Pretenders or contenders?

It was a rude wake-up call that awaited the Sauk Prairie Eagles football team last Friday. The Eagles traveled to Holmen to for a non-conference prep football game that featured an offensive game plan of contrasting styles — the passing attack of the ‘Air Eagle’ offense vs. the Vikings’ punishing Wing-T ground game. After routing Baraboo in its season opener, Sauk Prairie came out flat. That proved to be too much to overcome as Holmen rushed for 343 yards and three touchdowns to overpower the Eagles, 24-15. “I hate to say it, but it was probably the best thing that could happen to us,” said junior co-captain Jake Buckles, who started on both the offensive and defensive lines for the Eagles. “It humbled us and gave us a different perspective. But it was awesome to see we came back in a game we lost, but should have won.”   Holmen quarterback Alex Berget attempted only three passes, completing one for 42 yards. But Berget anchored a terrific rushing attack that gave Holmen the lead for good on the second play of the game when he raced up the middle, and behind some solid downfield blocking, sprinted into the end zone for a 62-yard touchdown to open the scoring. “They had their read option going, and it allowed him to get free,” Sauk Prairie head coach Randy Wallace said of Berget. The Vikings never looked back in methodically wearing down the Eagles’ defense. “They were running a Wing-T, dive, sweep, option,” Wallace said. “They ran like three plays all night. It was one of those games where we showed up, and it was a weird vibe. “We had a lot to overcome. We were flat coming out of the gate. To be still in the game down the stretch is crazy to me based on how the vibe was.” Holmen running back Jack Barth ran for a game-high 106 yards on 13 carries with a touchdown, while Berget chipped in 87 yards on six carries with two touchdowns.    After Holmen’s quick strike score, the defenses took over before senior Nick Keyser booted a 28-yard field goal to pull the Eagles within 7-3 early in the second quarter. That marked the second game in a row that Keyser, who switched from soccer to football this season, converted a field goal. “We were deep in our territory and able to get a good drive going,” Wallace said. “When we stalled out in the red zone, Nick was able to put some points on the board.” After the Sauk Prairie defense held on Holmen’s next possession, Holmen’s Matthew Conn intercepted a pass from Sauk Prairie senior quarterback Landon Schultz. On the very next play, Barth ran 49 yards for a touchdown to increase Holmen’s margin to 14-3. “Honestly, we weren’t expecting to give up those big plays,” senior linebacker/running back Lawson Maier said. “All their touchdowns were off big plays, which was unfortunate. It was a different game from last week.” Wallace said the Eagles quickly regrouped in the locker room at halftime. “Our message was, ‘We’re fine,’ ” Wallace said. “We said we practiced for this. We just need to reset and go out and play football. We knew we could score at any time. There was no panic.” Buckles admitted that following the Eagles’ opening victory over Baraboo, their rough first half against Holmen was an eye-opener.  “We came out flat in the first half, but that was on us,” he said. “The coaches prepared us for it, but that was on all the players. We learned from it.  “One of the most important things from that game was that we came back and fought. We figured out who our guys are, who our leaders are, who cares. We faced some adversity, which was unfortunate. But it was good to learn that in week two instead of week nine.” Sauk Prairie responded in the third quarter when Schultz connected with senior wide receiver Boden Frosch on a 25-yard crossing pattern for touchdown. Frosch caught 12 passes for a game-high 102 yards and a TD Although the PAT was blocked, the Eagles were within 14-9 and seemed ready to make their move. However, Berget ran for a 19-yard touchdown in the third quarter to push Holmen’s lead back to 21-9. Sauk Prairie wasn’t finished yet. Schultz, who completed 34 of 59 passes for 348 yards, and Maier hooked up for an 11-yard touchdown pass to pull the Eagles within 21-15. “It was a planned screen (pass) but it was a little bit broken up,” Maier said. “But we were able to get the blockers we needed to get the touchdown.” Late in the fourth quarter the Eagles were driving and appeared to be gaining momentum. But Mason Flury picked off a Schultz pass at midfield. Gavin Davis then booted a 30-yard field goal to ice the game for Holmen. While the Eagles had some success on the ground, rushing for 62 yards in 17 carries, the plan was to attack Holmen through the air. “We felt this week would be a strong week for passing based on their coverage. They played mostly a zone, so we were trying to get them to shift into a man,” Wallace said. “We felt our offensive line gave Landon some time to throw, but we had more dropped passes than we were used to.  “Our screen game was working well. We were able to get their linebackers to commit and leave an opening. We had a lot of good things, but we didn’t finish drives and execute well.” Although Schultz threw three interceptions, he wasn’t solely to blame for the Eagles’ struggles to finish drives. “Out of the 25 incomplete passes, there were probably eight or nine dropped balls which was a tough pill to swallow,” Wallace said.  Buckles said the Eagles will be ready to bounce back this week against Watertown after a subpar showing against Holmen. “A lot of guys stepped in and tried to lead in different ways. That was awesome,” Buckles said. “We had seniors through freshmen trying to lead. That was awesome to see.  “So, there were a lot of good things to take away from it. We know we’ve got to do better. After the game, we all talked about it. We owned up to it and what we did wrong. We didn’t make excuses, we owned up to it.” • On deck: Sauk Prairie hosts Watertown in a Badger Small Conference opener on Friday at 7 p.m. Watertown, which was formerly in the Badger Large Conference, moved into the East Central Conference this season.  However, the Badger Small is a six-team league paired with the East Central. All Badger Small teams will play two crossover games against East Central teams that will count in the standings.   Aug. 30 Holmen 24, Sauk Prairie 15 Sauk Prairie ….. 0 3 6 6 —  15 Baraboo ………. 7 7 7 3 —  24 H: Alex Berget 62 run (Gavin Davis kick). SP: Nick Keyser 28, field goal. H: Jack Barth 59 run (Davis kick). SP: Boden Frosch 25 pass from Landon Schultz (kick blocked). H: Berget 19 run (Davis kick). SP: Lawson Maier 11 pass from Schultz (pass failed). H: Davis 30 field goal.   TEAM STATISTICS Rushing (Att.-Yds.) — SP 17-62, H 43-293. Passing yards — SP 348, H 42. Passing (Comp.-Att.-Int.) — SP 34-59-3, H 1-3-0.    INDIVIDUAL LEADERS Rushing (Att.-Yds) —SP: Lawson Maier 10-59, Landon Schultz 7-3. H: Jack Barth 13-106, Alex Berget 6-87, Ezra Markofsen 8-37, Ping Xue Xiong 8-32, Colin Williams 4-28, AJ Alesch 3-4, Tristan Brennan 1- (-1). Passing (Att.-Comp.-Int.-Yds) — SP: Schultz 34-59-3-348. H: Berget 1-3-0-42. Receiving (Att.-Yds) — SP: Boden Frosch 12-102, Nick Keyser 7-71, Lawson Maier 4-64, Kade Kinney 5-51; Blayze Caldwell 2-28, Casey Brickl 3-22, Wyatt Gibbs 1-10. H – Barth 1-42.