BELLEVILLE — Despite a state-wide conference realignment that put New Glarus-Monticello and Belleville into difference conferences this fall, the energy was alive in the longtime rivalry. Belleville now plays in the SWAL and New Glarus-Monticello in the SWC after moving from the Capitol Conference. The rivalry goes back a century, with many of those years spent in the Stateline League. As the home team spent the game and halftime honoring nearly a century of school history on the gridiron, the current Wildcats squad overwhelmed the Glarner Knights, winning 35-6.

“They have an explosive team and were able to string some together,” said Dr. Jeff Eichelkraut, New Glarus-Monticello coach. “I thought our kids battled and played hard. We hung together and we kept battling, and we’ll be back next week.”

Neither team could gain ground on the other in the first quarter, with NGM gaining just 7 yards of offense in the frame on three possessions, and Belleville 20 yards on 13 plays. That all changed quickly in the second quarter.

Belleville’s third drive started with a Dain Walter sack of Trevor Syse, then NGM’s Jackson Eyler sacking Syse on the next play for a 9-yard loss. Facing 3rd-and-20 from their own 37, the Wildcats called a screen pass to Carson Syse, who bolted ahead 39 yards for a big first down. On the very next play, Dylan Posthuma darted 24 yards for a score, and the Wildcats led 7-0 at the 11:23 mark.

The offensive woes continued for the Knights, as a quick 3-and-out with zero yards gained forced a punt from their own 28. Trevor Syse opened up Belleville’s drive with a 30-yard QB keeper, and three plays later scored on a 9-yard run with 9:10 left in the frame.

“That was really the hard part — we could force him into long yardage, and a couple of times we couldn’t make plays on those. That was disappointing,” Eichelkraut said.

NGM gained just three yards on the following possession, punting after another 3-and-out. Posthuma had runs of 15 yards and 7 yards and Trevor Syse added a 34-yard bubble screen to Carson Syse to put the Wildcats deep into Knights territory. Trevor Syse scored on a 5-yard run with 5:16 left in the second to make it 20-0.

Down three scores, the Knights needed a spark to turn it around. Eli Zimmerman blocked the PAT try, and NGM went on a 10-play, 65-yard drive on the ensuing possession. However, the Wildcats defense forced a turnover on downs at their own 6.

“We had some small miscues and they were able to put the ball into the end zone. We still felt good and stayed the course, kept to our gameplan, but the no-score right before the half was tough,” Eichelkraut said. 

With just 1:35 left in the first half, Belleville again made a quick rush down the field, but a 42-yard field goal attempt as time expired was no good.

“We knew Belleville’s potential and we knew they were a good team. We really just tried to stay in our lane and play hard and pick everybody up,” NGM QB Max Marty said. At halftime, Marty said Eichelkraut told them “It’s a grit test — what do from here. The past is behind us and we’ve got to keep pushing.”

NGM tried to sneak in an onside kick to open the second half, but Belleville recovered. On first down, NGM’s Leyton Mihlbauer made a spectacular 1-handed catch, but came down out of bounds on the home team’s sideline. Trevor Syse picked up a pair of first downs running and another through the air on the drive, and waltzed into the end zone from 17-yards out at the 9:22 mark to make it 27-0.

The Knights gained just six yards on their first three plays of the ensuing drive, but went for it on fourth down from their own 36, only to see Marty sacked, giving Belleville a short field to work with. Just three plays and 27 yards later, the Wildcats scored again — this time on a 19-yard pass from Trevor Syse to Davis Richter. A converted 2-point run by Syse started the running clock.

The Knights went 71-yards on 13 plays on the next drive, with Marty finding AC Strok in the end zone for a touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter for the team’s lone score.

“We talked at halftime that, hey, we’re in a situation we were in last year, but the score was a little bit flipped,” Eichelkraut said. In the spring, NGM led Belleville in the second half, only for the Wildcats to rally and win by a single point. “They brought the energy last year, and made it what it was. We were able to have some bounce in our step in the second half and did some things, but being down 20 is work.”

Trevor Syse was 9 of 12 passing for 130 yards and a TD and added another 86 yards on the ground. Posthuma finished with 119 rushing yards on 11 touches, and added another 38 receiving yards. Marty was 8 of 21 passing for 53 yards. Emery Johnson had 58 yards on the ground.

“We have to keep playing hard and picking each other up — that’s the main thing. One person gets down, then everybody else could follow. We just have to keep playing hard and staying our path, and we can be great,” Marty said.

Marty took over at QB this fall after sitting behind the school’s all-time leading passer, Darris Schuett, who graduated in the spring.

“I’ve been watching Darris for the past few years, and that’s obviously a big role to fill in, especially in this offense. I’ve been working for it and I’m ready,” Marty said.

After opening the season with a 1-point loss to Clinton and then defeat at Belleville, the Knights’ schedule doesn’t get any easier. Unbeaten and eighth-ranked Brodhead-Juda await NGM’s travels in Week 3.

“We’ve talked about it all year — it’s a journey, not a sprint,” Eichelkraut said. “For the first couple of games we didn’t know where we’d be, and you don’t hang your hat on the first couple of games. What ultimately matters is at the end, when the ninth game is played — and hopefully you’re in the playoffs. We’ll keep battling and keep working to get better, and that’s all we can do.”

During the Alternate Fall spring season, Brodhead-Juda defeated NGM by a single point as well before going on to finish the season undefeated, winning the COVID-Large Conference title. This year, with a full, normal regular season scheduled, the two teams square off in their first Southwest Wisconsin Conference matchup.

“Brodhead’s a really good team and it’s the first conference game. It’s going to be hard, but I think we have the skills, we just have to stay in it mentally,” Marty said.