Back on track

They didn’t hang their heads and feel sorry for themselves. They didn’t let one loss bleed into the following week and cause a second setback. No, Wisconsin Heights’ football team rebounded in a big way last Friday. One week after a tough loss to Newman Catholic, the Vanguards bounced back with a 60-20 win over Rockford Christian Life. The Vanguards improved to 6-2 overall and 3-2 in the Great 8 Conference. Heights finishes the year at Williams Bay (0-4, 1-7) Friday at 7 p.m. “We feel really good,” Heights coach Trevor Steiner said after the win over RCL. “It was a rebound game for sure! The score does not show it, but RCL made us earn every point, and forced us to play well defensively.” Good thing for Heights it did both with aplomb. Quarterback Ozur Kepler added to his sensational season with five touchdown passes and completed 19-of-28 passes for 398 yards. Through eight weeks, Kepler has thrown 32 touchdowns, just six interceptions, completed 59.1% of his passes and thrown for 2,365 yards. Wily Hanson had a huge game, rushing for 189 yards on 30 carries (6.3) and scoring twice. Ace Ayers caught nine passes for 124 yards and two TDs, while Jack Fields had four catches for 117 yards and two touchdowns. Heights led, 26-20, late in the second quarter when it erupted for 34 unanswered points. Hanson had a 15-yard touchdown run with 3:12 left in the second quarter, then Kepler hit Austin Warner with a 51-yard TD and the Vanguards pushed their lead to 42-20 by halftime. “We were not happy defensively going into halftime,” Steiner said. “The staff really challenged the kids to step up, and they responded really well.” Heights’ defense pitched a second half shutout. And the Vanguards’ offense kept rolling. After a scoreless third quarter, Kepler threw a 15-yard TD to Ayers and a 75-yard touchdown to Fields in a 90-second span as Heights pushed its lead to 54-20. Micah Hanson finished the scoring with a 2-yard TD with 1:37 left. “We have had better games this season, but again, we were patient, and with the defense playing better in the third quarter, it gave the offense some breathing room to figure some things out,” Steiner said. “During the fourth quarter, we were able to really put stress on their defense and eventually break them down.” Now, Heights hopes to finish the year in style Friday at Williams Bay. “Exactly that, finish,” Steiner said. “Continue to row the boat, don’t coast the last stretch.” Oct. 11 Wisconsin Heights 60, Rockford Christian Life 20 RCL ...........0 20 0 0 — 20 Heights.....12 30 0 18 — 60 WH — Ayers 34 pass from Kepler (run failed) WH — Fields 10 pass from Kepler (run failed) RCL — Jameson DeCarlo 37 run ( run) WH — Hanson 10 run (Warner run) RCL — Jameson DeCarlo 20 pass from WH — Fields 90 pass from Kepler RCL — Jameson DeCarlo 40 run WH — Hanson 15 run (Fields pass from Kepler) WH — Warner 51 pass from Kepler (Ayers run) WH — Ayers 15 pass from Kepler WH — Fields 75 interception return WH — Micah Hanson 2 run TEAM STATISTICS First downs— RCL 11, WH 21. Rushes-yards— RCL 32-180, WH 55-229. Passing yards— RCL 148, WH 418. Comp-Att-Int— RCL 10-22-1, WH 20-29-1. Fumbles-lost— RCL 2-2, WH 5-2. Penalties-yards— RCL 7-50, WH 8-75. INDIVIDUAL LEADERS Rushing: RCL, DeCarlo 11-100. WH, Hanson 30-189. Passing: RCL, Boeke 10-22-148-1. WH, Kepler 19-28-398-1. Receiving: RCL, DeCarlo 6-117. WH, Ayers 9-124.