It wasn’t the way Al Tomow drew it up.
The Shawano Community High School football team lost to Bay Conference foe Hortonville 52-0 in Tomow’s debut as head coach Friday at the school.
“I’m disappointed it got away from us a little quicker than we were expecting,” Tomow said. “We made some mistakes, mentally, that put our defense in a tough spot.”
Four of Hortonville’s drives started in Shawano territory, including one at Shawano’s 15-yard line following a fumble by quarterback Cole Huntington.
Shawano fell behind 14-0 on a pair of first-quarter touchdowns by Alex Lasinski, on a 47-yard run and a 40-yard punt return.
Following a Huntington interception in the second quarter, Lasinski, a 5-foot-10, 174-pound senior, once again found the end zone, this time from 45 yards out.
After Hortonville quarterback Andrew Thompson found Mitch Lillge for a 7-yard touchdown, Lasinski would add an 11-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to put the Polar Bears up 35-0 by halftime.
“Their running back, he’s a special player,” Tomow said. “And their quarterback, Thompson, he throws the football real well. They’re well coached and they’re very good.”
In the second half, Hortonville kicker Taylor Pahl nailed a 26-yard field goal and Thompson found Mitch Gerhartz for a 24-yard touchdown. Gerhartz would later punch in a touchdown from one yard out in the fourth quarter to end the scoring.
Lasinski finished the game with 118 yards on 12 carries and four touchdowns. Thompson, a 6-foot-1, 175-pound senior, completed eight of 12 pass attempts for 115 yards and two touchdowns.
Huntington (6-foot-2, 175-pound junior) finished completed six of his 18 passes for 34 yards passing. He had an interception and a fumble. He also rushed for 45 yards on nine carries. Receiver Brice Bergner, a 5-foot-9, 165-pound senior, caught four passes for 12 yards.
“We need to find ways to get Brice Bergner the football,” Tomow said. “They were keying on him all night. I told him that’s a compliment. Now we have to find ways to be creative to make sure he has the impact that we know he’s capable of having.”
Despite the lopsided score, Tomow said he was proud of the way the team stuck together and continued to play.
“We’re playing a lot of guys a lot younger and a lot earlier than we would have hoped, or ideally, but I’m really proud of them and I’m really happy that they didn’t quit,” Tomow said.
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