Injuries, late mistakes end B-T football season

Despite losing its star quarterback in the second quarter, the Blair-Taylor football team had a chance to win its playoff opener. 

The Wildcats had the ball down by eight in the fourth quarter, but a fumble was followed by a Glenwood City touchdown and the Hilltoppers pulled away for a 40-25 win in Blair on Friday.

B-T’s season ended with a 7-3 record, though players and coaches may always wonder what might have been. Quarterback Tavian Shramek, who accounted for 38 touchdowns this season, left the game after a hard tackle in the second quarter with the team driving. 

“After losing a guy like Tavian in the first half tonight, our kids could’ve given up because he was so important to us,” first-year B-T coach Seth Dale said. “It was just happy with the way we fought for 48 minutes tonight.”

While the season won’t end with a state championship, the Wildcats did tie with Cochrane-Fountain City and Pepin/Alma for the Dairyland Conference title, going 6-1. C-FC and P/A both won last Friday to advance to Level Two.

GC 40 Blair-Taylor 25

After a 92-yard touchdown drive, the Wildcats recovered an onside kick and were marching with a chance to tie the game early in the fourth quarter.

Trapp ran the ball into the end zone with just under two minutes remaining in the third quarter, making the score 26-18. B-T got the ball back, recovering an onside kick at the GC 43-yard line.

The Wildcats converted a fourth-and-one to get a first down at the GC 31. The team later faced a third-and-five before a shotgun snap went off Trapp’s hands and was recovered by the Hilltoppers.

As they had for much of the game, the Hilltoppers ran the ball down the field before quarterback Brody Olson broke free for a 26-yard touchdown, making the score 33-18 with 7:26 left.

Another snap went off Trapp’s hands to begin B-T’s next possession, B-T lost 12 yards on the play and was forced to punt. It took just two plays for GC to score again as Mitch McGee ran for 43 yards on the first play then finished it with a five-yard touchdown. The point after kick made the score 40-18 with 5:22 remaining.

B-T answered as Trapp hit CJ Dummer for a 12-yard touchdown pass. Ethan Kniseley kicked the point after to make the score 40-25 with 1:39 remaining.

Trapp finished the game passing four-for-12 for 79 yards. 

“Kole Trapp has not taken a meaningful snap all year,” Dale said. “For him to come in and do the job he did was unreal.”

GC got the ball back and ran out the rest of the clock. 

Early on, it looked as if the teams were going to go blow-for-blow.

The Hilltoppers received the opening kickoff and used up more than half the clock before McGee ran for a one-yard touchdown. 

B-T fired right back as Shramek went deep to Hunter Wagner for a 60-yard completion on the first play from scrimmage. Collin Johnson finished the drive with a three-yard touchdown run. The two-point conversion was no good as a pass went through Trapp’s hands in the end zone. 

GC rode McGee down the field again as the senior gained 20 yards on the first play of the next drive and finished it with a five-yard touchdown. McGee had more than 100 yards rushing in the first quarter. The point-after kick was blocked. 

Johnson burst through the middle of the line for a 42-yard run on B-T’s next drive. Shramek got outside for a touchdown on the next play to bring B-T within a point. 

It looked as if GC was going to add another score when Olson broke into the open field for what would’ve been a 28-yard touchdown if not for a heads-up play by Dummer. The B-T junior caught Olson from behind and pulled the ball out of his hands, Connor Kruse recovered in the end zone for a touchback.

But the Wildcats would be forced to punt and the Hilltoppers would get another score before halftime.

After a B-T three-and-out, GC took over at its own 44-yard line. Olson ran for 10 yards on the first play before McGee gained 13. B-T nearly had a stop but McGee broke a tackle on a fourth-and-six play to get the first down. Olson finished the drive with a one-yard touchdown. 

The point after was missed as GC took a 19-12 lead with 42 seconds left in the first half.

That was familiar territory for B-T as the team had scored quickly before the half several times this season. It looked as if that could happen again when Dummer broke free on the kickoff return to put the ball at midfield. 

Shramek ran down to the GC 35-yard line but was slow to get up after apparently hitting his head during a hard tackle. After receiving medical attention, Shramek got to his feet and went to the sideline, where he would remain for the rest of the game. 

Trapp came in, but the drive ended on an incomplete pass as time expired.

B-T received the opening kickoff of the second half but moved backward before punting it back to GC. 

The Hilltoppers added to the lead with a three-yard touchdown by McGee. The point-after kick made the score 26-12.

Trapp got going on B-T’s next drive, hitting a deep pass to Kniseley — who played two weeks after surgery for an emergency appendectomy. 

“For him to play two weeks after surgery just says a lot about his toughness and character,” Dale said of Kniseley. 

The drive continued after a defensive pass interference call on a third-down play. B-T got a first down on a screen to Johnson and another on a screen to Wagner that took the ball down to the three. Trapp finished the drive with a touchdown.

B-T had a chance to tie the game in the fourth, but couldn’t pull through. 

In addition to losing Shramek, B-T lost two starting offensive linemen in the game. While the team didn’t get the win, Dale said he was happy with how it performed in the second half.

“To overcome (the injuries) and score two touchdowns, not only against a varsity football team, but against a varsity football team that qualified for the playoffs, says a lot about the potential that we have moving forward,” Dale said. 

Blair-Taylor

Rushing (att./yds.) — Johnson 11/87 Shramek 6/44 Trapp 2/4

Receiving (rec./yds.) — Wagner 5/86 Johnson 2/29 Kniseley 1/29 Dummer 2/23 Kruse 1/2

Passing (comp./att./yds.) — Trapp 4/12/79 Shramek 3/6/78