DeForest runs away from Eagles

Sauk Prairie’s football team had designs on a happy Homecoming last Friday. Mighty DeForest, ranked eighth in the state in Division 2, had other ideas. Fueled by a 21-point outburst in the third quarter and a 35-point second half, the visiting Norskies pulled away from Sauk Prairie and cruised to a 52-13 win. Sauk Prairie fell to 3-2 overall and 1-2 in the Badger North after its second straight loss. DeForest improved to 5-0 overall and 3-0 in the league. DeForest has now outscored its opponents, 249-20, this season. “We were happy with the way we came out (to start the game),” said Sauk Prairie head coach Clay Iverson, whose team led 7-0 after one quarter. “DeForest is a bigger school and a bigger team. We tackled well early and were able to mix the run and pass.” The Norskies’ strengths this season have been their running game and defense, which they showed against Sauk Prairie. DeForest has an absurd 1,363 team rushing yards through their first five games, an average of 272.6 per game. The Norskies finished with 219 yards against the Eagles. Deforest’s defense is also holding opponents to four points per game through five games. “(DeForest quarterback) Trey Schoeder is a really good player with a lot of weapons around him,” Iverson said. “They make it very hard to sell out defensively on one thing ... a very talented team in all phases.” Running the football has also been a strength for Sauk Prairie this season, and last Friday was no different. The Eagles were able to rush for 181 yards on 43 carries (4.2 average) against a DeForest defense that had been allowing only 100.5 rushing yards per game. The Eagles average 209 yards per game on the ground after their most recent game. Tyler Uselman led the Eagles in rushing for the second week in a row, carrying eight times for 62 yards. Uselman now has 265 yards for the year on 42 carries (6.3). Third down efficiency was another bright spot for Sauk Prairie, as the Eagles converted 7-of-14 third downs (50.0%). That number was well above their season average of 35%. “I think the biggest thing is we are getting better and learning what it takes to compete,” Iverson said. “We made mistakes, but I don’t think they were effort mistakes. Maybe the biggest positive is we get to come back Monday and get better again.” After receiving the opening kickoff, Sauk Prairie used a 15-play drive that ate up nearly nine minutes to strike first. On fourth down from the 18-yard line, quarterback Parker Breunig hit Tyler Uselman near the sideline for a touchdown, and Sauk Prairie took a 7-0 lead. DeForest returned the ensuing kickoff to the Eagles’ 11-yard line, but the Sauk Prairie defense forced a turnover on downs. The Eagles went three-and-out and were forced to punt near their own goal line. On the snap, the ball went over punter Brooks Leister’s head and out of the endzone for a safety to make it 7-2 within the first minute of the second quarter. DeForest received the ball after the safety and took advantage just five plays later. Hayden Rauls caught an eight-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Trey Schroeder to make it 8-7. The Norskies converted the two-point conversion and took a 10-7 lead with 9:37 to go in the half. DeForest extended its lead late in the second quarter when Schroeder connected with Lane Larsen for a 26-yard touchdown that gave the Norskies a 17-7 edge. DeForest scored on its first two drives of the second half to push its lead to 31-7. Gabe Finley ran 37 yards for a score, and that was followed by an Evan Armstrong 33-yard TD run just more than a minute later. Sauk Prairie chipped away, using a long drive capped off by a six-yard touchdown run by Breunig to make it 31-13 after a failed two-point try with 3:25 left in the third quarter. DeForest struck for 21 unanswered points, though, and its lead ballooned to 52-13 which started a running clock. Things don’t get any easier for the Eagles, who head to Waunakee Friday at 7 p.m. to face a Warriors team that’s ranked No. 1 in the state in Division 2. But Iverson knows his team can continue to improve and will compete no matter who they are playing. “If you judge yourself solely on the scoreboard, you can lose focus of what is really important,” Iverson said. “One thing we want to do is make sure people are proud of our effort. “I was proud of our effort for the most part. We have to keep improving as we do have a lot to play for. It should be exciting down the stretch.” Sept. 20 Sauk Prairie 13, DeForest 52 Sauk Prairie ……... 7 0 6 0 — 13 DeForest ………. 0 17 21 14— 52 First Quarter SP- Uselman 18 yd pass from Breunig (Diehl kick) 3:30 Second Quarter D- Safety 11:51 D- Rauls 8 yd pass from Schroeder (Two-point successful) 9:37 D- Larsen 26 yd pass from Schroeder (Kick good) 0:38 Third Quarter D- Finley 37 run (kick good) 10:18 D- Armstrong 33 run (kick good) 9:10 SP- Breunig 6 run (two-point failed) 3:25 D- Armstrong 23 run (kick good) 1:34 Fourth Quarter D- Schroeder 1 run (kick good) 4:48 D- Yocum 21 return (kick good) 3:15 TEAM STATS Total yards-- SP 202, D 336. Rushing(att-yd)--SP 43-181, D 29-217. Passing(comp-att-yd-int-td)--SP 4-13-21-2-1, D 11-14-119-0-2). Penalties--SP 4-34, D 1-18. First downs--SP 13, D 19. INDIVIDUAL LEADERS Rushing(att-yd-td)-- SP Uselman 8-62-0, D Finley 11-87-1, Armstrong 8-82-2. Passing(att-comp-yd-int-td)-- SP Bruenig 4-13-21-2-1, D Schroeder 11-14-119-0-2. Receiving(rec-yd-td)-- SP Uselman 1-18-1, D Larsen 5-66-1.