MONROE - Sophomore Nick Bansley is gaining a reputation as a shutdown cornerback for the Monroe football team opposing quarterbacks may not want to pick on.
Bansley had two interceptions and a 1-yard touchdown run to propel the Cheesemakers to a 21-9 win over Madison Edgewood Friday night. With the win, Monroe (4-4, 3-3 Badger South) kept their playoff hopes alive.
Bansley's leaping second interception in the third quarter set up a 19-play, 91-yard long scoring drive, culminating in junior Ethan Kleckler's 3-yard TD run that gave the Cheesemakers a 14-3 lead early in the fourth quarter. Kleckler rushed for 103 yards on 20 carries and had one touchdown.
"I just wanted to come down with the ball so we could get possession," Bansley said. "I just jump as high as I can."
Bansley now has a team-high six interceptions this season. The Cheesemakers scored 14 points off three interceptions by the Crusaders.
"He has an increased athletic ability," Monroe coach Toby Golembiewski said of Bansley. "His broad jump, bench press and squat is really good for his size. There's no doubt in my mind he would make the plays. On offense, he has the ability to make people miss with his change of direction."
Senior Sam Kind also had a fourth-quarter interception that led to the Cheesemakers' final scoring drive. Three plays later, Kind scored on a 3-yard run to put the finishing touches on the Crusaders, who dropped to 0-8 overall and 0-6 in conference. Kind rushed for 79 yards on seven carries and scored once.
"It feels good to just keep it going," Kind said of the Cheesemakers' second straight win. "If we would have lost the playoffs would have been over. I think we have a good group of seniors that will play hard no matter what. Whether we are in the playoffs or not, we will play hard."
It wasn't easy early on. With a constant rain, both teams struggled to sustain drives early on. Monroe sophomore quarterback Alex Witt was hit on a handoff attempt in the first quarter and Edgewood's Alex Voht recovered a fumble at the Cheesemakers' 13-yard line. The Cheesemakers' defense rose to the occasion with a big tackle by senior Dempzy Foley. Edgewood's Murphy Penwell booted a 38-yard field goal to give the Crusaders a 3-0 lead with 7 minutes, 51 seconds left in the first quarter.
Monroe answered with an eight-play, 60-yard drive, capped off by Bansley's TD run to give the Cheesemakers a 7-3 lead.
"It was much closer than the records and scoreboard showed," Golembiewski said. "This (Edgewood) is a good Division 3 team. I didn't look at them as a winless team."
Edgewood quarterback Jack McNeill completed 10 of 20 passes for 105 yards with one touchdown. The Crusaders' other quarterback, Thomas Hartlieb was 3 of 9 passing for 11 yards with two interceptions.
Edgewood recovered an onside kick to start the third quarter at their own 49-yard line. Bansley picked off a pass from McNeill to thwart the drive. Monroe also dodged a bullet in the third quarter when Foley picked up a bad snap and fumbled on a fourth-and 6-yard play that led to a turnover on downs. Bansley intercepted his second pass and the Cheesemakers' offense went to work with a 19-play scoring drive that took the wind out of the Crusaders' sails.
"It feels good," Bansley said. "Hopefully, we can beat Oregon next week and get into the playoffs."
Golembiewski liked the way the offense gained momentum in the second half churning out a long scoring drive with Kleckler, at fullback, doing most of the damage pushing the pile.
"He (Kleckler) is getting better," Golembiewski said. "There are still some things we need him to work on. A lot of times his block at the point of attack has to be right on. He has raised his level of play the last few weeks."
Monroe will host Oregon in the regular season finale next week. With a win, the Cheesemakers can clinch their second straight playoff berth.
"We are going into Week 9 with a chance to make the playoffs," Golembiewski said. "There are a lot of teams right now who mathematically have no chance of making the playoffs. Our kids will come ready and focused for practice next week. Many of the teams out of the playoffs will lose focus and look forward to basketball and other things."
Bansley had two interceptions and a 1-yard touchdown run to propel the Cheesemakers to a 21-9 win over Madison Edgewood Friday night. With the win, Monroe (4-4, 3-3 Badger South) kept their playoff hopes alive.
Bansley's leaping second interception in the third quarter set up a 19-play, 91-yard long scoring drive, culminating in junior Ethan Kleckler's 3-yard TD run that gave the Cheesemakers a 14-3 lead early in the fourth quarter. Kleckler rushed for 103 yards on 20 carries and had one touchdown.
"I just wanted to come down with the ball so we could get possession," Bansley said. "I just jump as high as I can."
Bansley now has a team-high six interceptions this season. The Cheesemakers scored 14 points off three interceptions by the Crusaders.
"He has an increased athletic ability," Monroe coach Toby Golembiewski said of Bansley. "His broad jump, bench press and squat is really good for his size. There's no doubt in my mind he would make the plays. On offense, he has the ability to make people miss with his change of direction."
Senior Sam Kind also had a fourth-quarter interception that led to the Cheesemakers' final scoring drive. Three plays later, Kind scored on a 3-yard run to put the finishing touches on the Crusaders, who dropped to 0-8 overall and 0-6 in conference. Kind rushed for 79 yards on seven carries and scored once.
"It feels good to just keep it going," Kind said of the Cheesemakers' second straight win. "If we would have lost the playoffs would have been over. I think we have a good group of seniors that will play hard no matter what. Whether we are in the playoffs or not, we will play hard."
It wasn't easy early on. With a constant rain, both teams struggled to sustain drives early on. Monroe sophomore quarterback Alex Witt was hit on a handoff attempt in the first quarter and Edgewood's Alex Voht recovered a fumble at the Cheesemakers' 13-yard line. The Cheesemakers' defense rose to the occasion with a big tackle by senior Dempzy Foley. Edgewood's Murphy Penwell booted a 38-yard field goal to give the Crusaders a 3-0 lead with 7 minutes, 51 seconds left in the first quarter.
Monroe answered with an eight-play, 60-yard drive, capped off by Bansley's TD run to give the Cheesemakers a 7-3 lead.
"It was much closer than the records and scoreboard showed," Golembiewski said. "This (Edgewood) is a good Division 3 team. I didn't look at them as a winless team."
Edgewood quarterback Jack McNeill completed 10 of 20 passes for 105 yards with one touchdown. The Crusaders' other quarterback, Thomas Hartlieb was 3 of 9 passing for 11 yards with two interceptions.
Edgewood recovered an onside kick to start the third quarter at their own 49-yard line. Bansley picked off a pass from McNeill to thwart the drive. Monroe also dodged a bullet in the third quarter when Foley picked up a bad snap and fumbled on a fourth-and 6-yard play that led to a turnover on downs. Bansley intercepted his second pass and the Cheesemakers' offense went to work with a 19-play scoring drive that took the wind out of the Crusaders' sails.
"It feels good," Bansley said. "Hopefully, we can beat Oregon next week and get into the playoffs."
Golembiewski liked the way the offense gained momentum in the second half churning out a long scoring drive with Kleckler, at fullback, doing most of the damage pushing the pile.
"He (Kleckler) is getting better," Golembiewski said. "There are still some things we need him to work on. A lot of times his block at the point of attack has to be right on. He has raised his level of play the last few weeks."
Monroe will host Oregon in the regular season finale next week. With a win, the Cheesemakers can clinch their second straight playoff berth.
"We are going into Week 9 with a chance to make the playoffs," Golembiewski said. "There are a lot of teams right now who mathematically have no chance of making the playoffs. Our kids will come ready and focused for practice next week. Many of the teams out of the playoffs will lose focus and look forward to basketball and other things."
