Day trip ends RLO’s season

A five-and-a-half-hour, 323-mile drive didn’t end the way the Random Lake/Ozaukee High School football team had hoped last Friday.

The No. 7-seeded Bison lost at No. 2-seeded Saint Croix Falls, 51-13, in a Division 5 playoff opener.

“They were significantly better. They had some pretty good athletes,” coach Cole Large said.

The Bison arrived in their coach bus about two hours before kickoff. Large said the journey didn’t affect his team’s play. The Bison played cards, watched TV and played the Madden NFL video game while bonding.

“I think they were all pretty fired up to get out of school. It seemed like a bonding experience for the team,” Large said. “We made the most out of the trip.”

Colton Dybul ran 23 times for 117 yards and two scores, and he caught two balls for 36 yards. Jeffrey Stefanich went 3-for-13 passing for 42 yards with two interceptions, and he ran eight times for 41 yards.

Dybul and Owen Uselding led the team in tackles with eight each. Jayce Karmasin and Jeffrey Stefanich each had six, and Cooper Arndt had five.

Murphy Brown made his third interception of the season on a tipped pass.

The Saints threw for 193 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. They ran 29 times for 203 yards.

A sizeble crowd came to cheer on the Bison via a fan bus and their own vehicles.

“We appreciate the fans,” Large said.

The Bison finished 5-5 and qualified for the playoffs for the first time as a co-op, one year after canceling the varsity season after a few games due to injuries. The 9-1 Saints host Watertown Luther Prep on Friday.

“It’s a step forward to where we want to be,” Large said. I think we set some lofty goals and went after them. I think they’ve got a lot more confidence because now they’ve seen the process of hitting them. We fell a little short of (some of) our goals. If you set high goals, that happens once in a while. You keep swinging up.”

The Bison don’t lose many seniors. Large lauded them for “sticking it out and keeping a positive attitude” through 0-9 and 1-7 seasons before this year.

As far as the long journey, the Bison figured out a solution.

“The way we don’t make that trip is have a better regular season and host this game,” Large said.

Upon returning to the bus, the Bison saw the would-be-game-ending double play of Game 1 of the World Series. Some players then turned their phones off and had to turn them back on to watch the Milwaukee Brewers get the final out after Tampa won a challenge on the out call at second.