Bulldogs run down Wolves to earn 40-20 level 1 playoff victory

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by Joel DeWitt

Sports Correspondent

ELMWOOD — Boyceville had one thing in mind for their October 21 matchup with Elmwood/Plum City, payback. Four weeks earlier the Bulldogs squandered a 13-point, fourth-quarter lead to fall 24-21 to the Wolves, primarily due to Wolves’ senior running back Trevor Asher’s 300-yard effort.

“We knew going into this game we had one thing to do, stop Trevor Asher,” exclaimed coach Michael Roemhild. “I would say we had a very good game plan and for the most part did that.”

While Asher would pick up some late yardage, the Bulldogs had built a large enough lead to withstand a fourth-quarter surge by Elmwood/Plum City and cruise to a dominate 40-20 win in the Division 7 level one playoff contest.

“After losing to Elmwood/Plum City about four weeks ago our team has really changed,” indicated Roemhild. “I don’t think that could have been more apparent tonight. Our guys were focused and believed they could win.”

The focus started with the Bulldogs rushing attack. As a team they combined for 312 yards, for a whooping 7.6 yards per carry average, and six touchdowns.

The dominate rushing attack started on their first possession. Mason Bowell carried for 12 yards on the first carry, and Braden Roemhild followed up with 15 yards on the next to put Boyceville in Wolves territory. 

After three more rushing first downs, Nick Olson connected with Devin Halama for a 15-yard reception and a first down inside the 10 yard line. Three plays later Sebastian Nielson took it across the goal line from 5 yards out. The point after by Brayan Vasquez-Martinez gave the Bulldogs the 7-0 lead with 3:18 remaining in the first quarter.

The Bulldog defense stuffed the Wolves on four straight plays to give the ball back to their offense on the Elmwood/Plum City 37 yard line. It would only take six plays for the Bulldogs to find pay dirt and extend their lead.

With the ball on the 13 yard line, Olson dropped back to pass and with the pocket collapsing scrambled 13-yards for the score and the 13-0 lead. The score was set up on a 27-yard screen pass to Nielson to move the chains after a 15-yard penalty on an illegal block.

The ensuing EPC possession saw the Wolves offense move the ball. They pushed deep into Bulldog territory, but a fourth down rush by Asher came up short and turned the ball over on downs to Boyceville.

The next drive for the Bulldogs featured large chunk plays. A 12-yard rush by Bowell, carries for 12-yards and 26-yards by Nielson, and a 10-yard reception by Caden Wold put Boyceville on the 2 yard line.

Nielson finished the drive with a 2-yard carry for the touchdown and the 20-0 lead with only 3:09 remaining in the first half.

The Bulldogs carried their momentum and power rushing attack over to the second half.

The first possession of the third quarter saw the Bulldogs extend their lead to 27-0 on a nine-play drive, eight on the ground, that covered 53 yards in under four minutes.

The drive included three rushes over ten yards: 21, 13, and 11. It also featured a fourth-down conversion by Olson to move the chains and extend the drive.

The Wolves’ offense, in particular their running back, would come alive on the next drive. Eleven straight rushes by Asher resulted in a score to cut the Bulldog lead to 27-6 with 3:32 left in the third quarter.

Boyceville would strike back on the next drive. A 21-yard reception by Wold and a 17-yard counter by Roemhild highlighted a nine-play, 75-yard drive to extend the lead to 33-6 at the 10:59 mark of the fourth quarter.

However, like the first game, the Wolves would battle back in the fourth quarter. Elmwood/Plum City would score two touchdowns in 56 seconds to cut into the seemingly insurmountable Bulldog lead.

The first touchdown covered 55 yards and consisted of 12 straight Asher rushes. After a successful on-side kick by Elmwood/Plum City, Asher only needed three rushes to pull the Wolves within 13 points at 33-20 with 3:50 remaining in the game.

However, Boyceville would salt away the game with the three-headed monster of Bowell, Nielson, and Roemhild and a power rushing attack. 

The drive covered 55 yards and was capped when Nielson burst loose and found the end zone from 18 yards out. The PAT extended the lead to the final of 40-20 with only 1:32 left in the game.

“Offensively, this is the best we have with our running game,” indicated Roemhild. “Every series we had the ball we scored a touchdown.”

The Bulldog offense generated 407 total yards on the evening, with 312 coming on the ground. Nielson led the way with 125 yards on 15 carries. Roemhild and Bowell both had 11 carries on the evening for 95 and 62 yards, respectively.

Olson was an efficient 7-8 for 95 yards on the evening. Nielson, Roemhild, and Wold had two catches apiece, with Nielson leading with 39 yards.

“Defensively, this was truly a team effort,” commented Roemhild. “It all started up front with Grant (Kaiser), Peter (Wheeldon), and Zach (Hellendrung).” 

Four Bulldog defenders had nine or more total tackles, led by Olson with 16 total tackles including nine solo. Paul Kurschner had 11 total tackles, with Bowell and Wheeldon having 9 apiece.

The win moves the Bulldogs to a WIAA D7, Level 2 matchup against top-seeded Eau Claire Regis this Friday, October 28. The Ramblers are undefeated on the season and are the top ranked team in Division 7 according to Wissports.net. 

The game will be played in Eau Claire at Carson Park with kickoff set for 7:00 p.m.