Raiders fall to Tigers after late touchdown

The Arcadia football team scored on its first play from scrimmage, but was intercepted on its last, falling to Black River Falls, 14-12, on the road last Friday.

Arcadia dialed up a trick play that worked for a 67-yard touchdown on its first offensive play. However, the Tigers scored to take a 14-12 lead with 25 seconds left in the game. Arcadia pushed the ball down the field and had a shot at a Hail Mary, but pass was intercepted and Arcadia went home with a fourth consecutive loss.

The game was between the last two winless squads in the Coulee Conference and eliminated any postseason hopes the loser may have had. Arcadia will play at CC-leading La Crosse Aquinas this week. The Blugolds are coming off of a win over the conference’s other top team, Westby. 

The Raiders host Altoona next week and will close out its season at Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau on Oct. 13. 

BR Falls 14 Arcadia 12

With a freshman quarterback leading the charge, the Raiders had a chance late, but a last second heave was intercepted, securing the win for BRF.

Arcadia took a 12-8 lead earlier in the fourth quarter, but the Tigers took advantage of good field position and scored with 25 seconds left. 

The Raiders got a big play on the first of the ensuing drive as freshman Carter Wegman — who took the field in the second quarter after starter Kaiden Rotering was injured — hit Jordan Rotering for a 32-yard catch and run before an Arcadia timeout with 5.9 seconds remaining.

Wegman’s next pass was to the end zone, but landed incomplete with less than one second remaining in the game. After a BRF time out, Wegman was looking to the end zone again, but he took a big hit as he released the pass. The ball came up short and was intercepted at around the five-yard line. The Tigers and their fans stormed the field for the team’s first win of the season.

Arcadia came out with a big play as Maverick Drazkowski threw a 67-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Rotering on the team’s first play. Drazkowski got the ball on a reverse as Kaiden Rotering pitched to Devon Baier, who gave to Drazkowski on a reverse. Drazkowski delivered a pass deep down the field to Jordan Rotering who was standing all alone and raced for the touchdown.

The Tigers scored early in the second quarter then ran in the two-point conversion to take an 8-6 lead into halftime.

Arcadia’s next scoring drive began at the end of the third quarter and ended early in the fourth when Wegman and Trey Lyga connected on a swing pass for a three-yard score. Wegman looked to Lyga for the two-point try, but the ball was a bit high and bounced off Lyga’s hands. 

The Raiders had a chance to add to the lead, getting the ball back later in the quarter, but they were unable to move it. They ended up punting got fourth-and-long from their own 15, setting up the Tigers’ game-winning drive.

BRF started at its own 47 and picked up 10 yards on the first play. Chris Muir ran for 16 yards to give them the ball near the goal line before Aidan Gunderson finished the drive with a one-yard quarterback sneak. 

Arcadia’s offense mostly struggled as they finished with 213 total yards and turned the ball over three times. Wegman was five-for-nine with 57 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Ted Teske led the team with 69 rushing yards. 

Arcadia —

Rushing (att./yds.) — Teske 14/69 Wegman 4/11 Blaschko 2/1 Sobotta 1/1 Baier 1/-1

Receiving (rec./yds.) — J. Rotering 2/96 Drazkowski 2/17 Lyga 2/11 Teske 1/8

Passing (comp./att./yds.) — Wegman 5/9/57 K. Rotering 1/6/8 Drazkowski 1/1/67

Tackles (total/assists) — Sobotta 7/5 Teske 5/3 Blaschko 5/1 Gomez 5/1 Drazkowski 4/0 Baier 3/0 Pronschinske 3/0 Lyga 2/2 Conrad 2/0 Wozney 1/2 Ruiz 1/0 Scow 0/1