Red Hawks blasted by B-W in home opener
G-E-T’s Wyatt Nichols got loose for a gain of over 50 yards on a screen pass during the Red Hawks’ clash with Baldwin-Woodville. (Times photographs by Zach Rastall)
Despite keeping things close through the first quarter and a half, the wheels eventually came off for the Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau football team in a lopsided end to the opening half on their way to a loss to Baldwin-Woodville.
The Blackhawks (2-0) poured on 24 points in the final five-plus minutes of the second quarter, propelling them to a 44-8 non-conference victory against the Red Hawks (0-2) in the latter’s home opener this past Friday in Galesville.
Baldwin-Woodville, ranked No. 4 in the state in Division 4 coming into the week, marched right down the field on its opening drive of the evening, scoring two minutes into the first quarter on junior quarterback Joe Jensen’s touchdown plunge at the goal line. A successful two-point conversion made it 8-0 Blackhawks early.
An interception thrown by G-E-T junior quarterback Sawyer Foust quickly gave Baldwin-Woodville the ball back around midfield, but junior Isaiah Carroll got the Red Hawks the ball back by tracking down a deep ball toward the end zone for a pick of his own.
On the next Blackhawk possession, the Red Hawk defense stood tall with a goal-line stop to force a turnover on downs. Soon after, a screen pass to junior Wyatt Nichols saw him gain enough yardage for a first down, burst free from the grasp of a couple would-be tacklers and ultimately end in Baldwin-Woodville territory at the 41 for a 54-yard gain.
However, a turnover on downs inside the 35 in the final seconds of the first quarter ended that potential G-E-T scoring threat.
The lead was still only 8-0 Baldwin-Woodville with a little over five minutes until halftime when another Foust interception gave the Blackhawks the ball around the G-E-T 30. Baldwin-Woodville turned that into a touchdown, picked off Foust again, scored another touchdown, forced a three-and-out on defense and tacked on one final touchdown to suddenly turn the proceedings into a rout with a 30-0 halftime lead.
The Red Hawks’ lone touchdown of the night came with a methodical seven-minute scoring drive in the third quarter, capped off by Foust’s two-yard play-action jump pass to junior Andrew Lebakken in the end zone.
Foust completed 15 of 27 passes for 187 yards, a touchdown and four interceptions, with Lebakken reeling in four catches for 70 yards. Defensively, sophomore Chase Repaal registered G-E-T’s lone sack of the game.
For Baldwin-Woodville, Jensen ran in four touchdowns and threw for another while the Blackhawks as a team compiled 233 yards on 5.7 yards per carry.
The Red Hawks begin Coulee play for the season when they welcome in Onalaska Luther (0-2) Friday night at 7 p.m. in Galesville.
G-E-T
Rushes (att./yds) — Bishop 6/9, Nichols 8/6, Carroll 1/5, Nichols 1/4
Receiving (rec./yds) — Lebakken 4/70, Nichols 2/55, D. Herman 3/30, Carroll 5/26, Suchia 1/6
Passing (comp./att./yds) — Foust 15/27/187
Tackles — L. Herman 4, Lebakken 2.5, D. Herman 1.5, Repaal 1.5, Ruesgen 1.5, A. Bishop 1, Carroll 1, Eiken 1, Busch 1, Nichols 1, Hansen 1, Gamez 1, Haney 1, DeYoung 0.5, Stenberg 0.5, Wieczorek 0.5, Oines 0.5
