Indees can’t recover after rough second quarter

The Independence/Gilmanton football team held a team that went undefeated during the 2023 regular season in check for three quarters. But Boyceville scored 29 points in the second quarter to take a 35-0 advantage into halftime of a 41-0 win in Independence last Friday.

The Bulldogs scored once in the first quarter and once early in the third, but their balanced attack was too much for the I/G defense in the second. 

Boyceville advanced to Level Three of the playoffs last season. The same can be said for I/G’s Week Two opponent, Cashton. The Eagles are an annual powerhouse, but suffered a rare setback last week, losing to Wauzeka/Seneca, 31-12. It was Cashton’s first regular season loss since Oct. 15, 2021. 

The Indees hope to make it two losses in a row for the Eagles in Cashton on Friday.

Boyceville 41 I/G 0

The game turned in a hurry after I/G was competitive in the first quarter.

The Bulldogs scored midway through the quarter when Carson Roemhild hit Owen Rydel for a 15-yard touchdown. 

I/G’s defense was limiting the big plays early in the game, but the offense struggled. Boyceville got the ball back and scored early in the second quarter with Roemhild hitting Landyn Leslie for an 11-yard touchdown pass. Rydel then ran in the two-point conversion to make the score 14-0.

The Indees lost yardage before the next drive began as the team had too many players in the huddle on the first play. Quarterback Chase Back was pressured on his pass attempts and the drive ended with a punt back to the Bulldogs.

Fewer than 90 seconds since the team’s last touchdown, the Bulldogs found the end zone again as Roemhild hit Jake Bialzik for a 15-yard touchdown. The point after kick made the score 21-0.

The Indees picked up a first down on a quick pass to Sam Marsolek that gained seven yards on the team’s next drive. That would be one of three first downs the team had on the day. That drive ended when a third-down run was stopped short of the yard needed to move the chains.

Boyceville went three-for-three in the second quarter as Zach Hellendrung plunged in from a yard out for a touchdown. The extra point made the score 28-0 with seven minutes left in the first half.

The Bulldogs scored again in the closing minutes as Roemhild connected for his fourth touchdown of the game, this time hitting Leslie for a 43-yard strike. The point after made the score 35-0 at halftime.

Roemhild, a junior, had more touchdown passes than incompletions in the game as he passed 11-for-14 for 207 yards and four touchdowns. Roemhild is coming off of a sophomore campaign in which he threw 24 touchdown passes and four interceptions. Leslie caught four passes for 70 yards and two touchdowns. 

Hellendrung broke free for a 20-yard touchdown early in the third to put Boyceville ahead by the final score. Hellendrung had 92 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 11 attempts. The Bulldogs ran for 215 yards on 35 attempts — an average of 6.1 per carry. 

The Indees had 43 yards from scrimmage in the game. Nathan Pyka ran for 37 yards on six carries. Back passed three-for-seven with 17 yards. 

I/G —

Rushing (yards/attempts) — Pyka 6/37 Marsolek 5/6 Klimek 1/6 Kreibich 1/-5 Slaby 1/-7 Back 5/-11

Receiving (rec./yds.) — Marsolek 1/7 Slaby 1/7 Solberg 1/3

Passing (comp./att./yds.) — Back 3/7/17

Tackles — Pyka 8.5 Klimek 6 Marsolek 5.5 Back 5 Halvorson 3 Slaby 2.5 Turner 2.5 Gibbs 2 Solberg 1.5