Mounders throw scare into Regis but Ramblers prevail in Cloverbelt opener
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ELK MOUND running back Carter Vieth ran through an attempted arm tackle by a Rambler defender in an August 30 Cloverbelt football game on the Mounders’ home turf. Vieth rushed 15 times for 64 yards to lead Elk Mound in its 20-8 loss to Eau Claire Regis. —photo by Shawn DeWitt
ELK MOUND — The Mounders’ bench and fans erupted with excitement when quarterback Logan Jerome connected with receiver Sam Wenzel on a 22-yard touchdown strike with just 36 second left in the first half of last Thursday evening’s Cloverbelt Conference opener at home against Eau Claire Regis.
That excitement seemed to reach a fevered pitch moments later when the duo collaborated once more on the two-point conversion pass that gave Elk Mound a stunning 8-6 halftime advantage over the defending Division 7 state champions.
But, while the Ramblers may have been momentarily dazed, they returned from halftime with a vengeance, scoring a pair of touchdowns and a two-point conversion while holding the host Mounders scoreless to take a 20-8 victory in the August 31 contest for a 1-0 start in conference play and 2-1 overall.
The loss, meanwhile, dropped Elk Mound to 0-1 in Cloverbelt action and 1-2 overall.
The first quarter of play expired without either team putting a score on the board.
The Ramblers finally broke the scoreless deadlock at the 8:56 mark of the second quarter when their quarterback, Owen Weisenberger, tossed to football to Alex Figy for a 27-yard touchdown. The Mounders stopped the Ramblers two-point conversion run to keep the score at 6-0.
It remained that way until Elk Mound put together its best drive of the half which culminated in Jerome’s 22-yard chuck to Wenzel with just over a half minute left in the first half. The pair hooked up on the two-point conversion as a wide open Wenzel cradled the catch to give the host Mounders their two-point halftime advantage.
Regis took the second-half kick off and using a punishing ground game that featured a heavy dose of counter runs, scored the go-ahead touchdown (and eventual game winner) at 8:53 when Ian Andrews capped the drive with a 13-yard jaunt to pay dirt. Chase Kosta ran in the two-point conversion to give the Ramblers a 14-8 lead.
Elk Mound moved the ball well on its first offensive possession of the second half, crossing into Regis territory before penalties stalled the drive and forced the Mounders to punt away the ball.
Regis’ advantage would grow by another six points when 6’ 2” running back Evrett Tait busted through the line untouched on the Ramblers’ first play from scrimmage in the final stanza and scampered 50 yards for a touchdown with 9:35 to play. Regis missed the extra point kick but the score was now 20-8.
Unfortunately, the Mounders’ offense could not get any traction the remainder of the game.
A late turnover by Elk Mound resulted in another Regis score but the play was negated by a holding infraction by the Ramblers.
Regis then ran out the clock to claim the 20-8 win.
Neither squad posted impressive offensive numbers.
The Ramblers finished with 225 total yards to the Mounders 135.
Regis finished with 31 rushes for 159 yards with Tait leading the way with 69 yards and a touchdown on five carries. Andrews added a score and 18 yards on four hauls. Weisenberger finished 3-for-6 passing for 63 yards and a 27-yard TD to Figy, which was his only catch. Tight end Alex Ciulla had a catch for 36 yards.
For the Mounders, Logan Jerome went just 2-for-7 in the passing department for 34 yards, much of which came on the 22-yard pitch-and-catch to Wenzel who led the Elk Mound receiving corps with that TD catch. Carter Vieth topped the Mounder running backs with 64 yards on 15 hauls while Parker Dutzle added 46 yards on 17 attempts. Elk Mound finished with 101 yards on the ground.
The Mounders will stay at home this week as they welcome winless Osseo-Fairchild this Friday, September 8. The Thunder (0-3) forfeited to Mondovi last week.