Red Hawks run over Blackhawks in CC clash
Max Knapmiller of Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau hurdled a Viroqua defender during the third quarter of their game on Friday. (Times photograph by Andrew Dannehy)
Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau’s Riley Hammel lost his footing, but was still able to prevent a completion during their game against Viroqua last week (Times photograph by Andrew Dannehy)
Viroqua threatened to make the game interesting, but the Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau football team scored out of halftime to regain control.
G-E-T scored on its first two offensive possessions, but Viroqua got on the board with a touchdown right before halftime. G-E-T received the ball to start the second half and marched down for a touchdown before adding another score that put them ahead 30-6 early in the fourth.
The win put the Red Hawks at 2-1 in Coulee Conference play (2-3 overall), tied with West Salem behind La Crosse Aquinas and Westby — both 3-0. The top of the standings will shift this week however as G-E-T plays at West Salem while Aquinas and Westby square off. The Panthers (3-2) are coming off of a 17-6 win over Altoona, the team G-E-T plays next week.
G-E-T 30 Viroqua 12
The ground game topped the passing game as the Red Hawks were in control for most of the game between teams with opposite styles.
It seemed that the team that wins by running the ball would run away from the game early as G-E-T took a 16-0 lead early in the second quarter. But Viroqua’s air attack struck with 18 seconds left in the first half as Benson McDowell hit Andrew Fassbinder for a 21-yard touchdown pass.
The blocked point after kept G-E-T’s lead at 10 and they wasted little time adding to it in the second half.
G-E-T’s first drive of the half began at its own 32, but four rushes pushed the ball into Viroqua territory. Taylor Haney then ran for 10 yards before Max Knapmiller broke loose for 20, giving G-E-T a first down at the two-yard line. Knapmiller finished the drive from there, surging up the middle for the score. Domanick Knott’s point after made the score 23-6 with about seven minutes left in the quarter.
After Viroqua found success through the air at the end of the first half, G-E-T was aggressive to start the second. A sack on second down pushed Viroqua back to a third-and-23 as they were eventually forced to punt.
After G-E-T punted the ball back to Viroqua, Cisco Jimenez broke through the line for another sack, which pushed the Blackhawks to a third-and-16. They were again forced to punt.
Knapmiller got loose for a 50-yard run on a counter play during G-E-T’s next drive, putting them at the Viroqua 11. Omar Jimenez then went straight up the middle for a touchdown. The point after made the score 30-6 with 10:27 left in the game.
The Blackhawks didn’t go quietly, however. They moved down the field before McDowell hit Fassbinder for a 22-yard touchdown with 8:38 left in the game.
After the ensuing two-point conversion was stopped, the Blackhawks remained aggressive with an onside kick that they recovered near midfield.
After picking up one first down on a seven-yard pass to Fassbinder, Cisco Jimenez came through with his second sack of the game. That takedown of McDowell put Viroqua in a fourth-and-17 before an incomplete pass essentially sealed the win for G-E-T.
All of Viroqua’s yards in the game came through the air, whereas all of G-E-T’s were on the ground.
McDowell hit Kayden Sullivan on a deep pass on Viroqua’s first drive that gave them the ball at the G-E-T 28. That drive ended when Rion Waxlax ran under a pass for an interception.
G-E-T went 83 yards for a touchdown in its first possession. Haney ran for nine yards on a third-and-four play before Kyle Seiling found space for a 25-yard run. The Red Hawks continued to muscle the ball down the field before Seiling got outside for a 13-yard touchdown. Ben Hansen ran in the two-point conversion, making the score 8-0 with four minutes left in the first.
After a Viroqua three-and-out, Haney broke off a 20-yard run on G-E-T’s next possession. Seiling then ran for 14 yards. Hanson finished the drive with a two-yard run and Seiling ran in the two-pointer, making these core 16-0 with nine minutes left.
After the teams exchanged possessions, Viroqua got the ball at its own 34 with 2:29 left in the half. McDowell and Fassbinder connected several times in the drive, including for two touchdowns — though the first was called back due to a holding penalty. The second gave Viroqua life, making the score 16-6, but the Red Hawks quickly regained control.
Fassbinder caught 13 passes for 158 yards in the game while McDowell was 26-for-39 with 276 yards. However, the Blackhawks finished with negative-two rushing yards, while G-E-T ran for 336.
Seiling led G-E-T with 117 yards, while Knapmiller added 102.
G-E-T —
Rushing (att./yds.) — Seiling 15/117 Knapmiller 10/102 Hansen 10/55 Haney 7/40 O. Jimenez 4/19 Remus 2/15 Johnson 1/7 Wieczorek 1/0
Passing (comp./att./yds.) — Hansen 0/4/0
Tackles — Burns 5 Wieczorek 2 Hansen 0.5 Seiling 1.5 Haney 3.5 Herman 1 Waxlax 1.5 Halverson 0.5 O. Jimenez 0.5 Remus 3.5 Herman 1 Hummel 1 Kouba 0.5 Johnson 5 C. Jimenez 2 Knapmiller 3.5 Busch 2 Thoma 2 Zimmerman 1 Pickering 0.5 Repaal 2
