Hilltoppers unable to crack goal line, lose level 1 football playoff game to stingy Edgar Wildcats
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by Joel DeWitt
Sports Correspondent
Edgar – Coming off a shutout loss the previous week, the Hilltopper football team faced an uphill battle when they traveled to Edgar for their WIAA Division 7, Level 1 matchup against the Wildcats.
Edgar, the #2 seed, came into the game boosting an 8-game winning streak, including the last seven without allowing a score. The Wildcats continued its recent dominance, racking up 309 rushing yards, by defeating Glenwood City 36-0 on Friday, October 20.
Even though the final on the scoreboard was lopsided, Glenwood City (5-5) controlled the pace of the game for most of the evening. The Hilltoppers’ offensive effectively moved the ball in the first half, including three redzone trips.
“I was very proud of our kids for the effort they brought to the game plan,” commented coach Shane Strong. “We put ourselves in position to score on three drives in the first half but couldn’t finish against the best defense we have faced all year.”
While the Hilltoppers struggled to break the goal line, Edgar used a potent offensive attack to score quick. All five of their touchdowns on the evening came on drives of four plays or less.
The opening drive for the Hilltoppers started on a promising note. After a fourth-down rush by quarterback Morgen Eggert gave Glenwood a fresh set of downs, he connected with Brody Riba for a 35-yard gain to set
Glenwood up on the Edgar 23-yard line.
Unfortunately for the Toppers, Edgar’s Leyton Schuett picked of Eggert’s pass in the end zone to end the Hilltopper opportunity.
Three plays later Teegan Streit’s sneaked a bootleg around the right edge went 56 yards for the score and the 8-0 lead with 4:49 remaining in the first quarter.
The next Hilltopper drive was like its first. The Hilltoppers relied heavily on Eggert and the quarterback option to move the ball. Eggert also connected with Riba again, this one for a 41-yard gain, to take the ball inside the Edgar 15-yard line.
The Hilltopper offense stalled at the 9-yard line and turned the ball over on downs to the Wildcats.
Following an Edgar punt, the Hilltoppers had new life on their 39-yard line at the beginning of the second quarter. Glenwood used nearly the entire quarter to drive deep into Wildcat territory.
Rushes by Eggert and Mitch McGee gave the Hilltoppers a first down on Edgar’s side of midfield. Facing a fourth-and-long the Hilltoppers decided to punt, only to benefit from a roughing the punter penalty. The resulting first down set the Hilltoppers up on the 31-yard line.
Consecutive fourth down conversions, a rush by Eggert and reception by Riba, gave the Hilltoppers a first-and-goal on the 9-yard line.
However, the Edgar defense shut down the Hilltoppers on four consecutive attempts to take over on their own 5-yard line. And it didn’t take long for the Wildcats to capitalize on the defensive stand.
Back-to-back rushes of 25 yards put the Wildcats in Hilltopper territory. Then Wildcat Kohlbe Weisenberger took it 45 yards for the score and 15-0 lead right before half.
The late, first-half score shifted all the momentum to the Wildcats. The Hilltopper offense only managed a pair of first downs in the second half and didn’t make it into Edgar territory.
Meanwhile, the Wildcats scored touchdowns on three of their first four possessions to jump out to a 36-0 lead and cruised to the victory.
Eggert led the Toppers in both rushing and passing on the night. He had 54 yards rushing on 28 attempts and was 11-of-16 passing for 123 yards through the air. Riba had seven receptions for 93 yards.
The loss will be the final game for ten seniors on this year’s squad.
“They have been a fun group to work with the past few years,” mentioned Strong of his seniors. “I’m proud of them for the effort they have put in to compete this year.”
Even though the Hilltoppers lose some respected and talented seniors, Strong is optimistic about the team going forward.
“We played quite a few young kids this year, which makes the future exciting,” indicated Strong. “We need to get tougher, stronger and faster if we want to make deeper play off runs.”
He continued, “The opportunity has always been there, they need to take advantage of it.”