Eagles are back in business

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” In other words, studying history is necessary to avoid repeating past mistakes. That saying comes from the writings of George Santayana, a Spanish-born American author of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was also a valuable history lesson that the Sauk Prairie football team learned last Friday night. The Eagles kept their playoff hopes alive with an impressive 34-0 victory over Stoughton in a Badger Small Conference game that thrilled an excited and supportive Homecoming crowd. “Coach K drew up a great defensive plan,” Sauk Prairie head coach Randy Wallace said of the Eagles’ defensive coordinator Eric Krivanek. “The boys followed it to a tee this week.  “It’s what we expected them to do. It was great to see them take on the challenge and step up. They answered the call.” The Eagles raced to a 21-0 halftime lead on the way to their third shutout of the season. But after watching a two-touchdown margin morph into a disappointing 19-14 setback at Stoughton a year ago, the Eagles were determined not to let history repeat itself. “A lot of it was our will, our mentality,” said junior starting right guard/defensive end Jake Buckles. “Last year, we didn’t have that. It was also getting some three-and-outs to start. We kept going from there.” Buckles, who finished with six tackles, including a sack, said the Eagles were determined to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. “Even in pregame, we were focused,” Buckles said. “During our walk-through, guys weren’t talking. Guys were locked in. That was a big factor for us coming off Portage, our response to that. That was a real, disappointing loss. This was a really, good win.” Sauk Prairie (4-4 overall, 3-3 Badger South) hosted Stoughton (6-2, 4-2) needing to win its final two games to secure a playoff berth for the first time since 2019. The Eagles will now host Madison Edgewood on Friday needing one more victory to guarantee a playoff berth.  However, a loss to the Crusaders (4-4, 3-3) would put the Eagles in the same position as they were a year ago when they finished 3-4 in league play and missed the playoffs due to tie breaker criteria. “That was in the back of our heads,” Buckles said. “Last year, at Stoughton, we were up 14-0. We said that team was going to try to fight back, but we just had to keep going. We had to get it done and finish the job. Last year, the difference was the energy wasn’t there in the second half. “That’s the advantage of having an experienced group. We’ve been through that. We knew what we had to do to come back out and finish the job.” Following a scoreless first quarter, it was the defense that gave Sauk Prairie a jumpstart when senior linebacker/running back Lawson Maier made the play of the game. Following a Sauk Prairie punt, Stoughton took over at midfield with 8 minutes, 29 seconds left before halftime.  That’s when Maier intercepted a pass from Stoughton senior quarterback Drew Viney and returned it 48 yards for his first career pick six. “It was a screen pass, and I saw the running back leak out,” said Maier, who finished the game with seven tackles and two interceptions. “I just took a shot at the ball and timed it perfectly and took it to the house. That was a momentum changer, for sure.” That also drew a smile from Wallace.  “That was perfect,” he said. “I was talking to the sideline official. Stoughton did that to us two years ago. It was the same spot, the same everything. We threw one and they picked it off and returned it and it changed the game.  “That’s what I thought of when Lawson picked it and took it to the house. We’d seen that before from the wrong side.” Maier’s game-changing play also helped spark a Sauk Prairie defense that had struggled giving up big plays all season. Junior middle linebacker Bryan Breunig, who finished with a game-high 18 tackles, including four quarterback sacks, said a change in the Eagles’ defensive scheme played a huge role in the victory. “We switched up our front,” Breunig said. “Instead of a five-man front, we went to a four-man front so we could get some extra pressure on the center to get some bad snaps and get more pressure on them. It worked really, well and we were able to convert a lot of sacks.” In the new scheme, senior Marty Ziegler and freshman Jameson Lewellin were at noseguard, and Buckles and junior Riley Jadack manned the edges. Buckles admitted it was the Eagles’ best defensive showing of the season. “Credit to coach (Krivanek), who had a real, good game plan and the coaches had us fired up, too,” Buckles said. “I’m proud of this unit because we’ve been through a lot.” Sauk Prairie’s defense recorded eight sacks and limited Stoughton to 37 yards rushing and just 102 yards of total offense. Buckles added that putting pressure on the quarterback was a primary goal. “Bryan (Breunig) got in on a lot of blitzes,” Buckles said. “Credit to our two interior linemen just blowing up the center and making space for me and Riley (Jadack) getting one-on-ones on the edge.   “That was a fun game. They are really big guys and good players. But we had to come in with a different technique this week, speed and hands. Those guys had more power.” Maier’s defensive play also lit a fire under the Eagles’ offense, which scored on its final two possessions of the first half. After the defense forced Stoughton to turn the ball over on downs on the Vikings’ 42-yard line, Sauk Prairie needed less than 2 minutes and five plays to punch it in. Maier’s 12-yard touchdown run off a power sweep to the left gave the Eagles a 14-0 lead. They quickly went back to work on defense, forcing a three-and-out. Bryan Breunig and Riley Jadack combined for a 15-yard sack of Viney, which forced a punt and led to Sauk Prairie taking over on the Stoughton 35. Senior quarterback Landon Schultz then capped a seven-play drive with a 5-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Boden Frosch for a 21-0 lead with 8 seconds before halftime. “That gave us some great momentum going into halftime,” Maier said. “In the second half, we were able to get stops on defense and waste time on the clock on offense perfectly.” Wallace said the return of Schultz and Boden, who have battled several injuries this season, also helped rejuvenate the Eagles’ offense. “This team knows how good it can be,” Wallace said. “Just to see these guys stick with the grind and know what they can accomplish is a really, neat thing.” Sauk Prairie came up short on a pair of drives in the second half.  But senior placekicker Nick Keyser booted field goals of 22 and 29 yards to push Sauk Prairie’s lead up to 27-0 just 56 seconds into the fourth quarter. “We had a couple of short fields in the second half that we didn’t capitalize on, but we got field goals out of them,” Wallace said. “So, we still got points on the board. “Having Nick as a kicker has been a complete blessing this year, as well. Obviously, we would have liked to have finished those drives with touchdowns. But knowing we can get off the field with three (points) is a good thing.” Sauk Prairie’s defense didn’t let up. The Eagles held Stoughton to three-and-outs on the Vikings’ first three possessions of the final 24 minutes and a total of just 18 offensive plays in the second half. “Hats off to Randy (Wallace) and his staff,” Stoughton coach Jason Becker said. “They executed their game-plan all night long and never allowed us to find any sort of rhythm.” Wallace said having a healthy junior cornerback Wyatt Gibbs and the return of Hermsdorf to defense — after he filled in at quarterback for Schultz against Portage in Week 7 — solidified the Eagles’ defensive backfield. “It was great to have those guys back on that side of the ball this week,” Wallace said. “They have a lot of confidence back there. It takes a lot of pressure off our defensive line, too.” Bryan Breunig agreed.  “It was nice having Cayden back on defense to have someone to rely on in the deep game,” Breunig said. “That’s one thing we knew we had to stop going into this game was their deep passing game.  “(Viney) has an arm and they had some jets at receiver. But we did really, well with that.” Senior defensive end Mason Betley also found a new home this week at the nickel position. “With the (defensive) plan this week, he wasn’t necessarily in the rotation, so we had to find a spot to get him on the field,” Wallace said of Betley. “He stepped up to play as well and took on a different responsibility.”  Sauk Prairie ended the scoring when Schultz hooked up with Frosch for a spectacular 18-yard touchdown pass-play with 3:43 remaining in the game. “We talked about keeping the pedal down and to keep on going,” said Hermsdorf, who intercepted a pass on Stoughton’s final possession to preserve the shutout. “That’s what we did.” Frosch climbed the ladder to make a sensational catch in the back right corner of the end zone between two defenders to cap a 14-play, 66-yard drive that covered over 5 minutes and ended any hopes of a late Stoughton rally.  “It was great to have them back,” Maeir said of Schultz and Frosch. “We were moving the ball so much better. It was awesome.” Maier said the offensive line of senior Drew Deuman at center, freshman Austin Urban at left guard, senior Logan McIntyre at left tackle, Buckles at right guard and junior Lane Albers at right tackle “was awesome”. “Austin just got a jersey (Thursday),” Wallace said of the 5-foot-11, 235-pounder, who was making his first varsity start. “We were without Collin Jadack this week, so Austin had to step up, which was huge. He’s really jelled with the guys.” Wallace said Sauk Prairie’s mission this week is simple. “Win and we get in,” he said of the Eagles’ playoff hopes. Added Bryan Breunig: “We just need to go out there and do the same thing we did tonight and come out with the same energy we had. We need to come out ready to go and dominate.” • On deck: Sauk Prairie will host Madison Edgewood in a Badger Small Conference regular season finale on Friday at 7 p.m.   Oct. 11 Sauk Prairie 34, Stoughton 0 Stoughton ….  0   0 0   0 —    0 Sauk ................  0 21 3 10 —  34 SP: Lawson Maier 48 interception return (Nick Keyser kick). SP: Maier 12 run (Keyser kick). SP: Boden Frosch 5 pass from Landon Schultz (Keyser kick). SP: Keyser 22 field goal SP: Keyser 29 field goal SP: Frosch 18 pass from Schultz (Keyser kick).   TEAM STATISTICS First downs – St 10, SP 14. Rushing (Att.-Yds.) — St 26-37, SP 32-123. Passing yards — St 65, SP 137. Passing (Comp.-Att.-Int.) — St 7-22-3; SP 17-31-1. Penalties – St 3-29, SP 5-48.   INDIVIDUAL LEADERS Rushing (Att.-Yds) — St: Logan Hedstrom 14-60, Parker Sellnow 1-14, Gatlin Empey 1-0, Drew Viney 10-(-39). SP: Lawson Maier 18-78, Landon Schultz 6-35, Braden Schaaf 8-10.  Passing (Att.-Comp.-Int.-Yds) — St: Drew Viney 7-22-3-65. SP: Landon Schultz 17-31-1-137.  Receiving (Att.-Yds) — St: Parker Sellnow 5-60, Logan Hedstrom 1-5, Mason Richter 1-0. SP: Boden Frosch 7-68, Kade Kinney 3-26, Braden Schaaf 3-19, Lawson Maier 3-13, Nick Keyser 1-11.