Back on track

Sauk Prairie’s football team was on a mission last Friday night. The Eagles were determined not to duplicate a lackluster start that led to a non-conference loss at Holmen a week earlier. Junior lineman Jake Buckles, one of the Eagles’ four team captains, made sure of that during pregame warmups before Sauk Prairie hosted Watertown in the conference opener for both teams. “Jake was running around, yelling and screaming like a mad man to get us pumped up,” junior cornerback and running back Wyatt Gibbs said with a laugh. Added senior running back/linebacker Lawson Maier: “Jake’s always the hype man for the team.” It certainly worked. Sauk Prairie cruised to its second shutout in three games, established a running clock pounded Watertown, 44-0, to improve to 2-1 this season and 1-0 in the Badger Small Conference. Watertown fell to 1-2 and 0-1 in the East Central Conference.  The two six-team leagues are paired up for the first two weeks of the conference season with the games counting in their respective conferences. “You always want to start 1-0 in conference,” Buckles said. “It was really cool. Our goal is to go out and win a title. That’s everyone’s goal. But we know we have a lot more to do.” A punishing offensive line led the way for the Eagles, who ran for 214 yards on 36 attempts. “Coming in, we felt we could run against these guys,” Sauk Prairie head coach Randy Wallace said. “Coming out of week two and having passed so much, we really felt we had to establish the run.  “That’s an identity we want to have for ourselves because we need to have a more balanced attack. That will make teams a little more challenged on what we’re going to do.” Wallace said leading the way was senior center Drew Deuman, who is the quarterback of the offensive line.  “Drew made some key calls,” Wallace said. “Like we keep preaching, everything starts and ends with the offensive line. Their growth from last year into this year and so far, this season, has been great.”  Leading the way in the backfield was Maier, also a starting linebacker, who finished with 24 carries for 171 yards and two rushing touchdowns.  “It’s been a long time. I hadn’t done it on the varsity field,” Maier said of cracking the 100-yard rushing barrier. “The last time was on JV. “It was the confidence boost we needed after the loss to Holmen. It was a great game.” Buckles said Maier complements the Eagles’ front line. “Lawson runs hard. He runs like his pants are on fire,” Buckles said of Maier. “He played really well. It’s awesome because you know he’s going to hit the hole and not dance around. “It was awesome to see how downhill he gets. He’s not afraid of contact at all. That was cool to see. We were all proud of him because he deserved that game, too.” After Sauk Prairie received the opening kickoff, Maier and the Eagles’ offensive line didn’t waste any time establishing their dominance at the line of scrimmage. Maier ripped off a 12-yard run up the middle, and the Eagles marched down the field and capped a seven-play, 77-yard drive with senior quarterback Landon Schultz blasting up the middle and into the end zone for a 9-yard touchdown. “We definitely wanted to send a message with our offensive line that we can own the game,” said Buckles, who started at right guard. “Landon (Schultz) did a good job of making a lot of checks at the line. He saw how the defense was. “When they were bunched up at the line, he called a bunch of sweeps. Randy (Wallace) did a good job of calling plays. It was a good game to send a message that we can pound the ball down your throat.” However, it wasn’t just the Eagles’ offense that came flying out of the locker room bent on revenge. Sauk Prairie’s defense didn’t allow a first down until 8 minutes remained in the first half. The Eagles thoroughly dominated a Watertown squad that failed to cross midfield until its second series of the third quarter. “We were just clicking,” Gibbs said. “We were getting a lot of pressure up front. We were determined to dominate the line of scrimmage.” The Eagles quickly grounded the Goslings when sophomore defensive back Jaxson Martin intercepted the first pass of his varsity career on Watertown’s opening play from scrimmage. Although Sauk Prairie failed to capitalize on offense, that set the tone for the game.  The Goslings were forced to punt on their next three possessions before losing a fumble on the following possession. Watertown then turned the ball over on downs on all four of its second-half possessions. “There were some great calls by the defensive coordinator (Erik Krivanek),” said Buckles, who also started on the defensive line. “He had a good game plan.  “Our linebackers did really, well, and our D-line did, too.  (Freshman) Jameson (Lewellin) had some good plays. It was nice to see our edges were able to contain a lot better than at Holmen. “Bryan Breunig had a solid game. Marty Ziegler had his first sack. That was awesome to see. He’s 5-foot-8 but he plays like he’s 6-4. He’s a beast. Riley (Jadack) had a good game. Mason (Betley) did a better job on the outside. It was a great all-around performance by our defense.” Sauk Prairie needed just 80 seconds to grab a 14-0 lead when Maier carried the ball on three consecutive plays, capping off the drive with a 25-yard scamper around left end for a touchdown. Maier said Schultz changed the play at the line of scrimmage. “He just read the defense and knew that the sweep would work,” Maier said. “Casey Brickl was able to get a nice block on the cornerback. That wasn’t the first time he was able to do that. He’s good with that. He kicked him out and I cut inside.” Deuman said Schultz read the defense perfectly. “They stacked the box a lot and were inside the tackles, so we could get outside a lot,” Deuman said. “That was very helpful.” Deuman acknowledged that the line, which also includes senior left tackle Collin Jadack, senior left guard Logan McIntyre and junior right tackle Lane Albers, has continued to show improvement. “We’re starting to click a lot more because we trust each other a lot more being that we have played together for two years now,” Deuman said. Wallace said as Schultz has continued to master the offense, he has taken more ownership on the field.  “It’s been neat working with him and just talking through what he’s looking for and we’re looking for,” Wallace said. “When I was putting the gameplan together, you can tell he’s put in the time in watching tape when he gets those reads. At the end of the day, he’s the one on the field and we’re on the sidelines. So, if you’ve got to make the call, run with it.” Run was the operative word, which described the Eagles following drive that pushed the score to 21-0. After the Sauk Prairie defense recorded its second straight three-and-out, the Eagles ran the ball for seven consecutive plays. Schultz then converted a third-and-five play with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Brickl, for his first varsity touchdown catch. Sauk Prairie took advantage of Watertown’s second turnover of the game when Buckles forced a fumble, and Maier recovered the ball on the Goslings’ 13-yard line with 1:08 left before halftime. Gibbs then capped the two-play drive with a 5-yard sweep around the left end for his first varsity touchdown to send the Eagles into halftime with a commanding 28-0 lead. Wallace was happy to see Gibbs — who has moved into a starting role at cornerback — take advantage of his limited work in the offensive backfield. “Lawson (Maier) has taken over that No. 1 spot at running back for us,” Wallace said. “So Gibby really took that to heart and started putting in time at that cornerback position in week two and really did a great job in week three stepping up and taking on more responsibility out there. It’s kind of neat to see him take that ownership and step up in that role for us.” Sauk Prairie played most of the game without star wide receiver Boden Frosch, who was injured after catching a 13-yard pass on the Eagles’ opening drive. “But the guys are beginning to understand that you have to be ready because you never know when your number will be called,” Wallace said. Blayze Caldwell was ready, willing and able to step in when his number was called in the third quarter.  After Watertown turned the ball over on downs on the Eagles’ 42-yard line on its first possession of the second half, Sauk Prairie needed just three plays to stretch its lead to 34-0. Facing a second-and-9 on the Goslings’ 38, Schultz found Caldwell over the middle, and the 5-8, 160-pound junior wide receiver broke three tackles to power his way into the end zone for a 38-yard touchdown. “That was impressive,” Maier said of Caldwell’s highlight play. “I thought he was going to get tackled, but he just kept going. That was fun to watch. He’s not a very big guy so I wasn’t expecting him to break through. That was awesome to watch.” Following the end of another Watertown possession in which the Goslings turned the ball over on downs on the Sauk Prairie 45, the Eagles marched 55 yards in nine plays, using a balanced attack that ended with Maier’s 8-yard touchdown on a sweep for a 41-0 lead. That began a running clock with 3 minutes to go in the third quarter.  Senior placekicker Nick Keyser then capped the scoring with a 26-yard field goal with 2:52 to play. The Eagles’ defense limited Baraboo to just 12 yards rushing and 36 yards of total offense. Buckles led the defense with 12 tackles, including a tackle for loss, and a forced fumble. Bryan Breunig, a first-year starter, added 11 tackles. Maier said that unit took a lot of pressure off the Sauk Prairie offense, which scored on seven of its nine possessions. “We came out swinging which is obviously more than we did at Holmen,” Maier said. “Our D-line held their ground a lot better. We were able to shut down their run. We knew what was coming, so we were able to execute a lot better than we did against Holmen.” • On deck: Sauk Prairie plays at Beaver Dam Friday at 7 p.m. in a game that counts in the Badger Small Conference standings for the Eagles. The Golden Beavers, who were formerly in the Badger Large Conference, moved into the East Central Conference this season.    Sept. 6 Sauk Prairie 44, Watertown 0 Watertown …....  0  0  0  0 — 0 Sauk …......... 14 14 13 3 —  44 SP: Landon Schultz 7 run (Nick Keyser kick). SP: Lawson Maier 25 run (Keyser kick). SP: Casey Brickl 10 pass from Schultz (Keyser kick). SP: Wyatt Gibbs 5 run (Keyser kick) SP: Blayze Caldwell 38 pass from Schultz (kick failed). SP: Maier 8 run (Keyser kick). SP: Keyser 26 field goal.   TEAM STATISTICS First downs — W 2, SP 18. Rushing (Att.-Yds.) — W 20-12, SP 39-201. Passing yards — W 24 SP 120. Passing (Comp.-Att.-Int.) — W 3-11-1, SP 7-16-0. Fumbles-lost — W 1-1, SP 0-0.   INDIVIDUAL LEADERS Rushing (Att.-Yds) — W: Malik Mitchell 13-24, Davis Cashin 7-(-12). SP: Lawson Maier 24-171, Landon Schultz 3-23, Parker Frosch 4-14, Brayden Schaaf 3-11, Wyatt Gibbs 1-5, Kade Kinney 1-(-10). Passing (Att.-Comp.-Int.-Yds) — W: Cashin 3-11-1-24; SP: Landon Schultz 6-15-0-111, Parker Frosch 1-1-0-9. Receiving (Att.-Yds) — W: Cameron Kranz 2-23, Kaedyn Holden 1-1. SP: Blayze Caldwell 2-61, Casey Brickl 3-28, Boden Frosch 1-13, Drew Strathman 1-9.