Once again, the Bonduel Bears run game dominated, this time on a rainy night at Shawano Community High School in the WIAA Division 5 Level One playoffs.
Blake Stoss led the Bears in rushing with 122 yards Friday, but Preston Robaidek and Jacob Banker were not far behind, with 83 and 82 yards, respectively, in a 34-14 victory over Kewaunee.
After Bonduel’s offensive line and running backs had imposed their will, the play-action pass worked wonders on the Storm defense, creating two deep touchdown passes, a 66-yard strike to Robaidek in the third quarter and a 60-yard score to Brandon Olsen in the fourth quarter to seal the game.
“Guys are going to be open. You just have to give the quarterback time to throw,” Bonduel head coach James Westrich said. “If they are going to send that many people, and we block our people and seal our gaps, guys should be open. Trevor (Pedersen) did a good job of putting it out there where our receivers could run under it and make plays. He gave our receivers chances to make plays on the ball.”
Kewaunee’s Noah Kleiman took a big hit late in the third quarter from the Bonduel defense, causing him to miss two plays, before coming back in and orchestrating a touchdown drive to pull the Storm within two scores going into the final quarter.
The gutsy quarterback finished the game with nine completions for 142 yards and two touchdowns, both to junior wide receiver Mitch Kudick. The Storm, however, ended the game with just 112 total yards, a testament to the Bonduel defense.
“They aren’t a flashy group of guys,” Kewaunee head coach Kurt Flaten said about his team. “They grind games out.”
Any time the Storm (5-4) would seem to grab any momentum in the game, Bonduel’s defense responded. Robaidek stopped one drive when he intercepted a pass at the 1-yard line with less than a minute remaining in the first half. And when Bonduel (8-2) fumbled a punt and turned the ball over on downs at its 35-yard line, Brandon Olsen stole back the momentum with an interception on the Storm’s next play.
“I challenged (the defense) this week,” Westrich said. “I thought they played a lot better, but there’s things we have to secure up and stuff like that. I loved the physical nature they had, their attitude. They didn’t get down when we had a turnover. They are just ready to play the next play, and they are doing a good job. Hopefully they can continue keep getting better.”
The third-seeded Bears, who finished the game with 349 total yards, will travel to No. 2 Southern Door on Friday for Level Two playoffs.
“They are a 2 seed for a reason, so we need to make sure we have a good week of practice,” Westrich said. “And when we go up there, we need to make sure we execute.”
BONDUEL 34, KEWAUNEE 14
Kewaunee 0 0 14 0 — 14
Bonduel 7 6 14 7 — 34
First quarter
B: Robaidek 62-yard run (PAT good) 2:11.
Second quarter
B: Ballestad 35-yard catch from Pedersen (conversion no good) 4:48.
Third quarter
B: Stoss 5-yard run (conversion good) 10:14.
K: Kudick 9-yard catch from Kleiman (PAT good) 5:01.
B: Robaidek 66-yard catch from Pedersen (PAT no good) 4:13.
K: Kudick 24-yard catch from Kleiman (PAT good) 0:11.
Fourth quarter
B: Brandon Olsen 60-yard catch from Pedersen (PAT good) 6:34.
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