Thursday, September 19, 2024
OCONTO – The battle of Highway 22 took place Friday August 23rd as the Oconto Falls Panthers invaded the home turf of the Oconto Blue Devils for a season opener that turned highway 22 into a one way street, with all traffic leading to Oconto Falls as the final score bore out the Panthers dominance 46-8
When asked about bringing home the Highway 22 sign again Bohl responded, “You get that rivalry game and the intensity between the kids is great. They all know each other and it’s always great to bring home the sign.”
The Oconto Falls Panthers broke all the speed limits in this one quickly accelerating to a huge first quarter lead of 32-0 thanks to both an offensive push that saw overwhelming force from the guys in the trenches and the speedy backs, and a defensive stand that resulted in three turnovers.
“I’m very happy with the effort tonight,” said Oconto Falls head coach Nick Bohl. “We came out flying around. We did a lot of good things tonight. It’s always hard in these early games cause you think you know what you have in a team, you see some flashes at the scrimmage and this is that first Friday night test and we came out as good as you could possibly come out. I’m just very happy with the effort and I think that reflects the effort from our week of practice we had.”
Along with his linemen who created more than enough opportunities for him to score, Isaac Bramer had himself a night. The senior back, rumbled and pummeled his way to a huge chunk of the Panthers offensive yardage, getting 114 on the night with three touchdowns to boot. His night saw him average a massive 14.2 yards per carry over his 8 carries.
“Our kids are hungry and motivated,” said Bohl. “We had some bad taste in our mouths from last season’s exit. We have our goals for this season and this is just the first step to meeting those goals.”
The O. Falls defense was swarming over that first half and again the score bared this out. The Oconto offense found it very difficult to make any head way and were pinned back near the end zone for most of those opening half minutes. Forced fumbles and interceptions helped to erase any gains made. Cole Judkins had an early game forced fumble which was recovered by Hunter Ingram and was quickly turned into points while Elijah White and Cole Bozile played the ball hawks with one interception a piece.
Last season the Panthers lost Bozile in a game against Coleman but it quickly became apparent Friday night that the fast and feisty leader’s presence is something the Panthers missed last year.
An enthusiastic Bozile responded after the game and appeared more than happy to return to the football field for another season saying, “It feels amazing, I feel like this is one of the best Panther teams that has been put together. I think we are going to put some good numbers up against some teams this year. Even though there could be some struggles this year as we get going, I know we are going to be able to push through with the depth we have. And with the awesome coaching staff we have its going to be absolutely crazy. A lot of us have been together since third and fourth grade and I think we are ready to compete at a high level this year. I absolutely want to go to state. And I believe we have the ability to do that but for me I just want to play every game as hard as I can. I know that might sound basic but the touchdowns, tackles, interceptions won’t happen unless I’m always playing my hardest.”
Special teams also found a way to make a big impact on the outcome of this game. The Panthers employed a strong leg all night sending booming kick after booming kick into the end zone for touchbacks and had one excellent punt that rolled out of bounds after pinning Oconto far enough back to leave a huge chunk of field in front of them. On the returning side of things Wyatt Laughrin broke loose on a 53 yard punt return for a TD as well.
When asked about his team’s special teams effort Bohl responded, “Connor is a great kicker for us and we are very happy to have him. Believe it or not, Cole Judkins is our backup punter, as accurate as he is. Luke Gilbertson is out with a broken hand for a few weeks yet and he was out first team all conference punter last year. So Cole stepped in for us and hit some boomers. It takes all three phases to win a football game and we stress that in practice and I think today the kids saw it’s not just an offense and defense game, we can do damage in the special teams aspect of the game as well”
The game began with a shortened field for the Panthers as the opening kickoff sailed out of bounds. With less real estate to cover the Panthers made quick work of it, using a four play drive that saw Laughrin break loose down the Oconto Falls sideline on a 43 yard scamper to bring the Panthers within five of the end zone. Bramer finished off the drive with a six yard break through run to give the game its first score with 10:28 left on the clock. Laughrin tacked on two during the conversion with a well executed reverse.
On the following kickoff the kick sailed to the 14 yard line and was dropped, giving the panthers time to swarm the recovering carrier who was unable to advance the ball. Two plays later the Panther defense came up with is first stop of the season as Cole Judkins forced a second down fumble, which was recovered by Hunter Ingram giving the Panthers possession on the 20 yard line.
It took a single play to increase the score as Bramer added his second TD of the night off a 20 yard sprint. Laughrin slipped a backfield tackle on the conversion attempt to slip into the end zone making it a 16-0 match with 10 minutes left in the opening quarter.
During Oconto’s next offensive possession, on a second down attempt, the panthers broke into the backfield with Brayden Majerczyk making the tackle.
Oconto got their offense moving forward in the next play as Joseph Bailey connected with Aiden Hagel on a 20 yard pass completion, which were it not for Cole Bozile’s quick tackle, might have found itself going down field.
But unfortunately for the Blue Devils a hiccup in the next play erased the gains. After a miscue in the backfield the ball found itself bouncing freely and Oconto Falls’ Isaiah Radart was on the spot with his recovery, scooping it up to give his team possession 34 yards out from the end zone. What started to become apparent at this point of the game was just how much communication was swirling around the Panthers in huddle and when going to the line. Players were calling out to each other and yelling and congratulating each other after big plays, raising the level of intensity of the game.
“We stress communication on the football field,” said Bohl. “The great teams talk. Everybody has to know where everybody’s going. You have know whose blocking who so there’s no missed assignment. Our kids did a great job of it last year and this year they are taking it to the next level. You can’t play football without communication.”
Oconto’s AJ Mossakowski made a great stop in Oconto Falls’ first play of the possession, limiting the Bramer rush to just a single yard and incomplete pass from Emerich Skarban to Laughrin left O. Falls looking like it might get stopped. But that was not to be, as Laughrin broke free down the sideline, cruising his way to another Panthers score off the 33 yard rush. Radart finished off the score with a successful two point conversion rush to bring the score to 24-0 with 7:25 left in the quarter.
On the third play of Oconto’s next possession Oconto Falls’ Bozile quickly sniffed out a pass from Oconto’s Bailey, zeroing in on the ball he pulled it down for the turnover.
Bozile was the target of the next play as Skarban connected with him on an 11 yard pass completion. The play was followed by a Bramer on a 16 yard rush and a 15 yard rush. Skarban finished the drive off on a one yard QB keep for the 30-0 lead. After Ethan Hills two point conversion rush the Panthers led 32-0.
The Panther defense continued to dominate in the trenches during the next possession as Majerczyk got a tackle for a loss which was followed by a second tackle for a loss. After an Oconto punt, the Panthers took control on the 36 yard line.
After a few penalties backed up the Panthers Oconto made its first defensive stop of the night and forced the Panthers into a punting situation. But the Panther defense was still hungry and during a second down attempt O. Falls’ Judkins broke through the line and took down Bailey for a 10 yard loss off the sack. One play later it was White’s turn to get in on the turnovers as he snagged an interception for the Panthers, to give possession on the 47 yard line.
Three plays later Bramer broke loose on one of the night’s biggest rushes, breaking tackles before going 49 yards to the score and the 39-0 lead. The conversion was stopped by the Blue Devils.
With seven minutes left till halftime O. Falls’ Laughrin stood back waiting for a punt, after securing the sailing ball he streaked down field and was untouched on his way to the 53 yard TD return and a 46-0 lead.
The second half saw Oconto string together a decent drive. Jaymison Markham carried for a seven yard gain to get things moving before Bailey found a first down off a QB keeper. A pass intended for Hagel was broken up by Easton Engel before a huge run by Tyson Brabant nearly found the end zone, going 24 yards before being stopped on the seven yard line. Bailey capped off the drive with a completion to Hagel for the Blue Devils only touchdown of the night. Bailey added two points off a keeper to bring the game to its final score of 46-8.
Oconto Falls’ Emerich Skarban passed for 11 yards in a two of three performance at quarterback, while Bozile tallied those 11 yards in both of the receptions. Rushing efforts for the Panthers were led by Isaac Bramer with 114 yards and three TDs on eight carries to led all rushers on the day. Laughrin tallied 75 yards on two attempts for one touchdown. While Skarban tacked on a one yard rush for a TD. On the defensive side of things O. Falls’ Judkins led the way with three tackles and three assisted tackles along with a forced fumble while Easton Engel posted three tackles and three assisted tackles along with Logan Berg who replicated that mark. White posted one tackle and one assist with his interception while Bozile added an interception as well.
Oconto’s Bailey passed for 56 yards in a seven of 17 showing with one TD and two interceptions while Kyle Courchaine rushed for 67 yards on three carries for a 22.3 yards per attempt average. Receiving, Hagel tallied up 22 yards and one TD on three receptions while Mason Colvin added 30 yards on his three receptions.
“The biggest thing about today’s effort that impressed me was their ability to never give up,” said Oconto head coach Jacob Reichow. “Last year I think it was pretty much the same situation. My message at halftime was let’s go and score a touchdown and keep some positive energy going and keep motivating each other. They went out and did that so I can’t be happier with how our team responded. For me being a new head coach and not having a lot of seniors or juniors it has become a culture year. We are working with these kids to instill a new culture. I won’t lie this Oconto Falls team is probably one of the better teams we are going to play this year. They are fantastic and I talked with our freshman, we have 22 of them out this year, look what they just did. You all have the chance to do that if you just stick with it and play the game. I give a lot of credit to the falls team. We have a new offensive system and we have only been running it for two weeks, I told them over time imagine if we keep running this, and running this, how much better you will get over time.”
