RACINE - For the Pecatonica-Argyle Vikings, Saturday's 14-13 loss to Racine Lutheran may have been foretold from the first half.
The Vikings' offense was held to just one yard of offense and no first downs in the first two quarters. The defense played better, including a fourth-down stop inside its own red zone just before half, but was lucky to have allowed only two touchdowns in the first half. The Crusaders' Eric Oertel scored on a 4-yard run in the first quarter, and on a 23-yard run in the second quarter of the second-round Division 6 WIAA football playoff game.
"The guys just didn't come to play in the first half," Pec-Argyle coach Larry Green said. "We're lucky it was only 14-0 at halftime. We made a few plays that we needed to."
The second half was a different story. It just wasn't enough for Pec-Argyle to overcome the first-half deficit.
The Vikings came out of the locker room with a new set of excitement and attitude. Taylor Saalsaa, Lee Vlasak, Zach Zradicka and Andy Bolhman carried Pec-Argyle down the field on just eight plays.
"The second half, the guys came out and wanted to play football, and that was the big difference," Green said.
Starting from their own 35-yard line, Saalsaa took the first handoff four yards. Vlasak took the next for eight yards to the 47. Zradicka then took a reverse 17 yards across midfield to Racine's 36. Saalsaa took the next handoff 11 yards to the 25. Zradicka took another reverse five yards before being planted into the ground.
Vlasak continued the mix of running plays with a six-yard dive. Bolhman then swung around for a gain of nine before Saalsaa finished off the drive with a 5-yard plunge into the endzone. Chris Hendrickson's extra point cut the score to 14-7.
Racine Lutheran went right to work itself, following Oertel downfield. On second down from inside the Vikings' 5-yard line, Matt Tingwald crossed the goa line to extend the lead. The Crusaders' ensuing celebration was premature, however. A holding call moved the ball back to the 15-yard line. Three plays later, Pec-Argyle turned the ball over at the 8-yard line.
The Vikings continued to move the ball downfield, averaging more than five yards a play for the first three snaps. Then, a Crusader helmet ended the drive prematurely.
Vlasak took a pitch from quarterback Milton Kurschner to the right side. As the running back followed his blockers near the sideline, a Racine player came in hard and popped the ball out of Vlasak's hands with a helmet. Racine recovered at the 25-yard line with just a minute and change to go in the third quarter.
Pec-Argyle's defense stepped up to the challenge again, though, turning the ball over on downs for the third time in as many possessions at the 20-yard line.
To start the fourth quarter, Pec-Argyle continued to move the ball downfield with the run. Saalsaa had runs of 3, 4, 5, 5 and 6 yards on the drive, with Kuschner's big 14-yard run across midfield midway through the drive that brought Pec into scoring territory. Kuschner hit Vlasak on a 12-yard strike to put the Vikings in the red zone. Saalsaa capped the drive with his second score of the game - a seven-yard plunge with 5:55 left in the game.
"I couldn't decide if we should go for two or go for one, so I called a timeout and decided to kick it. Unfortunately, it didn't work out," Green said.
The timeout was wasted, as Hendrickson's kick sailed just wide right of the post.
With the Crusaders ready for the onside kick, Hendrickson's attempted deep onside kick to the open field side looked nearly perfect. It bounced beyond the returners, and with Vikings closing in, the ball rolled just a yard into the end zone and the touchback was called, giving Racine the ball at its own 20-yard line to start its final possession of the day.
Crusader quarterback Dylan Graf tried running a draw on the first play, but fumbled trying to get back to the line of scrimage. Oertel jumped on the ball to keep the possession going. Graf ran again on second down to the 28-yard line. On third down, the quarterback once again kept the ball himself, forging ahead for another first down at the 32.
Two plays later, Graf let the pigskin fly, and Stuart Brown, one of just four seniors on Racine's roster, pulled in the jumpball at Pec-Argyle's 34 yard line. With just one timeout left, the Vikings needed to make a stop; time was winding under the three-minute mark.
Pec-Argyle forced Racine into a fourth down with 1:17 to go. Timeout.
"We knew they were going to quarterback sneak it, and we called the right play. We just didn't line up right," Green said.
Unfortunately for Pec-Argyle, Graf took a sneak beyond the first-down marker, and the game was over.
"They were fortunate enough to find the gap we weren't lined up in and got the first down," Green said.
Green went on to say that 2008 was a productive season, and that the seniors and the team progressed mightily.
"From the start of the season until now, our seniors have made a full circle turn," Green said. "I can't ask for a different set of seniors from where they were at the start of the season to where they are at the end."
The Vikings' offense was held to just one yard of offense and no first downs in the first two quarters. The defense played better, including a fourth-down stop inside its own red zone just before half, but was lucky to have allowed only two touchdowns in the first half. The Crusaders' Eric Oertel scored on a 4-yard run in the first quarter, and on a 23-yard run in the second quarter of the second-round Division 6 WIAA football playoff game.
"The guys just didn't come to play in the first half," Pec-Argyle coach Larry Green said. "We're lucky it was only 14-0 at halftime. We made a few plays that we needed to."
The second half was a different story. It just wasn't enough for Pec-Argyle to overcome the first-half deficit.
The Vikings came out of the locker room with a new set of excitement and attitude. Taylor Saalsaa, Lee Vlasak, Zach Zradicka and Andy Bolhman carried Pec-Argyle down the field on just eight plays.
"The second half, the guys came out and wanted to play football, and that was the big difference," Green said.
Starting from their own 35-yard line, Saalsaa took the first handoff four yards. Vlasak took the next for eight yards to the 47. Zradicka then took a reverse 17 yards across midfield to Racine's 36. Saalsaa took the next handoff 11 yards to the 25. Zradicka took another reverse five yards before being planted into the ground.
Vlasak continued the mix of running plays with a six-yard dive. Bolhman then swung around for a gain of nine before Saalsaa finished off the drive with a 5-yard plunge into the endzone. Chris Hendrickson's extra point cut the score to 14-7.
Racine Lutheran went right to work itself, following Oertel downfield. On second down from inside the Vikings' 5-yard line, Matt Tingwald crossed the goa line to extend the lead. The Crusaders' ensuing celebration was premature, however. A holding call moved the ball back to the 15-yard line. Three plays later, Pec-Argyle turned the ball over at the 8-yard line.
The Vikings continued to move the ball downfield, averaging more than five yards a play for the first three snaps. Then, a Crusader helmet ended the drive prematurely.
Vlasak took a pitch from quarterback Milton Kurschner to the right side. As the running back followed his blockers near the sideline, a Racine player came in hard and popped the ball out of Vlasak's hands with a helmet. Racine recovered at the 25-yard line with just a minute and change to go in the third quarter.
Pec-Argyle's defense stepped up to the challenge again, though, turning the ball over on downs for the third time in as many possessions at the 20-yard line.
To start the fourth quarter, Pec-Argyle continued to move the ball downfield with the run. Saalsaa had runs of 3, 4, 5, 5 and 6 yards on the drive, with Kuschner's big 14-yard run across midfield midway through the drive that brought Pec into scoring territory. Kuschner hit Vlasak on a 12-yard strike to put the Vikings in the red zone. Saalsaa capped the drive with his second score of the game - a seven-yard plunge with 5:55 left in the game.
"I couldn't decide if we should go for two or go for one, so I called a timeout and decided to kick it. Unfortunately, it didn't work out," Green said.
The timeout was wasted, as Hendrickson's kick sailed just wide right of the post.
With the Crusaders ready for the onside kick, Hendrickson's attempted deep onside kick to the open field side looked nearly perfect. It bounced beyond the returners, and with Vikings closing in, the ball rolled just a yard into the end zone and the touchback was called, giving Racine the ball at its own 20-yard line to start its final possession of the day.
Crusader quarterback Dylan Graf tried running a draw on the first play, but fumbled trying to get back to the line of scrimage. Oertel jumped on the ball to keep the possession going. Graf ran again on second down to the 28-yard line. On third down, the quarterback once again kept the ball himself, forging ahead for another first down at the 32.
Two plays later, Graf let the pigskin fly, and Stuart Brown, one of just four seniors on Racine's roster, pulled in the jumpball at Pec-Argyle's 34 yard line. With just one timeout left, the Vikings needed to make a stop; time was winding under the three-minute mark.
Pec-Argyle forced Racine into a fourth down with 1:17 to go. Timeout.
"We knew they were going to quarterback sneak it, and we called the right play. We just didn't line up right," Green said.
Unfortunately for Pec-Argyle, Graf took a sneak beyond the first-down marker, and the game was over.
"They were fortunate enough to find the gap we weren't lined up in and got the first down," Green said.
Green went on to say that 2008 was a productive season, and that the seniors and the team progressed mightily.
"From the start of the season until now, our seniors have made a full circle turn," Green said. "I can't ask for a different set of seniors from where they were at the start of the season to where they are at the end."
