Raiders convert on fourth downs to pull away

It wasn’t easy, but a couple of fourth down conversions helped the Arcadia football team pull away from Amery for a 28-16 road win Friday night.

The Raiders led 14-10 late in the third quarter before converting on a fourth down for a touchdown. They later turned another fourth down into a touchdown to take a 28-10 advantage before Amery added a late score.

The win put Arcadia at 2-0 on the season before opening Coulee Conference play against Westby at home this week. The Norsemen are 2-1 on the season, coming off of a 46-0 win over Viroqua. 

Arcadia 28 Amery 16

It was another efficient performance for Arcadia’s Kaden Updike as he passed for two touchdowns and ran for two more to lead the Raiders.

The game was in question late in the third quarter as the Raiders were facing a fourth-and-five at the 20.

Arcadia had another drive that went deep into the Amery red zone end when they were unable to convert a fourth down. This time, they used a 25-yard run by Ryan Sokup to get into scoring position, but faced a crucial down from about 20 yards away.

The play looked doomed from the start as Updike rolled to his left and immediately faced pressure, but he escaped the blitz and lofted a pass down the field toward Egan Pauly. Pauly was running in the end zone with two Amery defenders, but one was behind him and the other had his back turned to Updike. The Arcadia junior was able to jump up and come down with the ball for the touchdown with about a minute left in the third. 

Updike again faced pressure on the two-point conversion attempt, but he was able to get away and ran it in himself to put the Raiders ahead 22-10.

The Raiders scored again early in the fourth quarter after getting the ball back at their own 28 following an Amery fumble.

A pass to Cam Boland was able to pick up eight yards for Arcadia on third-and-13, but another fourth down play would prove crucial. Updike faced pressure again, but released the ball just before taking a big hit. The pass hit Boland in stride as he beat his defender for the touchdown. The two-point pass was incomplete, but the Raiders had a 28-10 lead in the fourth quarter.

Amery added a score later in the game, but the Raiders were in control.

The two passing touchdowns came after Updike ran for two in the first half.

The first score came midway through the first quarter when Updike scored on a quarterback sneak from a yard out. The two-point try was no good.

Amery responded in the second quarter when Gavin Melberg got loose for a touchdown. The point after put the Warriors ahead 7-6.

Arcadia took the lead back with about a minute left in the half. Updike got to the sideline and dove into the end zone for a 10-yard run. He then passed to Brett Rebhahn for the two-point conversion, making the score 14-7.

The Warriors were able to get down the field and make a 29-yard field goal in the final second of the first half.

That’s where the score stood until the Raiders were finally able to pull away.

Updike was 10-for-17 for 162 yards through the air, he ran for 36 yards and led the team with 12 tackles. 

Sokup led the team on the ground with 110 rushing yards on 16 attempts. Pauly caught four passes for 54 yards while Boland came up with three for 49. 

Arcadia finished with 344 yards, while Amery had 310.

Arcadia

Rushing (att./yds.) — Sokup 16/110 Updike 9/36 Rebhahn 11/36

Receiving (rec./yds.) — Pauly 4/54 Boland 3/49 Sokup 1/34 Rebhahn 2/25

Passing (comp./att./yds.) — Updike 10/17/162

Tackles (solo/total) — Pauly 3/3 Yarrington 1/2 Rebhahn 6/6 Updke 8/12 Rotering 3/3 Aspenson 1/1 Glenzinski 1/2 Boland 1/3 Nelson 4/9 Sokup 0/1 Patzner 1/2 Gomez 4/6 Weltzien 1/2 Bremer 3/4