MONROE - For the first time this year, Monroe senior quarterback Tyler Elmer and his fellow teammates went over to the student section, trying to fight back tears to sing the school's fight song one final time after Pewaukee stunned the Cheesemakers 7-3 in a WIAA Division 3 state quarterfinal Friday.
Monroe had three drives inside the Pirates' 25-yard line they couldn't cash in on. The golden opportunity came on a fourth-and-goal play from the Pirates' 1-yard line with 3 minutes, 2 seconds to go in the fourth quarter. Elmer came up about a foot short on a bootleg run and Pewaukee (11-1) survived to advance to next week's state semifinal where they will play Waukesha Catholic Memorial.
With the loss, Monroe finishes the season 11-1.
"The lower half of my body made it in," Elmer said of his fourth-down run that came up just short. "The ball came up just about a centimeter short. That just killed us. We were one centimeter away from going to Round 4. Hats off to Pewaukee."
Elmer also can't forget the missed opportunity on second down-and-goal on the same drive.
"I was supposed to give it to the fullback," he said. "I saw something and kept it. I should have trusted the play that was called."
After the Cheesemakers' defense forced a punt by the Pirates with about 2 minutes left, the Cheesemakers had one last-ditch chance. With 51 seconds to go, Elmer's pass to junior Brayden Zettle was knocked away near the end zone and senior Alex Tordoff couldn't come up with the catch on a ricochet.
"It's no fun for the kids to have it end the way it did," Monroe coach Toby Golembiewski said. "We were a foot away from going on to the next round. Now we get to feel like Fort Atkinson did. They (Fort Atkinson) are a really good team and we are too."
The Cheesemakers were missing two starters at the beginning of the game. Monroe senior fullback Isaac Allen, who has rushed for 1,336 yards and scored 21 total touchdowns this year, was out with a torn calf muscle and junior linebacker Travis Wolf, the team's leading tackler, missed the game with an elbow/arm injury.
The game got off to an ominous start in the first quarter when senior running back Jacob Kind suffered a broken ankle after a 4-yard run and was carted off the field.
Injuries haunted the Cheesemakers at the worst time.
"Our three-headed monster became a one-headed monster," Golembiewski said after Kind's injury, referencing the three running backs who each eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards this season. "We really had to rely on some young guys. They did a good job and the best they could, but we only had so much time at practice the whole week and they didn't get the reps."
Monroe senior Cole Murray, who rushed for 66 yards on 15 carries, remained confident even after Kind went down with the injury.
"We could have hung our heads after he (Kind) was injured against a top team like Pewaukee," Murray said. "We just kept on battling."
Murray said he will always remember winning the Badger South Conference championship and making a run to the state quarterfinals.
Despite the injuries, the Cheesemakers had two chances to score the go-ahead touchdown in the final 3 minutes.
Golembiewski knew the Pirates were stacking the box to take away the plays to the fullback on fourth-and-goal late in the fourth quarter.
"When you have a big kid like Isaac, there are some times where he can still muscle in there," he said. "We had to go with some younger kids who are not as big. They are going to develop into really good players. They are one or two years away of work in the weight room of being like Isaac."
It was a defensive battle all game between the seventh-ranked Cheesemakers and the Pirates. Pewaukee quarterback Josh Swanson capped a 10-play, 60-yard drive, with a 32-yard touchdown pass to junior Seth Bickett with 2:31 left in the second quarter. The Pirates kept the drive alive with two fourth-down conversions. Bickett had a 2-yard run on a fourth-and-1 play from own 47-yard line. The other fourth-down conversion came on a fake punt when the Pirates picked up five yards facing fourth-and-4 from their own 43-yard line.
The Cheesemakers' defense gave them a chance to come back to win. Zettle had two of the Cheesemakers' three interceptions. Senior Carter Sawdey also had an interception. However, Monroe scored just three points off three turnovers. Zettle's first interception came at the end of the second quarter and the Pirates led 7-0 at the half. The Cheesemakers limited Pewaukee to just 182 total yards. Swanson completed 4 of 10 passes for 56 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. Bickett rushed for 63 yards on 16 carries.
Monroe junior Dempzy Foley booted a 28-yard field goal about midway through the third quarter to cut the Pirates' lead to 7-3.
Monroe junior Sam Kind rushed for 64 yards on three carries. Each of his carries in the second half was for 15 yards or more. Elmer completed 4 of 11 passes for 33 yards and added 36 rushing yards on 18 carries.
Golembiewski said he hated to see the season end, but he's proud of what the team accomplished. The Cheesemakers had their first unbeaten regular season since 1995 and won the conference championship for the first time in 18 years.
"It will be hard for them to look back right now at what we accomplished," Golembiewski said. "Once they have time to reflect they will stop and see what they have accomplished, the growth we have made and realize how special it was."
Monroe had three drives inside the Pirates' 25-yard line they couldn't cash in on. The golden opportunity came on a fourth-and-goal play from the Pirates' 1-yard line with 3 minutes, 2 seconds to go in the fourth quarter. Elmer came up about a foot short on a bootleg run and Pewaukee (11-1) survived to advance to next week's state semifinal where they will play Waukesha Catholic Memorial.
With the loss, Monroe finishes the season 11-1.
"The lower half of my body made it in," Elmer said of his fourth-down run that came up just short. "The ball came up just about a centimeter short. That just killed us. We were one centimeter away from going to Round 4. Hats off to Pewaukee."
Elmer also can't forget the missed opportunity on second down-and-goal on the same drive.
"I was supposed to give it to the fullback," he said. "I saw something and kept it. I should have trusted the play that was called."
After the Cheesemakers' defense forced a punt by the Pirates with about 2 minutes left, the Cheesemakers had one last-ditch chance. With 51 seconds to go, Elmer's pass to junior Brayden Zettle was knocked away near the end zone and senior Alex Tordoff couldn't come up with the catch on a ricochet.
"It's no fun for the kids to have it end the way it did," Monroe coach Toby Golembiewski said. "We were a foot away from going on to the next round. Now we get to feel like Fort Atkinson did. They (Fort Atkinson) are a really good team and we are too."
The Cheesemakers were missing two starters at the beginning of the game. Monroe senior fullback Isaac Allen, who has rushed for 1,336 yards and scored 21 total touchdowns this year, was out with a torn calf muscle and junior linebacker Travis Wolf, the team's leading tackler, missed the game with an elbow/arm injury.
The game got off to an ominous start in the first quarter when senior running back Jacob Kind suffered a broken ankle after a 4-yard run and was carted off the field.
Injuries haunted the Cheesemakers at the worst time.
"Our three-headed monster became a one-headed monster," Golembiewski said after Kind's injury, referencing the three running backs who each eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards this season. "We really had to rely on some young guys. They did a good job and the best they could, but we only had so much time at practice the whole week and they didn't get the reps."
Monroe senior Cole Murray, who rushed for 66 yards on 15 carries, remained confident even after Kind went down with the injury.
"We could have hung our heads after he (Kind) was injured against a top team like Pewaukee," Murray said. "We just kept on battling."
Murray said he will always remember winning the Badger South Conference championship and making a run to the state quarterfinals.
Despite the injuries, the Cheesemakers had two chances to score the go-ahead touchdown in the final 3 minutes.
Golembiewski knew the Pirates were stacking the box to take away the plays to the fullback on fourth-and-goal late in the fourth quarter.
"When you have a big kid like Isaac, there are some times where he can still muscle in there," he said. "We had to go with some younger kids who are not as big. They are going to develop into really good players. They are one or two years away of work in the weight room of being like Isaac."
It was a defensive battle all game between the seventh-ranked Cheesemakers and the Pirates. Pewaukee quarterback Josh Swanson capped a 10-play, 60-yard drive, with a 32-yard touchdown pass to junior Seth Bickett with 2:31 left in the second quarter. The Pirates kept the drive alive with two fourth-down conversions. Bickett had a 2-yard run on a fourth-and-1 play from own 47-yard line. The other fourth-down conversion came on a fake punt when the Pirates picked up five yards facing fourth-and-4 from their own 43-yard line.
The Cheesemakers' defense gave them a chance to come back to win. Zettle had two of the Cheesemakers' three interceptions. Senior Carter Sawdey also had an interception. However, Monroe scored just three points off three turnovers. Zettle's first interception came at the end of the second quarter and the Pirates led 7-0 at the half. The Cheesemakers limited Pewaukee to just 182 total yards. Swanson completed 4 of 10 passes for 56 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. Bickett rushed for 63 yards on 16 carries.
Monroe junior Dempzy Foley booted a 28-yard field goal about midway through the third quarter to cut the Pirates' lead to 7-3.
Monroe junior Sam Kind rushed for 64 yards on three carries. Each of his carries in the second half was for 15 yards or more. Elmer completed 4 of 11 passes for 33 yards and added 36 rushing yards on 18 carries.
Golembiewski said he hated to see the season end, but he's proud of what the team accomplished. The Cheesemakers had their first unbeaten regular season since 1995 and won the conference championship for the first time in 18 years.
"It will be hard for them to look back right now at what we accomplished," Golembiewski said. "Once they have time to reflect they will stop and see what they have accomplished, the growth we have made and realize how special it was."
