Game of inches: Fourth down stop propels Raiders to win over Red Hawks

A few inches may have been the difference as the Arcadia football team turned back Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau on fourth down before scoring itself to clinch the 28-21 win.

The Raiders had the lead but hadn’t been able to stop the Red Hawks in the second half. G-E-T had just gained 17 yards on a screen pass to set up a fourth-and-one. On perhaps the game’s most crucial play, the Raiders stacked the line of scrimmage and tackled G-E-T’s Omar Jimenez for a minimal gain.

The referees brought the chains across the field for a measurement that showed the ball was spotted a few inches short of the first down marker. Leading 20-15, Arcadia took over at midfield with six minutes remaining.

Arcadia went down the field and scored with 2:20 remaining in the game and a two-point conversion made the score 28-15. G-E-T found the end zone once more on a long pass, but the ensuing onside kick was recovered by Arcadia, which ran the clock out. 

The win was needed to keep Arcadia’s playoff hopes alive. Arcadia improved to 5-3 on the season and 3-3 in Coulee Conference play, the team likely needs to finish with a winning record in conference play to make the playoffs. The team could have its hands full at Onalaska Luther this Friday. The Knights are 4-2 in conference play and 6-2 overall with its only losses coming to the Coulee’s top teams, La Crosse Aquinas and West Salem.

“We gotta do what we do best,” Arcadia coach Derek Updike said. “It’s always about preparation. Our staff watches a lot of film, we’re prepared…our kids have to have that homework mentality too. If they’re prepared to play and they play hard, I think we can do some things.”

The loss dropped G-E-T to 1-7 overall and 1-5 in conference play. The team will close its season at home against Westby this Friday. Like Arcadia, Westby needs a win to make the playoffs. Luther defeated Westby, 47-20, last week.

Arcadia 28 G-E-T 21

Arcadia’s defense made a big stop to hold on after some early miscues and a wild second half. 

The Raiders scored to take a 20-15 lead with about eight minutes remaining in the game. It looked like the team would hold on after a holding penalty on G-E-T’s first play on the ensuing drive pushed them back and two short gains made it third-and-18.

But the Red Hawks connected on a screen pass from Ben Hanson to Gunnar Johnson, who ran for 17 yards to set up a fourth-and-one near midfield.

After struggling for most of the first half, G-E-T had its running game going in the second. The team already had two touchdown drives without completing a pass on either. It looked to be in good position, but Arcadia’s defensive line held its ground on fourth down. Jimenez was met at the line of scrimmage and came up inches short of a first down.

Arcadia took over at midfield and moved well into G-E-T territory with a 14-yard pass to Ted Teske. The Raiders had a fourth down in the red zone, but didn’t have to run a play as G-E-T jumped offsides. Max Blaschko surged through the middle of the line for a touchdown on the next play and the two-point conversion pass to Teske made the score 28-15 with 2:20 remaining.

G-E-T answered that score as Hansen found Johnson open deep down the field for a 58-yard touchdown with 94 seconds remaining in the game.

Arcadia recovered the onside kick and Blaschko ran three times to pick up a first down and run out the clock.

Blaschko gained more than 100 yards in the first half as G-E-T worked to eliminate Teske and Arcadia’s passing game. Blaschko finished the game with 222 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 32 carries. 

“(G-E-T) did a good job against the pass tonight,” Updike said. “We got a little conservative and ran a lot.” 

This was just Arcadia’s sixth win against G-E-T in the last 21 seasons with many of the games being lopsided losses. The game got off to an inauspicious start as Arcadia fumbled the opening kickoff. 

Arcadia’s defense held strong, keeping G-E-T off the scoreboard in the first half. The Raiders took the lead on a 39-yard touchdown run by Max Sobotta with Wegman and Teske connecting for the two-point conversion.

The Raiders also had two drives stall deep in G-E-T territory, which helped keep the Red Hawks in the game.

G-E-T received the opening kickoff in the second half and marched right down the field to tie the game.

Kyle Seiling gained 14 yards on the first play of the drive before Oliver Remus and Jimenez carried into Arcadia territory. Remus gained a first down on a third-and-three play before Jimenez finished the drive with an 11-yard touchdown. Seiling ran in the two-point conversion to tie the game.

After miscues in the first half, Arcadia’s offense got on track in the second. 

“We told (our players) to concentrate on their jobs and what they’re supposed to do,” Updike said. “They started standing up and watching the ball instead of using their technique. We started harping on that.” 

A pass to Trey Lyga gained 10 yards then Blaschko ran for 10 more and a first down at the G-E-T 25. Two plays later, the Raiders pitched to Teske, who got around the edge and dove into the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown. The two-point try was not successful.

G-E-T came right back as Jimenez gained 13 yards on the first play of its next drive and later broke off a 16-yard run on a third-and-eight play to give the team a first down at the Arcadia 12. Seiling finished the drive with a three-yard touchdown. Merlin Barnowski drilled the point after kick to put G-E-T ahead, 15-14, with about 11 minutes left in the game.

Teske returned the following kickoff to midfield and drew a pass interference penalty on a third-and-16 play. Blaschko gained 10 yards on the next play and finished the drive with a two-yard touchdown. The two-point pass was intercepted.

G-E-T looked to be in good position, but Arcadia’s defense just barely got its first — and only — stop of the second half. 

Sobotta added 69 rushing yards as the Raiders managed 315 in the game. Wegman, one of the conference’s leading passers as a sophomore, was limited to 29 yards on 13 passes.

G-E-T ran for 227 yards with much of the damage coming in the second half. Jimenez gained 80 while Seiling finished with 62 and Remus had 52.

Arcadia —

Rushing (att./yds.) — Blaschko 32/222 Sobotta 6/69 Teske 3/23 Wegman 2/1

Receiving (rec./yds.) — Teske 4/20 Lyga 1/9

Passing (comp./att./yds.) — Wegman 5/13/29

Tackles (solo/total) — Anderson 1/1 Wegman 4/6 Blaschko 6/9 Teske 11/17 Sobotta 7/11 Glenzinski 2/3 Lyga 5/7 Luna 2/3 Olmos 6/9 Gomez 1/1 Fernholz 3/4 Ruiz 3/4 Brogan Solberg 3/5

G-E-T —

Rushing (att./yds.) — Jimenez 13/80 Seiling 11/62 Remus 8/52 Hansen 7/33 Johnson 2/0 Carroll 1/0

Receiving (rec./yds.) — Johnson 2/75

Passing (comp./att./yds.) — Hansen 2/8/75 Burns 0/1/0

Tackles (solo/total) — Remus 0/1 Carroll 1/1 Knapmiller 0/1 Busch 3/3 Seiling 0/5 Herman 2/2 Hansen 3/6 Jimenez 4/6 Burns 3/3 Waxlax 2/2 Lebakken 0/1 Johnson 12/23 Bishop 5/5 Cantlon 4/6 Pickering 2/4 Burken 3/3 Zimmerman 0/1