With it being the last game of the season, Jeff Trochil wanted to see his Oconto Falls High School football team finish on a high note.
Denmark wanted to finish with a win as well.
The Vikings took advantage of an Oconto Falls turnover and scored back-to-back touchdowns in the second quarter. That, along with a strong defensive effort, helped Denmark down Oconto Falls 27-0 Friday in North Eastern Conference action at Dan Rider Field.
“The loss is disappointing, but the season was a good season,” Oconto Falls senior fullback/linebacker Austin Kowalczyk said. “We got our first win on varsity, so that is always good. The younger kids are going to step it up, so I think we feel pretty good about it.”
Oconto Falls coach Jeff Trochil called Denmark and Wrightstown the most physical teams in the conference.
“We had to play a perfect game to come out ahead tonight, and we did our best,” Trochil said.
Oconto Falls managed just 82 total yards and couldn’t get its offense on track.
“They’re tough up front and we had a hard time with that,” Trochil said. “We just didn’t find our groove. We tried a couple of different things and moved the ball a little bit.”
Oconto Falls (1-8, 0-8 North Eastern Conference) had a promising opening drive of the game as Connor Scray scampered for 19 yards to the Denmark 32. On fourth-and-1 from the 23, Sam Shroyer ran for nine yards to get to the 14. However, the drive started to go backwards. Facing a fourth-and-23 at the 27, Oconto Falls dialed up a fake punt and punter Mike Manns hit Michael VerVelde for 12 yards, but the Panthers were short of the first down and turned the ball over on downs.
On Oconto Falls’ second drive of the game, it was pinned back to the 2-yard line and forced to punt. A 23-yard kick left Denmark (3-6, 3-5 NEC) with great field position at the Oconto Falls’ 27. Four plays into the possession, Denmark quarterback Austin Bisbee took the ball 25 yards down the sideline for a touchdown. The score gave Denmark a 7-0 lead with 7:45 remaining in the first half.
On the ensuing kickoff, Denmark’s Wyatt Gezella recovered Shroyer’s fumble at the Oconto Falls 18. It took the Vikings just four plays to strike again. Facing a fourth-and-10 at the 18, Denmark dialed up a screen and Bisbee hit Zachary Pantzlaff, who made his way into the end zone.
The two touchdowns in a matter of two minutes, 12 seconds changed the complexion of the game.
“That kind of took a lot out of us, but we’ve been used to that. Usually going into halftime, we give up some cheap (scores),” Kowalczyk said. “We just can’t let all the cheap mistakes happen. You’ve just got to play until the whistle.”
“The turnover was a tough one to overcome,” Trochil said. “We were playing really good football at that point and gave them the field position. In a power football game like this with two run-orientated offenses, that was a big play. We would have liked to overcome that, but apparently that was a big turning point in the game.”
Coming out of halftime down by 14 points, Oconto Falls made a few adjustments offensively. However, the Panthers went three-and-out and punted.
Oconto Falls gave Denmark the ball at the Panthers’ 46 after a fake punt went awry. Bisbee added to his big game, scoring from 11 yards out with 2:54 left in the third quarter. It was his 14th rushing touchdown of the season.
Denmark added a fourth-quarter rushing touchdown by Matt VandenHeuvel.
Oconto Falls finished the season without scoring a single point in the fourth quarter in any of its eight North Eastern Conference games.
Manns was the top Oconto Falls rusher Friday with seven carries for 21 yards. Scray added 19 yards on six attempts. Scray and Manns combined to complete two passes on the night for 24 yards.
Denmark, which finished with 295 total yards, was led by Matt VandenHeuvel with 99 yards rushing on 19 carries. Bisbee added 97 yards on the ground on 16 runs. Bisbee was also 3-for-6 passing for 71 yards and a touchdown.
Five seniors played their final game in an Oconto Falls jersey. It meant a lot for Kowalczyk to be involved with coach Trochil and the program for four years.
“Throughout the year we had big numbers and you see them all dwindle out, but these people are the ones that really wanted to be here,” Kowalczyk said. “These are the ones that really cared about it.”
Trochil can’t say enough good things about the five seniors who showed so much dedication to the program.
“This is a very special group,” Trochil said. “For them to stick it out; this was their only win of their high school career at the varsity level. They did a great job in being the group that starts to get things turned. Granted it’s only one win, but for this program that one win is huge.
“I appreciate their leadership and the work they put in. I’m very proud of every one of those guys — they’re first-class people.”
DENMARK 27, OCONTO FALLS 0
Score by quarter
Oconto Falls 0 0 0 0 — 0
Denmark 0 14 7 6 — 27
Scoring Summary
Second quarter
D: Bisbee 25-yard run (PAT good) 7:45.
D: Pantzlaff 18-yard reception from Bisbee (PAT good) 5:33.
Third quarter
D: Bisbee 11-yard run (PAT good) 2:54.
Fourth quarter
D: VandenHeuvel 3-yard run (PAT missed) 8:55.
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