Black Hawks’ comeback falls short in Plymouth

A back-and-forth game that came down to the final drive saw the Plymouth High School football team make enough key plays on senior night in the regular season finale to hang on to beat Grafton, 28-21.

The Panthers outscored the Black Hawks, 14-0, in the fourth quarter, first on a 10-yard run, then with 87 seconds left on a six-yard run, both by Cole Kuhn.

The Hawks drove 53 yards to the Panthers’ 22-yard line in less than a minute in trying for the tying score, but Hunter Klippel got sacked for a loss of six yards. On the next play, Klippel was pressured and threw an interception with 12 seconds to play.

For Grafton, seniors Jack Nelson, Hudson Miller and Jason Grunwaldt stood out.

Nelson made a one-handed catch on the run early in the first quarter and sped down the left sideline untouched 70 yards for a touchdown. In the third quarter, he caught a 17-yard pop pass all alone in front of the left pylon that gave Grafton a 21-14 lead.

Nelson finished with three catches for 104 yards and two scores, and 17 runs for 63 yards.

“They came up with the big score and we’ve just gotta learn how to respond. This group’s young and we just haven’t hit that growth yet,” Nelson said.

Miller made 15 tackles, including 12 solo, and 1.5 sacks, and he forced a fumble. He also caught two passes for 26 yards and a touchdown, improvising his pass route to give a scrambling Klippel a target.

“You put me in a situation, I’m going to try my best to help. That’s sacrificing my body to get other people in the spot. I want everybody to succeed. I don’t want anybody down about what they’re doing. That’s where I take my leadership. Today was my day,” Miller said.

“He’s a captain for a reason. He balls and he fights his ass off everyday,” coach Jim Norris said.

Grunwaldt had a team-high 17 tackles, including nine solo and three for losses.  Luke Benter recovered a fumble.

The Hawks struggled to tackle Kuhn all night. He ran 38 times for 313 yards and four touchdowns. The rest of the Panther’s offense had 81 yards.

Klippel went 9-for-16 for 179 yards with three scores and two interceptions.

Local teams in three blowouts

Undefeated Port Washington had its starters out by halftime in a 41-7 win at winless West Bend East.

That sealed the inaugural Glacier Trails Conference title outright for the Pirates.

“The last time we got one was three years ago, and I was a freshman thinking of getting one when I was on varsity,” senior Kiya Sullivan said of the league title. “So that dream coming true means a lot.”

Jack Bunyan went 13-for-19 passing for 237 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. Aedyn Brownmiller had two catches for 72 yards and two scores. Kade Kintop caught four balls for 53 yards. Sullivan caught two for 42 yards and a touchdown, and Eyob Sullivan caught two passes for 28 yards and a score.

Port running back Mason Schwanz could have played, but coaches sat him with a tweaked ankle to get rest for the playoffs.

Austin Knapp had nine tackles. LeRoy Pinkston and Eyob Sullivan each had five.

Sullivan made an interception. Gio Jacque and Evan Ernisse each forced a fumble, and Zeke Rico and Lincoln Wood each recovered one.

“We really took it to them. They were undersized and they struggled with some things. We executed what we wanted to do, and they struggled tackling,” coach John Bunyan said.

Final Glacier Trails Conference standings: Port Washington, 7-0; West Bend West, 6-1; Plymouth, 5-2; Grafton, 4-3; Kettle Moraine Lutheran, 2-5; Kewaskum, 2-5; Nicolet, 2-5; West Bend East, 0-7.

CG-Belgium posts another shutout

Cedar Grove-Belgium cruised, 35-0, at Reedsville, which was still fighting for a playoff spot. It was the Rockets’ fourth straight shutout.

Austin Knapp (no relation to Port’s player) ran 15 times for 134 yards and a score. Alex Geib ran seven times for 42 yards. Griffin Knight ran four times for 37 yards and two scores. Quarterback Evan Halleman, who was battling the flu, had a one-yard plunge for a score. The Rockets had 35 carries for 316 yards, averaging nine yards per carry.

Nolan Anzia and RJ Griffin each had nine tackles. Josh Anzia had seven and Gavin Aponte had six. The defense held the  Panthers to 21 yards on 26 rushes, and 107 yards passing, about half of which came on one play. Noah Peterson had four touchbacks on six kickoffs.

“It was a good warmup before the playoffs. They were a better team than what we saw the last two weeks,” coach Dan Schreurs said.

Hilbert runs over RLO

Random Lake/Ozaukee didn’t fare well on the road against Hilbert’s strong running game in a 42-0 loss. The Wolves ran 26 times for 345 yards, averaging 13.3 yards per carry, and six touchdowns. They didn’t complete a pass.

Colton Dybul ran 10 times for 77 yards for the Bison, and he made six tackles. Owen Uselding forced a fumble and Jeffrey Stefanich and Murphy Brown each recovered one.

A couple of Bison were either out sick or playing through illness, but coach Cole Large said “we didn’t perform very well.”

Final Big East Conference standings: Manitowoc Lutheran, 7-0; Cedar Grove-Belgium, 6-1; Hilbert, 5-2; Oostburg, 4-3; Random Lake/Ozaukee, 3-4; Reedsville, 2-5; Howards Grove, 1-6; Mishicot, 0-7.

Playoffs for all four teams start Friday, Oct. 23.