Red Hawks close with win over Westby

The Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau football team seized the chance to play spoiler, upsetting Westby in the final game of the regular season on Friday.

Westby was still awarded a spot in the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association playoffs as there weren’t enough teams in Division Six with winning conference records. But, G-E-T made it far from a certainty. A win would’ve made Westby a lock, but G-E-T controlled much of the game, leading throughout a 20-6 win.

For G-E-T, the season ends with a 2-7 overall record and a 2-5 mark in Coulee Conference play, short of qualifying for the playoffs in a conference that had five teams make the cut. This is the first time in coach Paul Anderson’s three seasons that the team has failed to qualify for the playoffs. The team was competitive nearly every week, suffering losses of a touchdown or fewer to Arcadia, Black River Falls and Onalaska Luther. 

G-E-T 20 Westby 6

The Red Hawks controlled the line of scrimmage and pulled away in the second half.

G-E-T took an early lead when Omar Jimenez scored on a four-yard run then Kyle Seiling ran in the two-point conversion.

Westby drew closer on a one-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, but the two-point try was no good. G-E-T took an 8-6 lead into halftime.

The Red Hawks continued to wear the Norsemen down in the second half. Seiling broke free for a 26-yard touchdown in the third quarter. The two-point try was not successful, but G-E-T’s lead grew to 14-6.

G-E-T put the game away on another long touchdown run in the fourth. This time, it was Jimenez who found the open field for a 31-yard touchdown. Again, the two-point try was no good, but the touchdown made it a two-score game late.

The Red Hawks managed 280 rushing yards as Seiling ran for 148 on 15 attempts and Jimenez added 128 on 17 rushes. 

Defensively, G-E-T kept Westby in check. The team had four quarterback sacks in the game, while getting an interception and fumble recovery. 

G-E-T —

Rushing (att./yds.) — Seiling 15/148 Jimenez 17/128 Johnson 4/10 Busch 2/3 Carroll 2/-1 Foust 1/-1 Hansen 3/-1 Bishop 1/-6

Receiving (rec./yds.) — Johnson 2/33

Passing (comp./att./yds.) — Hansen 2/6/33

Tackles (solo/total) — Busch 1/1 Seiling 4/4 Hansen 4/11 Jimenez 6/9 Burns 4/9 Herman 0/1 Waxlas 3/4 Johnson 8/12 Filla 0/1 Cantlon 1/2 Pickering 3/3 Burken 3/3 Ruesgen 2/2 Zimmerman 1/2