PRAIRIE DU SAC - It's been a rough start to the season for Monroe's football team.
And the Cheesemakers found it very tough going from the beginning Friday night against Sauk Prairie.
On just the second play from scrimmage, the Eagles' Zach Buelow used his lightning-quick speed to scamper 69 yards for a score. On Sauk Prairie's next possession, Kenny McNeal capped a seven-play, 78-yard drive with a 34-yard touchdown catch.
It was a foreboding start to a game that didn't finish much better for Monroe, whose 36-15 non-conference loss followed last week's 39-0 season-opening defeat to DeForest.
Monroe coach Curt Miller noted his team's inability to answer the Eagles' first blow.
"We got the ball and didn't do anything," Miller said. "And they punched one right back down our throats.
"They jumped all over us and had us on our heels the whole game. And it's tough to fight back from that."
Monroe nearly did, though.
Ethan Schuttler burst for a 30-yard punt return down the right sideline early in the second quarter to set the Cheesemakers up on the Eagles' 30-yard line. Dylan Schwitz burst nine yards up the middle two plays later to score. Michael Barrett, who was lined up to kick the extra point, took a direct snap and found Matt Whipple in the end zone to make it 13-8.
Sauk Prairie (1-1) fullback Zimm Kratochvil went 14 yards up the middle later in the quarter to make it 21-8, but the Cheesemakers got rolling early in the second half.
Barrett, who later had to leave the game with what Miller said was a bad knee bruise, connected with Bryan Tordoff on a key third-and-eight to keep Monroe's first drive of the half alive. And he scampered for 30 yards on two carries after to set the Cheesemakers up with first-and-goal on the eight.
Schwitz scampered for three yards out on the next play, and finished the 11-play, 67-yard drive with a five-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 21-15.
Then, Monroe recovered a fumble on its own 35 and, later, appeared poised to take the lead.
But Tordoff couldn't hold on to what would have been a first-down catch at the Eagles' 14 on third-and-10, and Barrett's fourth-down pass attempt was deflected.
"That was real big," Miller said, adding an interception by Jordan Peters at the Eagles' four-yard line, which ended what looked to be Cheesemakers' first scoring drive of the game midway through the first quarter, also hurt. "We struggled with (finishing drives) last week, too. And in order to be a good football team, we're going to have to do that."
Sauk Prairie was forced to punt on the ensuing possession, but covered a punt that bounced off a Monroe player at the Cheesemakers' 29-yard line. Quarterback Travis Breunig scored on a sneak a short time later and then found Riley Olson for a two-point conversion to make it 29-15.
And Peters returned his second interception of the game 35 yards with just over two minutes left to punctuate an impressive effort by the Eagles - which wasn't lost on Miller.
"Sauk came to play," he said. "I'm going to give the credit to them.
"The ball seemed to bounce their way, but teams that want to win find a way to do that. And unfortunately, it just wasn't in our favor tonight."
And the Cheesemakers found it very tough going from the beginning Friday night against Sauk Prairie.
On just the second play from scrimmage, the Eagles' Zach Buelow used his lightning-quick speed to scamper 69 yards for a score. On Sauk Prairie's next possession, Kenny McNeal capped a seven-play, 78-yard drive with a 34-yard touchdown catch.
It was a foreboding start to a game that didn't finish much better for Monroe, whose 36-15 non-conference loss followed last week's 39-0 season-opening defeat to DeForest.
Monroe coach Curt Miller noted his team's inability to answer the Eagles' first blow.
"We got the ball and didn't do anything," Miller said. "And they punched one right back down our throats.
"They jumped all over us and had us on our heels the whole game. And it's tough to fight back from that."
Monroe nearly did, though.
Ethan Schuttler burst for a 30-yard punt return down the right sideline early in the second quarter to set the Cheesemakers up on the Eagles' 30-yard line. Dylan Schwitz burst nine yards up the middle two plays later to score. Michael Barrett, who was lined up to kick the extra point, took a direct snap and found Matt Whipple in the end zone to make it 13-8.
Sauk Prairie (1-1) fullback Zimm Kratochvil went 14 yards up the middle later in the quarter to make it 21-8, but the Cheesemakers got rolling early in the second half.
Barrett, who later had to leave the game with what Miller said was a bad knee bruise, connected with Bryan Tordoff on a key third-and-eight to keep Monroe's first drive of the half alive. And he scampered for 30 yards on two carries after to set the Cheesemakers up with first-and-goal on the eight.
Schwitz scampered for three yards out on the next play, and finished the 11-play, 67-yard drive with a five-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 21-15.
Then, Monroe recovered a fumble on its own 35 and, later, appeared poised to take the lead.
But Tordoff couldn't hold on to what would have been a first-down catch at the Eagles' 14 on third-and-10, and Barrett's fourth-down pass attempt was deflected.
"That was real big," Miller said, adding an interception by Jordan Peters at the Eagles' four-yard line, which ended what looked to be Cheesemakers' first scoring drive of the game midway through the first quarter, also hurt. "We struggled with (finishing drives) last week, too. And in order to be a good football team, we're going to have to do that."
Sauk Prairie was forced to punt on the ensuing possession, but covered a punt that bounced off a Monroe player at the Cheesemakers' 29-yard line. Quarterback Travis Breunig scored on a sneak a short time later and then found Riley Olson for a two-point conversion to make it 29-15.
And Peters returned his second interception of the game 35 yards with just over two minutes left to punctuate an impressive effort by the Eagles - which wasn't lost on Miller.
"Sauk came to play," he said. "I'm going to give the credit to them.
"The ball seemed to bounce their way, but teams that want to win find a way to do that. And unfortunately, it just wasn't in our favor tonight."
