Bonduel holds off Clintonville for homecoming win

Bears’ defense shuts out Truckers
By: 
Luke Reimer
Reporter

The Bonduel High School football team shut out Clintonville 8-0 on Oct. 1 in Bonduel to move to within a win of the postseason.

“We have been working hard and trying to get better,” said Bonduel head coach James Westrich. “Our defense did a really good job buying in and being on the same page.”

Bonduel scored the only points of the game when sophomore quarterback Noah Weier connected with senior Bennett Engel on an 11-yard touchdown. Junior Gaven Vance caught the subsequent two-point conversion.

Engel finished the homecoming game with 105 rushing yards, 23 receiving yards, a receiving touchdown and an interception.

“My offensive line did a great job blocking,” said Engel. “We saw their 4-4 defense, and it was just key for our inside trap.”

Engel added that the defense was able to pitch the shutout due in part to the defensive scheme.

“We tried a 3-5 defense this week, and our defensive line played fast and hard,” said Engel. “We switched up to blitzing one or two guys every time, and that seemed to put pressure on the quarterback, helping our coverage.”

The story of the game was the Bears’ defense as Clintonville threatened to score numerous times.

After a 24-yard rush by Clintonville senior quarterback Braiden Behnke late in the second quarter, the Truckers were set up with a first-and-10 from the Bonduel 13-yard line. Four penalties and two Bears’ sacks pushed the Truckers back to their own 27-yard line, setting up a fourth-and-60.

Penalties were a common theme for the Truckers as they finished with 12 penalties for 73 yards. Due to the penalties, Clintonville was forced to pass to make up yards, culminating in 162 passing yards from Behnke, junior Drake Lorge and freshman Sam Wegener.

The game came to its climax when Bonduel punted with 1:06 left in the fourth quarter.

Clintonville took over at Bonduel’s 48-yard line where Behnke connected with senior Cole Rosenow for 20 yards.

On the next play, Bonduel was called for a defensive pass interference penalty and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. This resulted in the Truckers with the ball at the Bonduel 6-yard line. The next play, Behnke ran in a touchdown, but Clintonville was once again called for a holding penalty.

Clintonville was then called for illegal motion and found itself with a first-and-goal from Bonduel’s 25-yard line. Behnke rolled left and threw a pass that was intercepted by Bonduel freshman Cade Johnson on the 1-yard line. The Bears took over with 10 seconds left and ran the clock out with a 1-yard run by Weier.

Westrich said that with a young team, like Bonduel, the team is learning to playing on the same page and building more effective communication.

Senior lineman Jon Sell, one of five seniors on the team, added that he has tried to act like a mentor and put himself into a leadership role.

“I feel like this is a family,” said Sell. “Someone has to lead them, but there is a group of us that stepped up. All that matters is that we step up in the big moments.”

Bonduel will qualify for the postseason after a forfeit win over Mishicot on Oct. 8.

As the Bears prepare for the final push before playoffs, Westrich said there were a couple of things that the team needed to do to be at their best.

“Offensively, we have to finish drives,” said Westrich. “We are doing a good job at executing, but we have to get more points on the board. Defensively, we have to have a relentless effort moving up field and being on the same page.”

Sell added to how Bonduel can be at their best.

“I think that we just have to get more intense,” said Sell. “We have to execute. We have had trouble finishing drives in the red zone. I feel like if we can finish our drives in the red zone, there isn’t a team that can stop us.”

Clintonville 0 0 0 0 — 0

Bonduel 8 0 0 0 — 8

First quarter

B: Bennett Engel 11-yard pass from Noah Weier (Gaven Vance pass from Weier), 3:11

lreimer@newmedia-wi.com