 yards on 17 carries and scored two touchdowns.
"Option football is all about responsibilities," Miller said. "When something breaks down, they got an opening and they took advantage of us.
"Oregon just plays sound football. They are disciplined."
The Panthers overcame several penalties midway through the second quarter. Nelson's 46-yard pass on third-and-12 from near midfield set up Nelson's 10-yard touchdown pass to Alex Sachs to give the Panthers a 20-7 lead.
Trailing by two touchdowns, Tordoff again hooked up with Popanz on a 10-yard pass to slice the Panthers' lead to 20-15 at halftime. Popanz finished with four receptions for 120 yards and two touchdowns.
On their opening drive of the second half, the Panthers capped an eight-play, 51-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Joe Stetzer to extend the lead to 27-15.
The Panthers added to their lead when Knipfer rumbled for a 43-yard score to push the lead to 34-15 at 3:07 in the third quarter.
The Cheesemakers' comeback drive at the start of the fourth quarter was thwarted when a shotgun snap on fourth-and-4 sailed over Tordoff's head and the Panthers recovered.
In the second half, Tordoff threw two interceptions.
"I think we got away from our game plan," Tordoff said. "We tried to go for the big hitter and it backfired."
Tordoff said that is the risk offenses take passing downfield.
"It just kind of seemed to crumble," he said.
The Cheesemakers' defense had two sacks and forced one turnover, which came on a second-quarter interception by senior Zach Rast.
