Colfax ends 2023 season on the gridiron with loss to Cadott Hornets

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by Marlys Kruger

Sports Correspondent

COLFAX — After playing their final game on Thursday night, October 12 rather than the planned Friday night due to the high probability of rain all day Friday, the Colfax football team finished off their season with a 36-6 loss to the Cadott Hornets.

The game was played in front of a smaller than usual crowd due to the high school volleyball games going on inside the building. For the Vikings, it was a case of deja vu all over again as they finished this season just like last season, winning their first game and losing the final eight.

The win assured Cadott would be eligible for a WIAA playoff berth with a final record of 4-5 for the year. Boyceville was the Dunn-St. Croix Conference champion with a perfect 7-0 conference record.

After working as an assistant coach for two years with the Vikings, second-year head coach Joe Beranek commented on the final record after the Cadott loss.

“From a wins and loss perspective, it may be easy for people to sit back and say this season was far from successful,” he said. “Ultimately, those inside of the program  know that another positive step was taken this year in changing the narrative around Colfax football. Despite being low in numbers (22 on the roster), our student athletes rose to the challenge time and again. They hung tough in every single game, and had a few more bounces gone our way, that won-loss record would most definitely look different,” he added.

And such was the case for this game, as the Vikings started with the ball on their own 38 after the opening kickoff. On second down, the low numbers Beranek referred to got even lower when the starting center, senior Drake Knutson, was helped off the field with a knee injury. Colfax was forced to punt and on their second play from scrimmage, Cadott’s Easton Goodman took off for a 24-yard touchdown run. The extra point kick was missed but it was 6-0 with 9:15 left in the first quarter. 

Colfax showed some offensive spark, starting at their own 40 after the kickoff return. On third and 12, quarterback Drew Buchner scrambled for a first down to the Hornets 45. But an eight-yard loss on a sack followed by a short pass from Buchner to Orion Nichols forced them to punt again. But on this Hornet possession, the Viking defense came up with several big plays, including a third down tackle by Christian Ebert and Theo Hovde and the Hornets had to punt the ball away.

The Vikings started deep in their own territory, and unable to get their offense going, attempted to punt again. This time, Colton Hoffman couldn’t get the ball off and Cadott was awarded a two-point safety. The first quarter ended with Cadott up 8-0.

Having to kickoff again, Colfax did their best to stop the Hornet running game but after seven plays on the ground, Warren Bowe took it in from three yards out for six more points. Defensive back Matt Dachel broke up the two-point conversion attempt but it was 14-0 at the 8:54 mark of the second stanza.

Cadott tried to catch the Vikings off guard with an onside kick but an alert Viking recovered the ball. During the scuffle, another Viking player was lost for the game when junior lineman Brady Elmer was injured. The offense was stymied once again however, and this time Hoffman blasted a punt and the Hornets took over on their own 25. The Viking defense forced them into a third and three from their own 43 but a short pass from Jordan Peters to Nolan Blum turned into a long run through several Viking defenders and a 57-yard touchdown. With a two-point run by Eastman it was 22-0 with 4:42 left in the half.

At this point a light rain that everyone had hoped would not appear until later in the night, started up. Colfax started a long drive, starting at their own 39 and with Hovde ripping off two long runs and Hoffman gaining five yards twice, it was second and five at the Hornet 19. But either a wet ball or just the fumble bug the Vikings have struggled with, bit them once again and the Hornets recovered the loose ball at their own 21. With less than two minutes to go in the half, Cadott used a long reverse to gain yardage and on first down from the Colfax 25, Buchner pulled off his own deja vu when he intercepted the ball just like he did in the first game of the year, to thwart another score for the Hornets and end the half.

The third quarter spelled doom for the Vikings as the Hornets used two long drives to score two more touchdowns, one by Ashton Bremness and another by Goodman for a 36-0 advantage.

Colfax finally broke into the scoring column after starting on their own 34. Running plays by Kade Anderson, Hovde and Hoffman moved them down the field to the Hornet two and Hovde took it in from there. The two-point conversion run was stuffed and it was 36-6 as the quarter ended.

The Hornets looked like they would strike again when Goodman broke free for a long run but Hovde grabbed his jersey and hung on long enough to bring him down on the Colfax seven. Once again, the Viking defense stood tall and on a fourth down and a half yard to go, the Hornet runner was swarmed and could not cross the goal line. On first down from their own one, Buchner dug his team out of a hole with a 15-yard sprint but the drive stalled and they gave the ball back to Cadott. 

The Viking defense roared once again, forcing an incomplete pass on third down by the Hornets, and on a field goal attempt, it appeared to be blocked by a Viking. Colfax had one final chance on offense and after Buchner completed a pass to Grayson Decker for a first down and another to Eli Ralph for yet another first down, Buchner was smothered by a host of Hornets to end the game. 

Buchner completed all five of his passes for 43 yards with five different players snagging one each including Ralph, Decker, Dachel, Anderson and Nichols. Anderson was the leading rusher with 84 yards on five carries, Hovde added 59 yards on eight attempts, Buchner ran seven times for 42 yards and Hoffman finished with 28 yards on eight carries. On the defensive side, Anderson was also the leading tackler with 10 while Hovde gathered in nine, Zach Leirmo five and Camron Molina, Hoffman, Buchner and Dachel were all credited with four and Ralph three.

Goodman rushed for 330 of the Hornet’s  504 total rushing yards.

“Despite our record, I am proud of the eight seniors that are leaving our program in a better place than when they began here with me four years ago (my first season on staff at Colfax High School), “coach Beranek said. “It’s my hope that they look back on their time within our program as a fundamental building block in their lives in helping them become better individuals in all facets. We are certainly grateful for their contributions to this program and helping to build a more positive culture amongst our student athletes,” he added.

Those eight seniors include Eli Ralph, Grayson Decker, Matthew Dachel, Colton Hoffman, Kade Anderson, Drake Knutson, Camron Molina and Christian Ebert.

“I am excited about the future of our program as the group we have returning for us next fall have bought into what we are building here within our team,” Beranek stated. “I am confident we will continue to make positive strides in the years to come,” he concluded.