Season terminates in a tearjerker

The conditions were inclement, the competition was inhospitable and the Port Washington High School football team nearly beat both in a 20-14 overtime playoff loss last Friday at Whitefish Bay.

The Pirates, down by a touchdown with 187 ticks left on the clock, needed to score to extend their season. Again.

Port had been here before. On a cool Oct. 22 night at home, the Pirates marched 65 yards through Wisconsin Lutheran’s defense, including converting on fourth and three, to score a touchdown and hang on for a 26-19 win.

This time, 56 yards stood between the Pirates and a tie game when they got the ball on their own 44-yard line after a 20-yard punt into a 22-mph wind and pouring rain.

“We all were confident. We all looked at each other and knew we could punch it in again,” senior wide receiver Patrick Lippe said.

Junior quarterback Nate Uselding and the offense went to work. A pass interference call helped extend the drive, and Port once faced fourth and nine.

Uselding found Matt Esselmann over the middle for a clutch play to keep their season alive.

On fourth and 15, it was Brady Fleischmann’s turn.

Uselding got the snap, dropped the ball, picked it up, scrambled to his right and launched a ball to his senior tailback. Fleischmann leaped, caught the ball, then landed on it at the 7-yard line, getting the wind knocked out of him after a 37-yard gain.

“It was awesome,” coach John Bunyan said.

But the Pirates weren’t home yet. They had no timeouts and were forced to throw. Three incomplete passes left them with one play and six seconds on the clock three yards from a touchdown.

“I gave a look to Nate and we were going to score on that play,” Lippe said.

Lippe made a quick step outside and cut to the middle. He was open in the back of the end zone, and Uselding found him with no time left.

“I was swelling up with tears. We did it, we were going to win this game,” offensive lineman Keegan Szydel, who blocked University of Wisconsin-Madison commit Joe Brunner most of the night, said.

Port first tried to go for two points for the win using its muddle — a mixed-up formation — but the match-up they wanted wasn’t there, Bunyan said. Esselmann instead kicked the extra point to tie the game.

In overtime, the Blue Dukes won the toss and elected to go second, which is what Bunyan said he would have done. Port started on Whitefish Bay’s 25-yard line, got a first down, then a penalty and had its drive fizzle.

On fourth and 12, a Blue Duke blocked Esselmann’s field goal attempt. The Pirates tackled the Blue Dukes before they could return the ball for a score.

In its turn on offense, Whitefish Bay got a first down, then eight more yards. From the 7-yard line, the Blue Dukes ran a reverse that scored and ended Port’s season.

“We played our butts off. We may have run out of gas a little bit in the fourth quarter, especially defensively,” Bunyan said. “Our guys stepped up, played in some nasty conditions. We were taking it to them for three quarters of the game.”

Port took a 7-0 lead in the second quarter on a seven-yard run by Fleischmann, capping a 14-play, 55-yard drive.

Lippe then ripped the ball away from a Blue Duke running back, and Kaiden Schumacher recovered, but Port couldn’t capitalize.

The wind was so extreme that it dictated how the game was played. Going against the wind at their own 15-yard line with 90 seconds left in the half, the Pirates took a knee three times.

They were to get the third-quarter kickoff but were going against the wind again. The wind-aided kick sailed through the end zone, a rarity in high school.

“It wasn’t always an advantage to get the ball,” Bunyan said. “If you don’t get a first down, you’ve got trouble.”

Port was forced to punt after a three and out and, Bunyan said, “the ball went backward.”

The Blue Dukes took over on Port’s 22-yard line — the same spot the Pirates punted from. They ended up missing a field goal but later scored to tie the game on a 15-yard pass.

After forcing another punt, the Blue Dukes broke open a 74-yard run to take the lead, setting up Port’s late heroics.

Uselding ran 15 times for 38 yards and Fleischmann ran 20 times for 34 and caught two balls for 34 yards. Lippe caught three for 29 yards and Esselmann had four grabs for 27 yards.

Uselding went 10-for-21 passing for 98 yards and a touchdown. Even going with the wind was difficult. Bunyan said a well-thrown fade ball carried 10 yards too far.

Port didn’t turn the ball over in the wind and on the wet turf, but eight penalties for 64 yards hurt.

The weather, Bunyan said, favored the Blue Dukes, who run the ball more than Port, which evenly split its running and passing.

“Our kids were confident. We were prepared. Everything was working out the way we wanted,” he said. “It just didn’t end up that way. It’s just a bummer.”

For Whitefish Bay, Nigel Cheeks ran 16 times for 123 yards and a score, and Dominic Barolone ran 16 times for 79 yards. Luke Wells went 5-for-6 passing for 61 yards and a touchdown.

The two teams knew each other well from Port’s time in the North Shore Conference. Port played the Blue Dukes tough recently, losing 21-14 in 2019 and 15-8 in 2018, both on the road.

The Blue Dukes, 9-2 and NSC champs, host Pewaukee (9-2) on Friday. No. 3-seeded Port would have hosted No. 5-seeded Pewaukee, which it beat at home Aug. 27, 15-8.

Port finished 7-4.