Mounders struggle in red zone, fall to Chetek-Weyerhaeuser

By Cara L. Dempski

CHETEK — Elk Mound may have lost its 2017 football match-up against Chetek-Weyerhaeuser, but won the hearts of their fans, and a few Bulldog supporters, with their conduct at the start of last Friday’s game.

The Bulldogs, who beat the Mounders 20-6 in the most recent edition of their annual non-conference meetings last Friday, Augsut 18, lost one of their players this past year to a plane crash. The Chetek-Weyerhaeuser team reported to the field with Owen Knutson’s jersey and an open spot in honor of their fallen teammate, drawing a penalty.

The Mounders then stood up and removed their helmets in response, to offset the penalty and join in honoring Knutson, who would have played his senior season with the Bulldogs this fall.

After such an emotional set of events, no one would have blamed the Dogs if their minds were anywhere but the team wearing orange and black on the opposite sideline. Chetek-Weyerhaeuser, however, was definitely ready to play.

Mounder head coach Dave Lew noted the Bulldogs will likely do very well in the Heart ‘o North conference this year if they continue to play with the same level of physicality and emotion he saw August 18.

While Lew said the Mounders ran the ball hard, they managed just one score, despite being inside the 20 five times. It left him with the realization there is room for improvement.

“We learned a lot about ourselves and what we need to improve on and build on for the next game,” Lew noted. “We need to be able to finish when we are in the red zone.”

Elk Mound held the Bulldogs scoreless in the first, but were given the same treatment by Chetek-Weyerhaeuser to get through the first 12 minutes with a blank scoreboard. It took until there were just five seconds left in the first half for Chetek-Weyerhaeuser to get on the board, and then it was off an eight-yard touchdown pass connecting QB Andrew Loy with receiver Alexander Kaminski for six.

The Mounders finally struck gold in the third with a 57-yard sprint from Brady Redwine for six. The conversion attempt was unsuccessful, leaving the score knotted at six with 8:53 to play in the third quarter.

The Bulldogs responded with a 45-yard pass from Loy to Daniel Chuchwar, but were unable to punch through the Elk Mound defense for the conversion, leaving them with a 12-6 lead at 7:35 in the third.

Elk Mound held tight defensively, limiting the Bulldogs’ scoring opportunities until there was just 7:08 to play in the game. Then, Loy found Chuchwar a second time with a 23-yard pass for the touchdown. The third time proved the charm when Loy found Kyle Bilodeau on a 20-yard pass for the conversion, giving Chetek-Weyerhaeuser a 20-6 advantage as the time drained off the clock.

Mounder play caller Dylan Black completed five passes for 61 yards, with Tyler Bauer serving as his favorite target for 36 yards. Redwine led the running backs with 174 yards spread over 25 carries.

Loy completed nine of 18 passes, including all three touchdowns. His receiver of choice was Kaminski, who nabbed four passes for a total of 78 yards. The Bulldogs’ leading rusher was Chuchwar, who logged 127 yards on 25 carries.

The Mounders will face the 2016 Division 4 state champion St. Croix Central Panthers, at home August 25, which is a game Lew is anticipating.

“We will get back to work this week and continue to play hard,” Lew said. “I’m looking forward for this Friday-night challenge versus the D4 defending state champs.”

Elk Mound will open conference play September 1 at Glenwood City before playing another non-conference match-up at home against Osseo-Fairchild September 8.

ELK MOUND 6, CHETEK-WEYERHAEUSER 20
Elk Mound…………………….0  0  6  0 —   6
Chetek-Weyerhaeuser…….0  6  6  8 — 20

Second quarter: CW — A. Kaminski 8-yd. pass from A. Loy (conversion fail).

Third quarter: EM — B. Redwine 57-yd. run (conversion fail); CW — D. Chuchwar 45-yd. pass from A. Loy (conversion fail).

Fourth quarter: CW — D. Chuchwar 23-yd. pass from A. Loy (A. Kaminski 20-yd. pass from A. Loy)

Individual Statistics: Passing (att-comp-yds-int) — EM (14-5-61-2) — D. Black 5-14-61-2; CW (9-18-15-1) — A. Loy 9-18-150-1; Receiving (att-yds) — EM (5-61) — T. Bauer 2-36, B. Lambele 2-17, W. Muzynski 1-8; CW (7-150) — A. Kaminski 4-78, D. Chuchwar 2-68, D. Peet 1-5; Rushing (att-yds) — EM (39-225) — B. Redwine 25-174, B. Lambele 6-30, D. Black 7-19, W. Muzynski 1-2; CW (33-181) — D. Chuchwar 25-127, A. Loy 5-44, J. Newell 3-10.