Peshtigo controlled the ball and held the high-scoring Gillett High School football team without a point in the second half en route to a 14-13 win Friday in both teams’ Marinette & Oconto Conference regular season finale.
The loss dropped Gillett (7-2, 5-2 M&O) into a three-way tie for second place with Peshtigo and Crivitz, behind Coleman in the conference’s final standings. All four teams qualified for the WIAA playoffs, which open Friday.
The Tigers struck first at Peshtigo on a 40-yard touchdown run by senior halfback Monte Noffke. Matt Peterson added a 2-yard score with 3:28 remaining in the first half, but the second half belonged to Peshtigo, which had the ball for 28 minutes and 26 seconds of the game.
The Bulldogs (5-4, 5-2 M&O) pulled within six in the third quarter when quarterback Justin Thill connected with Jake Romenesk on an 11-yard strike in the end zone. Thill tied the game on a 3-yard run with 4:35 remaining, and Jake Jagielski kicked the decisive extra point.
Thill rushed for 74 yards and one touchdown on 12 carries. He also completed 18 of 28 pass attempts for 162 yards and a TD. Kyle Gokey had 92 yards on 25 carries, and Romenesk had 63 yards receiving on five receptions.
Peshtigo’s defense held junior quarterback Alex Zeitler to one completion on eight attempts for 21 yards and tagged him for his second interception of the season.
“He was being pressured all night, but he is still a great quarterback,” Gillett coach Rich Kamps said.
It was the first time all season Gillett did not score in the second half.
Noffke accounted for 105 of Gillett’s 118 rushing yards on 22 carries. He finished the season with 1,289 rushing yards and scored 27 touchdowns in eight regular season games. He missed one game due to an injury.
Kamps said Noffke’s statistics speak for themselves.
“He is having one of those special seasons for a high school kid; not much else you can say about it,” Kamps said. “He led our conference in points (102).”
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