Pounding the rock leads to victory

The Grafton High School football team played out its motto at Pewaukee last Friday.
“As a program we’ve really embraced ‘Pound the rock,’ and this game really exemplified that,” coach Jim Norris said.
The phrase, he said, means “Keep pounding the ball on offense, keep chipping away on defense All you do is grab your hammer and swing as hard as you can every single play.
“We kept swinging and it broke.”
The break came from sophomore quarterback Chase Norton, who scampered 44 yards for a touchdown with less than 90 seconds left in the game that gave the Black Hawks a 13-9 victory.
The play was a designed run that has a couple of variations. Offensive coordinator Luke Menzel called the play at the right time, which had Norton reading the linebacker in determining what to do with the ball. He even fooled his own coach.
“I thought the running back had the ball and then I see Chase down the field,” Norris said.
Norton traveled behind Justin O’Bryant and Nathan Skeeba on the right side of the line.
“He was untouched. It was pretty sweet,” Norris said.
Pewaukee took a 6-0 lead in the first quarter on a Kris Johnson 60-yard run.
The Hawks answered in the second with a six-yard touchdown catch by Dominic Voiland, who had 10 grabs for 61 yards in the game. Grafton was up,  7-6, at halftime.
The Pirates took a 9-7 lead on a 32-yard field goal by Nick Dettlaff with less than a minute to play in the third quarter.
While the Hawks’ defense allowed 226 yards rushing, they only allowed 60 passing yards and again held its opponent to less than 10 points.
“They’re the staple of our team and what we do,” Norris said, highlighting linebacker Kenny Likins as the “heart and soul of this team.”
The other linebackers — Preston Bonk, Andrew Ribecky and Andrew Ovsepyan — have also played well, Norris said, and he credited the scout team for helping them prepare for the game.
Ovsepyan had eight tackles and a sack, and Likins had seven tackles.
J.P. Benzschawel, recruited to play offensive line by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, also plays defensive end for the Hawks. He had two sacks and four tackles to lead several rotating players on the defensive line, Norris said.
Voiland, who also plays defensive back, made an interception.
Norton went 13-for-23 passing for 70 yards with a touchdown and interception.
Running back Canon Pfaff had 85 yards rushing on 24 carries. Norton ended with 75 yards and a score on 11 carries.
For Pewaukee, Johnson had 96 yards and a touchdown on eight carries. Quarterback Logan Dobberstein went 6-for-15 passing for 60 yards and an interception.
On Friday, Grafton (2-0) hosts New Berlin West, which beat Port Washington, 19-6, on Sept. 25 and lost to Wauwatosa East, 10-7, last week.