On paper, a Bay Conference football matchup between teams with a combined 2-4 record doesn’t sound like an exciting way to spend three hours on a Friday night.
However, fans attending New London’s thrilling 42-41 win over Shawano in New London ended up getting their money’s worth, as the teams combined for 12 touchdowns and 83 points.
Although Shawano scored on all three of its offensive possessions in the first half and held a 34-13 lead early in the third quarter, the Hawks gave the Bulldogs a short field twice in the second half with fumbles and New London scored each time.
Turnovers and penalties ended up making a difference down the stretch, coach Alan Tomow said.
“Offensively, we did a nice job,” he said. “We ran the ball really, really well for the first 3 1/2 quarters. They couldn’t stop us. Then, we started putting the ball on the ground, and I’m really disappointed by that. We talk about protecting the ball, and we go through that in practice. The penalties started to hurt, too. It’s not the penalties, it’s the inopportune times they happen. We’re trying to salt the game away.”
The Hawks took a 7-0 lead less than four minutes into the game after Micah Welander picked up the ball after a New London fumble and returned it 44 yards.
New London tied the game on its next possession, as Josh Batten capped an 81-yard drive with a 2-yard quarterback keeper.
Austin Heling set up Shawano’s second score on the team’s next drive with a 44-yard run to set the Hawks up at the 2-yard line. Marcus Brezgel gave the Hawks the lead with a 6-yard run with just over a minute to go in the first quarter.
The game’s next drive also ended in a touchdown, as Batten connected with Braxton Walzer for a 45-yard scoring pass. The Bulldogs failed on a two-point conversion and trailed 14-13 with 9:17 remaining in the first half.
Shawano added two more touchdowns before halftime. Elijah Senft’s 32-yard run helped set up Brezgel’s 25-yard touchdown run and after the Bulldogs turned the ball over on downs, Tristan Lawe found Nolan Kleinschmidt for a 23-yard pass play with 5.7 seconds left that gave the Hawks a 27-13 lead.
A personal foul penalty on Shawano with no time on the clock gave the Bulldogs another opportunity with a first down at the Shawano 26-yard line, but Batten’s pass to the end zone was intercepted out of bounds.
Shawano took its biggest lead – 34-13 – less than two minutes into the third quarter on Lawe’s 39-yard quarterback keeper.
New London answered on its first drive of the second half on Batten’s 1-yard run that cut the lead to 34-19.
Evan Feldcamp recovered Heling’s fumble to set the Bulldogs up at the Shawano 23-yard line, and Batten found Austin Tetzke for a 23-yard touchdown pass that made it 34-27 after Batten added the 2-point conversion with a run.
Shawano’s next drive ended with the first and only punt of the game but soon had the ball at its own 46-yard line after a New London fumble. Heling capped the drive with a 5-yard run and the Hawks had a 41-27 lead with 8:01 to go in the game.
Heling’s extra point turned out to be the final point of the game for Shawano, as the Bulldogs scored 15 unanswered points.
Batten’s 22-yard touchdown pass to Chase Marquardt and Batten’s 2-point conversion run trimmed Shawano’s lead to 41-35 with 4:17 remaining on the clock.
Shawano started its next drive at its 32-yard line, and New London used all three of its timeouts. Another fumble gave the Bulldogs the ball at the Shawano 32-yard line, Batten found the end zone on a 5-yard run with 1:28 remaining to tie the game at 41-41, and the Bulldogs took their first lead on Logan Grundy’s extra point.
Shawano took over at its own 41-yard line with 1:22 remaining and all three of its timeouts.
A pair of 3-yard losses forced a third-and-16 play. Lawe’s 11-yard pass to Senft made it fourth and 6 and after a delay of game penalty, his pass to Heling fell incomplete and the Hawks turned the ball over on downs with 30 seconds to go.
“At halftime, we talked about how coming out and going up three scores was going to do big things for us,” Tomow said. “We got up three scores, but we can’t give up three-score leads in the second half. We made a lot of mistakes tonight and let New London get back in the game.
“We turn the ball over and give them a short field and the same thing at the end of the game. It’s super disappointing, and I wish we could blame one thing. It hurts the kids, and it hurts the coaches. It’s about as close to a must-win game. We really had to have this one tonight. Every point, every first down, every stop matters. They made one more play than us.”
Nolan Kleinschmidt picks up yardage for Shawano in the Hawks’ 42-41 loss to New London. (Greg Seubert)
Shawano’s Austin Heling takes a pitch from quarterback Tristan Lawe during the second half of a Bay Conference football game at Bulldog Stadium in New London. (Greg Seubert)
New London’s Cory Brooker holds Shawano’s Elijah Senft to a short gain. (Greg Seubert)
