Kimberly holds off late two-point try to top Appleton North football

AppletonSportsPage.com

KIMBERLY – Appleton North and Kimberly always seem to play down to the wire in their annual Fox Valley Association football matchup, and the 2024 edition was no different.

Trailing 10-3 late, Appleton North scored on a 47-yard touchdown pass from Charlie Olson to Grant Hardy with 56 seconds to go, but the Lightning’s two-point attempt to potentially win it was stymied and Kimberly survived with a 10-9 win Friday night in the regular-season finale at Kimberly High School.

The Papermakers (7-1 overall) finish in a three-way tie for the FVA title, along with Neenah and Kaukauna, at 6-1. Appleton North ends the regular season 5-4 overall and 4-3 in the FVA. The two teams will matchup again in the playoffs as WIAA brackets were released Saturday morning. For the second year in a row, Appleton North will play a Level 1 Division 1 game at Kimberly.

Appleton North took an early 3-0 lead on a 27-yard field goal by Mason Skorstad, before Kimberly took advantage of an interception in Lightning territory. Three plays later Marcus Doucette scored from the 8 and the Papermakers led 7-3 early in the second quarter.

That score held until the fourth when Maddux Hermus kicked a 30-yard field goal to up Kimberly’s lead to 10-3.

North put together its best drive of the game on its last, taking over at its own 29 with 4:07 to go. Olson ran for 13 yards on fourth-and-10 to keep the drive alive near midfield. After three-straight incomplete passes, Olson connected with Hardy for the long TD on fourth down with just under one minute to go. The pass attempt for a two-point conversion and the lead failed and Kimberly was able to recover an onside kick and run the clock out.

Olson finished with 164 yards passing as North was held to just 206 total yards.

The Lightning’s defense was superb again, limiting Kimberly’s offense to only 220 total yards.

Papermakers 10, Lightning 9
Appleton North   3   0   0   6   –   9
Kimberly   0   7   0   3   –   10
First Quarter
AN – Mason Skorstad 27 field goal.
Second Quarter
K – Marcus Doucette 8 run (Maddux Hermus kick).
Fourth Quarter
K – Hermus 30 field goal.
AN – Grant Hardy 47 pass from Charlie Olson (pass failed).
Team Statistics
First downs: AN 11; K 13.
Rushing (att-yards): AN 21-42; K 38-170.
Passing (comp-att-yards-int): AN 14-26-164-2; K 5-12-52-0.
Total yards: AN 206; K 222.
Fumbles lost: AN 0; K 0.
Penalties (no.-yards): AN 5-35; K 5-50.
Individual Statistics
Rushing: AN, Charlie Olson 12-59, Bobby Salm 6-6, D.J. Wilson 1-0, Grant Hardy 1-minus 1. K, Marcus Doucette 14-81, Kegan Pleau 13-77, Braedon Ellefson 6-19, Brady Bell 2-0, Team 2-minus 2, Carter Howard 1-minus 5.
Passing: AN, Olson 14-25-164-2, Hardy 0-1-0-0. K, Ellefson 5-12-52-0.
Receiving: AN, Hardy 4-64, Caden Prince 3-30, Michael Guido 2-32, Keegan Muchow 2-14, Ben Wenzel 1-16, Wilson 1-5, Jack Kangas 1-3. K, Howard 3-37, Aaron Cullen 2-15.
Interceptions (defense): K, Trent Dunk, Landen VanOfferen.
Records: Appleton North 5-4, 4-3 Fox Valley Association; Kimberly 7-1, 6-1 Fox Valley Association.