MONROE - Whatever could have gone wrong, did go wrong in the Cheesemakers' football season opener Friday against DeForest.
Even the weather.
Monroe's 39-0 loss to the Norskies was a very long night, literally. The game was delayed by lightning for nearly two and a half hours after halftime.
"DeForest is a heck of a nice football team," Monroe head coach Curt Miller said. "We had a lot of miscues and a good team like DeForest will exploit those."
The Norskies hit the Cheesemakers in the mouth from the start, forcing Monroe to punt on its opening possession, then riding star senior running back Cory Wipperfurth into the endzone.
Wipperfurth carried the ball four times up the middle for 58 yards before DeForest quarterback Ryan Sands hooked up with tight end Matt Winckler for a 13-yard touchdown with 6:27 remaining in the first.
Monroe's second possession was a quick three-and-out, though a dropped pass up the sidelines on first down would have moved the chains toward midfield.
"Our offense wasn't playing that bad. We had a couple dropped balls early and missed a few blocks, but I liked the way we moved the ball," Miller said.
DeForest's second score came after a seven-play, 49-yard drive. Monroe held tough inside its own redzone, forcing a fourth down and nine from the 20. The Norskies weren't about to attempt a long field goal, and Sands connected with Eric Stewart in stride down the right sideline to give DeForest a 13-0 lead.
The Cheesemakers got the ball moving at the end of the first quarter. Getting the ball back with less than two minutes in the opening quarter, Monroe junior QB Michael Barrett connected with senior tight end Kevin Frint for a 15-yard gain. Three plays later, in DeForest territory, Barrett gave Monroe a big first down, running the QB draw to perfection and picking up a big first down at the Norskie 42 to end the quarter.
On the first play of the second quarter, Barrett sent an option pitch to running back Dylan Schwitz for a 10-yard gain. Moments later, on third-and-7 from DeForest's 29-yard line, Barrett's pass was intercepted and returned into Monroe territory.
"It would have been nice to sustain a drive," Miller said of his offense that punted three times, threw two picks and had the half end at the Norskie 28.
"We will get better," Miller said.
Monroe racked up 89 yards of offense, compared to DeForest's 202 yards, in the first half. Wipperfurth accumulated 135 of those, including 91 in the first quarter.
By halftime, the Cheesemakers trailed 26-0. That's when nature decided to add to Monroe's long night.
Distant flickers of lightning just as second half warmups were about to begin forced the field officials to follow a new rule, forcing players back into the locker rooms and postponing the game for 30 minutes every time a new flash occurred. After more than an hour of waiting, the light rain finally reached T.R. Holyoke field, further delaying the game from proceeding.
"It's going to affect all the kids, from both teams, the same. The kids will be ready to come back," Miller said at halftime.
DeForest was ready, too, marching right down the field after halftime and taking a 33-0 lead on a 3-yard Wipperfurth run.
Even the weather.
Monroe's 39-0 loss to the Norskies was a very long night, literally. The game was delayed by lightning for nearly two and a half hours after halftime.
"DeForest is a heck of a nice football team," Monroe head coach Curt Miller said. "We had a lot of miscues and a good team like DeForest will exploit those."
The Norskies hit the Cheesemakers in the mouth from the start, forcing Monroe to punt on its opening possession, then riding star senior running back Cory Wipperfurth into the endzone.
Wipperfurth carried the ball four times up the middle for 58 yards before DeForest quarterback Ryan Sands hooked up with tight end Matt Winckler for a 13-yard touchdown with 6:27 remaining in the first.
Monroe's second possession was a quick three-and-out, though a dropped pass up the sidelines on first down would have moved the chains toward midfield.
"Our offense wasn't playing that bad. We had a couple dropped balls early and missed a few blocks, but I liked the way we moved the ball," Miller said.
DeForest's second score came after a seven-play, 49-yard drive. Monroe held tough inside its own redzone, forcing a fourth down and nine from the 20. The Norskies weren't about to attempt a long field goal, and Sands connected with Eric Stewart in stride down the right sideline to give DeForest a 13-0 lead.
The Cheesemakers got the ball moving at the end of the first quarter. Getting the ball back with less than two minutes in the opening quarter, Monroe junior QB Michael Barrett connected with senior tight end Kevin Frint for a 15-yard gain. Three plays later, in DeForest territory, Barrett gave Monroe a big first down, running the QB draw to perfection and picking up a big first down at the Norskie 42 to end the quarter.
On the first play of the second quarter, Barrett sent an option pitch to running back Dylan Schwitz for a 10-yard gain. Moments later, on third-and-7 from DeForest's 29-yard line, Barrett's pass was intercepted and returned into Monroe territory.
"It would have been nice to sustain a drive," Miller said of his offense that punted three times, threw two picks and had the half end at the Norskie 28.
"We will get better," Miller said.
Monroe racked up 89 yards of offense, compared to DeForest's 202 yards, in the first half. Wipperfurth accumulated 135 of those, including 91 in the first quarter.
By halftime, the Cheesemakers trailed 26-0. That's when nature decided to add to Monroe's long night.
Distant flickers of lightning just as second half warmups were about to begin forced the field officials to follow a new rule, forcing players back into the locker rooms and postponing the game for 30 minutes every time a new flash occurred. After more than an hour of waiting, the light rain finally reached T.R. Holyoke field, further delaying the game from proceeding.
"It's going to affect all the kids, from both teams, the same. The kids will be ready to come back," Miller said at halftime.
DeForest was ready, too, marching right down the field after halftime and taking a 33-0 lead on a 3-yard Wipperfurth run.
