Eagles put scare into Edgewood

For a couple of days, it appeared the end was here. Sauk Prairie’s football team fell to Madison Edgewood, 16-12, last Friday. That left the Eagles with an 0-7 regular season mark. The WIAA — which was attempting to give every team in the state two more games — then released its postseason brackets which initially didn’t include Sauk Prairie. When Waukesha North dropped out, though, it freed up a spot and the Eagles gobbled it up. Sauk Prairie will now travel to Sussex Hamilton (2-5) Friday at 6 p.m. “Our kids want to keep playing,” Sauk Prairie coach Clay Iverson said. It’s easy to see why. Sauk Prairie has been improving week by week and put quite a scare into the Crusaders last week. Tyler Uselman ran for a pair of touchdowns and the Eagles had chances to pull ahead in the fourth quarter. But Sauk Prairie couldn’t get over the hump and the Crusaders held on. “There were a lot of sad kids in the locker room Friday night because we lost,” Iverson said. “I was sad too.” Uselman gave the Eagles a 6-0 lead midway through the first quarter with a 3-yard touchdown run. Edgewood answered back with a pair of second quarter touchdowns and took a 14-6 lead to the locker room. Midway through the third quarter, Uselman’s 7-yard TD run pulled the Eagles within 14-12. But that was all of the scoring Sauk Prairie could muster. Edgewood notched a fourth quarter safety. And the Eagles finished the game with just 174 yards of total offense. “Every game we play, our objective is to win, but I also think we hold ourselves to even high goals — playing hard, great improvement, executing well,” Iverson said. “Those things are in your control. We have done those things the last few weeks, so I am really proud of this group.” Now, the Eagles will get at least one more chance to compete — and potentially notch their first win of the year. “You know it has been a crazy year,” Iverson said. “But I will remember it as a group of young men that fought through all of that and ended up being one of the most improved, toughest and enjoyable groups I have ever been lucky enough to coach.”     Nov. 6 EDGEWOOD 16, SAUK PRAIRIE 12 Edgewood ......... 0 14 0 2 — 16 Sauk Prairie ....... 6 0 6 0 — 12 SP: Uselman 3 run (kick failed) ME: Folkers 1 run (Klestinski kick) ME: Trudgeon 10 pass from Folkers (Klestinski kick) SP: Uselman 7 run (run failed) ME: Safety, Wright-Rodriguez tackled in end zone TEAM STATISTICS First downs — ME 18, SP 14. Rushing (Att.-Yds.) — ME 30-61; SP 35-120. Passing yards — ME 166; SP 55. Passes (Comp.-Att.-Int.) — ME 15-30-3; SP 5-12-1. Penalties-yards — ME 11-83; SP 10-113. Fumbles-lost — ME 1-0; SP 0-0. INDIVIDUAL LEADERS Rushing — ME: Folkers 18-51; SP: Wright-Rodriguez 16-52. Passing — ME: Folkers 15-30-3 166; SP: Wright-Rodriguez 5-12-1 55. Receiving — ME: Newton 6-68; Trudgeon 4-43; SP: B. Breunig 2-39.