Gillett Secondary School senior Monte Noffke continued his scorching scoring run in the Tigers’ 49-7 victory against visiting Tigerton/Marion on Thursday.
The 5-foot-8, 165-pound halfback scored two rushing touchdowns to give him seven TDs in the first two games.
Noffke scored five touchdowns in the season-opening 62-0 win Friday at Lakeland Union High School in Minocqua.
“I think that added strength has allowed him to break away. He is going to be the workhorse this year,” Gillett coach Rick Kamps said.
Noffke scored twice in the second quarter Thursday on 3-yard runs. He finished with 84 yards on nine carries, raising his rushing total to 263 in two games.
Senior running back Matt Peterson started the Tigers’ charge 20 seconds into the game with a 25-yard touchdown run. He added a second touchdown with less than 4 minutes remaining in the half on a 4-yard run. Peterson had four carries for 66 yards.
Kamps said he was pleased with the Tigers’ well-balanced attack, which has scored 111 points in two games.
“I think I like our balance, that we can go to four or five different guys,” Kamps said.
Three Tigers running backs rushed for more than 40 yards on the ground: Noffke, Peterson and Brett Milhans, who had 44 yards on four carries.
Senior Alex Zeitler led the Tigers’ passing attack with four completions for 91 yards, including a 38-yard touchdown toss to senior Akeem Bates early in the second quarter, and ran 18 yards for another TD.
“Alex is a great leader out there under center and keeps everybody on the same page. He audibled tonight,” Kamps said. “He is smart enough to recognize defenses now.”
Noffke credited his team for maintaining the aggressive style of play it exhibited in the blowout victory last week.
“Everybody came to play today,” Noffke said. “We never let up and just kept going.”
Tigerton/Marion coach Mark Fredy knew the Thundercats would be challenged by Gillett (2-0) and Noffke.
“I remember him from last year and he was very elusive,” Fredy said.
Despite the Thundercats’ loss, Fredy said his team has made progress since the 53-0, season-opening loss to Manawa.
“We made some strides, we are not where we need to be, but we will continue to get better as the year goes on,” he said.
Tigerton/Marion (0-2) marched down to the red zone late in the game but coughed up a fumble, leading to an 80-yard touchdown by senior defensive back Evan Bubolz.
The Thundercats scored their sole touchdown late in the game on a 1-yard touchdown run by Donald Beechy. Beechy had 87 yards on 17 carries.
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