Almond-Bancroft High School’s high-pressure defense and a prolific running game were too much for Gillett to handle as the Tigers lost 46-19 in a WIAA Division 7 Level 2 football playoff game Friday.
Playing at home, the Eagles took Gillett running back Monte Noffke out of the equation early in the game, holding the senior to 25 yards on six carries in the first half and 83 yards — about half his average — on 21 carries in the game.
“He had a big game against Wild Rose last week and defensively we wanted to keep him contained,” Almond-Bancroft coach Andrew Bradley said. “He is a really good running back, but our defense did a really nice job.”
Noffke had 319 yards rushing and four touchdowns in the Level 1 playoff victory against Wild Rose on Oct. 24 and 1,691 yards and 31 touchdowns on 228 carries in 10 games this season.
Junior quarterback Alex Zeitler was sacked four times in the first half Friday but was able to keep Noffke in the game, throwing to him five times for 40 yards.
Almond-Bancroft (10-1, 4-1 Central Wisconsin Conference-10) led 12-0 after the first period on a 10-yard TD run by sophomore quarterback Wyatt Richtmyre and a 15-yarder by junior Austin Bunders.
Zeitler connected with senior running back Matt Peterson on a 13-yard score as the Tigers made it 12-7 in the second quarter, but Almond-Bancroft running back Reegan Anderson scored on 24- and 2-yard runs to give the Eagles a 26-7 halftime lead.
Anderson, who finished with 277 yards rushing, scored twice again in the second half, on runs of 6 and 1 yards, the latter coming early in the fourth quarter and giving Almond-Bancroft a 40-7 lead.
“He is a hard runner. We did not tackle him very well and gave up a couple of easy runs,” Kamps said.
Jesse Hunkins added Almond-Bancroft’s final touchdown on a 25-yard score in the final quarter and had 98 total yards rushing on six carries.
With the Tigers’ vaunted running game sputtering, Gillett (8-3, 5-2 Marinette & Oconto Conference) made some adjustments at halftime.
“They were stuffing our inside run, so we had to get to the outside, and we were able to do that in the second half,” Kamps said.
“I had to call audibles at the line of scrimmage,” Zeitler said. “They were adjusting to our strong side.”
The junior quarterback completed 17 of 24 passes for 152 yards, and scored Gillett’s final two touchdowns on runs of 1 and 2 yards. He was sacked six times in the game.
“He handled it well,” Kamps said. “I think he showed people that he is the best quarterback in our league. I have said that all year.
“Alex is a great leader, great kid, positive kid and is the kid that drives the bus and makes throws and great plays.”
Despite the loss, Kamps was upbeat about the team’s success this season, including the Tigers’ first playoff win in school history.
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