Elk Mound football ends season with loss at Stanley-Boyd
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STANLEY — A resurgent ground game helped power Elk Mound to a 21-9 third-quarter advantage in last Friday night’s contest at Stanley-Boyd as it looked to close out its 2022 gridiron campaign on a winning note.
But, the Orioles, who could earn a spot in the WIAA playoffs with a victory, had other ideas.
Stanley-Boyd quarterback Logan Burzynski engineered a comeback as he threw for a touchdown late in the third quarter and then ran in the game-winner with just 3:07 left in the contest to give the Orioles a 24-21 victory over the Mounders in the October 14 Cloverbelt and regular season finale.
Stanley-Boyd finished 3-4 in conference play and 4-5 overall and earned a #7 seed in the WIAA Division 5 playoff field and will travel to Northwestern, champions of the Heart O’ North Conference, for a level 1 contest. Elk Mound concluded its season with a 1-6 mark and seventh-place finish in the Cloverbelt and was 1-8 in all games.
Following a scoreless first quarter of play, the host Orioles got on the scoreboard first thanks to a 36-yard field-goal by Simon Polman just 42 seconds into the second quarter.
That 3-0 lead would stand until Russo ran the ball in from three yards out with just 1:30 left in the half. Russo then tossed the two-point conversion to Sam Wenzel as the Mounders looked to take an 8-3 advantage into halftime.
But, the Mounder lead proved to be short-lived, very short!
It took the Orioles just 19 seconds to score their first touchdown when back Landon Karlen finished off the quick drive with a three-yard run at 1:11. Despite the missed extra point, Stanley-Boyd lead 9-8 as the contest went to intermission.
Elk Mound would retake the lead when it scored a pair of third-quarter touchdowns less than two minutes apart.
Russo capped a nice Mounder drive with a 1-yard score at the 6:07 mark. Although the two-point run did not break the goal line, Elk Mound had the lead back at 14-9.
A Orioles’ turnover resulted in another Mounder touchdown as Dutzle scampered 33 yards to the end zone at 4:11. Russo tacked on the PAT and Elk Mound led 21-9.
But, Burzynski led the Orioles to pay dirt on the Orioles’ ensuing offensive series when he tossed a two-yard pass to Cole Brenner with 1:03 still remaining in the third quarter. Polman put the kick through the uprights and Stanley-Boyd now trailed by just five points – 21 to 16.
With time winding down in the final stanza, Burzynski led the hosts to one final, game-winning score capping an Oriole drive with his own two-yard scoring run with 3:07 left in the football game. Burzynski then scored two points on the conversion run to put his squad in front 24-21.
That is how it ended when the Mounders were unable to score in the waning minutes.
Elk Mound finished with a 285 to 210 advantage in total yardage against Stanley-Boyd but, unfortunately, that did not translate to a win.
Burzynski’s late-game heroics ended up overshadowing the running performance of Elk Mound’s backfield triumvirate of quarterback Kaden Russo and running backs Parker Dutzle and Carter Vieth. The Mounders accumulated 249 yards rushing led by Dutzle who ran 22 times for 134 yards and a touchdown, Vieth added 86 on 13 hauls and Russo ran 18 times for 29 yards, a pair of scores and was an efficient 4-for-7 passing the ball for another 36 yards with Wenzel catching three of those throws for 21 yards.
Burzynski hit on nine of his 11 pass attempts for 82 yards and a score. He also ran for 30 yards on seven tries and had another touchdown. Blake Paul finished with 12 rushes and 61 yards to lead the Orioles ground game which finished with just 128 yards. Karlen added 35 yards and a score on nine carries.
Four other Cloverbelt teams will be joining Stanley-Boyd in the playoffs. Conference champion Eau Claire Regis heads into the Division 7 field with an unblemished 9-0 record and a top-state ranking. Once-beaten and second-place finisher Mondovi earned a two seed in Division 6 along with Fall Creek who was given a 6th seed after taking third in conference. Durand-Arkansaw also received a 6th seed in Division 5.