MONROE - Senior Kevin Klopfenstein didn't need to watch any film from the Monroe football team's 31-21 loss to Madison Edgewood Friday night to make the assessment that the tackling needs to improve.
"We definitely need to work on wrapping up and not let them go," Klopfenstein said. "Tackling really hurt us."
Madison Edgewood junior Evan Bondoc rushed for 173 yards on 25 carries and caught two touchdowns. Bondoc had four runs of 24 yards or more in the first half.
"We play a defense with only three linemen so someone is blitzing on every play," Monroe coach Curt Miller said. "When you play aggressive football sometimes you are out of gaps. Edgewood found some open gaps and they took advantage of it. We didn't make tackles when we needed to. That's a basic and fundamental part of the game."
Edgewood (1-2, 1-1 Badger South) opened the game with a 12-play, 69-yard drive capped off by senior quarterback Matt Ripple's 2-yard TD run. The drive chewed up almost 7 minutes, but it came with a cost for the Crusaders. Ripple was forced out of the game after the Cheesemakers (1-2, 0-2) rolled up on his ankle. Edgewood junior backup quarterback Bobby Dunn came in and tossed three touchdowns to propel the Crusaders.
The big play of the first drive came with Edgewood facing fourth-and-8 from the Cheesemakers' 33-yard line. Ripple tossed a swing pass for 19 yards to Trevor Roessler to keep the drive alive. The Crusaders then cashed in on an eight-play, 65-yard drive, culminating in Dunn's 12-yard TD pass to Bondoc to give the Crusaders a 14-0 first quarter lead.
The Cheesemakers were limited to just 24 total yards and ran just five offensive plays in the first quarter, and they were also plagued by eight penalties for 80 yards in the game.
One of several bright spots for the Cheesemakers was the punting of junior Charlie Kind. Kind had a 42-yard punt in the second quarter that pinned the Crusaders to their own 3-yard line. The Cheesemakers' defense shut them down and it resulted in Monroe senior Alex Barenklau's 12-yard TD pass to Noah Thompson to cut the Crusaders' lead to 14-7.
"Charlie has done a nice job punting," Miller said. "I think that is a credit to Kyle Wojta. He has been working with him and he has a good understanding after working with punters at a high level. I just wish we didn't have to use (Kind) as much."
Dunn also tossed a 4-yard TD pass to Bondoc midway through the second quarter that sparked the Crusaders to a 24-7 halftime lead.
Another area the Cheesemakers will look to build on is their passing game. Barenklau completed 8 of 21 passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns. Barenklau connected with Klopfenstein on a 60-yard TD pass to start the fourth quarter to pull the Cheesemakers within 10 points, 24-14.
Klopfenstein was excited to come through in the fourth quarter.
"I feel like it fired the team up," he said. "I told Alex it was going to be open and it was."
Dunn answered again hooking up with Sam Schemmel on a 19-yard TD pass to give the Crusaders a 31-14 lead to seal the game.
Barenklau credited Kind for giving the Cheesemakers a field advantage edge in the second half so they could control the ball.
"We started hitting on a couple of those shots because we had the ball more and had more opportunities," he said of the passing game. "It helps to wear out the defense because they didn't get as long of a rest."
Monroe senior James Frankowski scored on a 65-yard run to cap the scoring late in the fourth quarter.
"We have to do more on both lines of scrimmage to win football games," Miller said. "We have to do a better job with the little things and fundamentals."
Monroe plays a non-conference game at Reedsburg next week.
"We have to take it week by week," Barenklau said. "To win and to get to 2-2 next week is big. Every game is big. We can't say how big of a game it is."
"We definitely need to work on wrapping up and not let them go," Klopfenstein said. "Tackling really hurt us."
Madison Edgewood junior Evan Bondoc rushed for 173 yards on 25 carries and caught two touchdowns. Bondoc had four runs of 24 yards or more in the first half.
"We play a defense with only three linemen so someone is blitzing on every play," Monroe coach Curt Miller said. "When you play aggressive football sometimes you are out of gaps. Edgewood found some open gaps and they took advantage of it. We didn't make tackles when we needed to. That's a basic and fundamental part of the game."
Edgewood (1-2, 1-1 Badger South) opened the game with a 12-play, 69-yard drive capped off by senior quarterback Matt Ripple's 2-yard TD run. The drive chewed up almost 7 minutes, but it came with a cost for the Crusaders. Ripple was forced out of the game after the Cheesemakers (1-2, 0-2) rolled up on his ankle. Edgewood junior backup quarterback Bobby Dunn came in and tossed three touchdowns to propel the Crusaders.
The big play of the first drive came with Edgewood facing fourth-and-8 from the Cheesemakers' 33-yard line. Ripple tossed a swing pass for 19 yards to Trevor Roessler to keep the drive alive. The Crusaders then cashed in on an eight-play, 65-yard drive, culminating in Dunn's 12-yard TD pass to Bondoc to give the Crusaders a 14-0 first quarter lead.
The Cheesemakers were limited to just 24 total yards and ran just five offensive plays in the first quarter, and they were also plagued by eight penalties for 80 yards in the game.
One of several bright spots for the Cheesemakers was the punting of junior Charlie Kind. Kind had a 42-yard punt in the second quarter that pinned the Crusaders to their own 3-yard line. The Cheesemakers' defense shut them down and it resulted in Monroe senior Alex Barenklau's 12-yard TD pass to Noah Thompson to cut the Crusaders' lead to 14-7.
"Charlie has done a nice job punting," Miller said. "I think that is a credit to Kyle Wojta. He has been working with him and he has a good understanding after working with punters at a high level. I just wish we didn't have to use (Kind) as much."
Dunn also tossed a 4-yard TD pass to Bondoc midway through the second quarter that sparked the Crusaders to a 24-7 halftime lead.
Another area the Cheesemakers will look to build on is their passing game. Barenklau completed 8 of 21 passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns. Barenklau connected with Klopfenstein on a 60-yard TD pass to start the fourth quarter to pull the Cheesemakers within 10 points, 24-14.
Klopfenstein was excited to come through in the fourth quarter.
"I feel like it fired the team up," he said. "I told Alex it was going to be open and it was."
Dunn answered again hooking up with Sam Schemmel on a 19-yard TD pass to give the Crusaders a 31-14 lead to seal the game.
Barenklau credited Kind for giving the Cheesemakers a field advantage edge in the second half so they could control the ball.
"We started hitting on a couple of those shots because we had the ball more and had more opportunities," he said of the passing game. "It helps to wear out the defense because they didn't get as long of a rest."
Monroe senior James Frankowski scored on a 65-yard run to cap the scoring late in the fourth quarter.
"We have to do more on both lines of scrimmage to win football games," Miller said. "We have to do a better job with the little things and fundamentals."
Monroe plays a non-conference game at Reedsburg next week.
"We have to take it week by week," Barenklau said. "To win and to get to 2-2 next week is big. Every game is big. We can't say how big of a game it is."
