Shawano football team unable to finish off win against Xavier

Visitors score final 20 points during homecoming game

The Shawano Community High School football team looked to be in a great position to pick up a massive Bay Conference win over Xavier on Sept. 25 in Shawano, but the visitors scored 20 unanswered fourth-quarter points to claim a 27-20 victory.

Shawano took a 14-7 lead into the final quarter and then upped its lead to 20-7 after senior quarterback Carson Popp hit senior Jacob Polzin for a 31-yard touchdown pass on a fourth-down play.

The host’s defense then forced the visitors into a fourth-and-7 play, but a 31-yard pass play kept the drive alive, and Xavier scored on the next play to cut it to a seven-point game again.

Shawano’s offense then had its chance to try and put the game away, but were eventually forced to punt. Xavier then put together a 12-play, 80-yard drive capped by a rushing touchdown with a minute-and-a-half to play. The visitors went for two to try and take the lead and succeeded. The touchdown run and two-point conversions were both quarterback sneak plays.

A holding penalty put Shawano’s offense in a second-and-20 situation on the ensuing drive, and Xavier jumped a pass and returned the interception for another score. The two-point conversion try failed, so Shawano only trailed by seven and had one last chance.

This time a sack put Shawano in a second-and-long situation before another interception sealed the game.

Coach Al Tomow noted that a few key plays in each game typically decide conference games because of the parity of the Bay.

“We had a couple of fourth-down spots where we couldn’t get off the field (defensively) and obviously the two-point conversion to go ahead,” said Tomow. “And then on the flip side, we took a loss when we had five minutes left (when on offense). We had a broken play and we lost yards and it put us behind the chains. Then we weren’t able to take as much time off the clock.”

“It just came down to we let them make plays,” said Shawano junior Ashton Henning. “We weren’t able to keep moving the ball and getting first downs to really shut them out and end the game for us.”

The loss was the third straight for Shawano, which now has an uphill climb to make the postseason. Shawano slipped to 2-4 overall and 1-3 in the Bay with three Bay opponents remaining.

Guaranteeing a spot in the postseason comes with a .500 record in conference, so Shawano cannot lose another game.

“We just gotta realize that we have to put our foot down now, there’s no more room for losing,” said senior Andrew Popp, who added the team needs to keep its energy up for entire games. “If we want to make the playoffs, we have to win three in a row.”

Shawano’s goal coming into the game was to shut down Xavier’s rushing attack and force the visitors to throw the ball more than they wanted to. The hosts, who celebrated homecoming this week, were able to accomplish the gameplan.

Shawano started the game with the ball and marched right down the field for a quick 7-0 lead. Carson Popp found Henning for a 20-yard touchdown pass to cap the drive.

Shawano’s defense then forced a three-and-out, thanks in large part to a tackle for loss by senior Jackson Smits on a third-down run.

The host’s offense then put together a 91-yard touchdown drive to extend the lead. A 38-yard pass from Carson Popp to junior Jacob Landon sparked the drive before senior Kadin Ihrcke and Andrew Popp powered the team down the field. Henning caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from Carson Popp to end that drive.

Xavier responded with its lone first-half score before the teams traded several punts before halftime. The theme continued in the third quarter before Carson Popp hit Polzin to put the hosts up two scores again early in the fourth.

Xavier 0 7 0 20 — 27

Shawano 14 0 0 6 — 20

First quarter

S: Ashton Henning 20-yard pass from Carson Popp (Henning kick), 9:48

S: Henning 10-yard pass from Popp (Henning kick), 0:26

Second quarter

X: Nate Twombly 31-yard run (A.J. Seidler kick), 10:46

Fourth quarter

S: Jacob Polzin 31-yard pass from Popp (kick failed), 11:00

X: Twombly 11-yard run (kick failed), 8:23

X: Twombly 4-yard run (Twombly run), 1:30

X: Isaiah Des Jardins 20-yard interception return (run failed), 0:55

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