Friday, December 13, 2024

Middle school football: Hatchets take on Mosinee, Amherst, AV-W

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For the Tomahawk Leader

MOSINEE – The Tomahawk Middle School football team recently faced Mosinee, Amherst and Arbor Vitae-Woodruff.

Mosinee

The Hatchet middle schoolers had a disappointing performance as they traveled to Mosinee to play the Indians last month.

The 8th grade team came out on the losing end, falling 26-0. Tomahawk struggled mightily to move the ball all game against the Indians’ very talented middle linebackers. Good defense allowed the Hatchets to stay in the game early, with a forced fumble by cornerback Cooper Dick and an interception by safety Kaj Maki.

Turnovers were the difference for this game, as the Hatchets lost two fumbles and threw four interceptions. Mosinee started off the scoring on a nifty misdirection run and a successful two-point conversation to take an 8-0 lead with 13 seconds left to play in the first quarter. Mosinee dominated the second quarter by scoring two additional touchdowns in the final three minutes of the half. The first came on a tipped ball by Dick that turned into a 56-yard touchdown pass. The second came after a Hatchet fumble, as the Indians again caught the defense out of position on a counter run. After playing well on defense, Tomahawk still found themselves down 20-0 at half.

Mosinee used their power running attack to put the game out of reach in the third quarter by scoring on a one-yard plunge to take a 26-0 lead and secure the win.

 The Hatchets welcomed back linebacker Jack Reilly, who missed the first two games with a broken finger. Playing in a short arm cast, Reilly lead all defenders with 11 total tackles. Other defensive leaders included Henry Nieman with 10 total tackles and a forced fumble and recovery, and Breck Stromberg contributed with five total tackles.

Amherst

The Hatchet 8th grade football team lost to Amherst 16-14 at Hatchet Field last month.

Amherst took the lead on their first drive by getting past a Hatchet cornerback for a long touchdown pass and a successful conversion. Tomahawk responded on the defensive side of the ball when outside linebacker Henry Nieman made a fantastic play to get instant penetration in the backfield to intercept an option pitch and return it for a touchdown. Running back Breck Stromberg found the end zone on a sweep to punch in the two-point conversation.

After Amherst sacked quarterback Jack Reilly in the end zone for a safety, Tomahawk again responded to the adversity. On the ensuing possession, cornerback Xander Simonson intercepted a deep pass in Amherst territory and returned the ball inside the Amherst five yard line. On 4th and goal, Stromberg was able to break the plane to give Tomahawk a 14-10 lead.

After the touchdown, an unsportsmanlike penalty on the Hatchets moved the ball back 15 yards, and Nieman was stopped short of the goal on the conversion pass attempt. The two teams would go back and forth with not much offense until Amherst broke the game open on a long touchdown run with about four minutes to play. The failed conversion put Amherst up 16-14.

Tomahawk was able to drive into Amherst territory with some hard running by fullback Mike Vojcik. The Hatchet offense got behind the sticks, and the fourth down pass completion to receiver Cooper Dick was stopped short, ending the Hatchet comeback attempt.

Defensive leaders for the Hatchets included the trio of Nieman, Reilly, and Stromberg. Also playing well for Tomahawk was safety Ethan Schendel and linemen Dean Greil and Dean Hackle.

Arbor Vitae-Woodruff

The Tomahawk Hatchet 8th grade football team got their first win of the season 20-14 over Arbor-Vitae Woodruff (AV-W) late last month.

The Hatchets put together their most impressive game of the season by playing complimentary football in all three phases of the game.

Both teams went scoreless in the first quarter. Hatchet tight end Henry Nieman had a long touchdown run called back in the first series due to an illegal block in the back penalty. On Tomahawk’s first possession of the second quarter, Nieman scored on a sweep on 4th down to give the Hatchets an early 6-0 lead. AV-W responded on the ensuing possession by returning the kickoff for a touchdown and converting the 2-point conversion to take an 8-6 lead.

The Hatchets and running back Kaj Maki didn’t let that lead last long, as he also returned the following kickoff for a touchdown. Quarterback Breck Stromberg scored on a counter for a successful two-point play and a 14-8 lead.

The Hatchet defense carried the team in the second quarter. Nieman forced a turnover by stripping the ball carrier and recovering at about the 40 yard line. Stromberg then hit Nieman for a long touchdown pass for his second score of the game. Fullback Mike Vojcik was stopped short on the two-point attempt.

AV-W then turned a long kickoff return in a solid drive to get in the red zone. With about 40 seconds left in the half, Nieman again made a solid defensive play and intercepted a pass in the flat for another turnover. Tomahawk took a 20-8 lead into halftime.

The second half saw both teams move the ball well, but long drives stalled deep into their opponents’ territory. AV-W made it a one-possession game in the 4th quarter after scoring on a 4th down broken play. The ball carrier was pushed out of bounds on the conversion attempt to make the score 20-14 with about five minutes left.

After the AV-W score, the Hatchets put together a great time-killing drive as the offense ran the last five minutes off the clock. Stromberg, Vojcik, Nieman and Maki all had big runs or 3rd down conversions to keep the drive moving.

Tomahawk also got great effort on the defensive side from safety Ethan Schendel and lineman Ayden Herbst.

The offensive line rotation of Dean Hackel, Dean Greil, Carter Albrecht, Andrew Kluck, Ryan Kretzschmar and Ryder Mattes allowed the Hatchet offense to move the ball well on the ground all game.

Middle School Football

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