Appleton North football holds off Fond du Lac to remain unbeaten
AppletonSportsPage.com
FOND DU LAC – A pair of missed extra points by Fond du Lac proved crucial as the Appleton North football team was able to squeak out a 21-19 win over the Cardinals in the Fox Valley Association opener for both teams on Thursday night at Fond du Lac High School.
Appleton North was able to forge ahead 21-6 after scoring one touchdown in each of the first three quarters.
Quarterback Luke Kritzer threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Abraham Tomori in the first quarter and a 15-yarder to Brock Arndt in the third, while running back Jack Robinson scampered in from the 18 in the second quarter.
Fond du Lac put up two touchdowns in the fourth quarter on runs of 66 yards and 1 yard by quarterback Conner Klapperich, but missed extra points on the first two touchdowns for the Cardinals left them two points short.
Fond du Lac outgained North 285-269 and each team had 15 first downs in the tightly-contested game.
Kritzer finished with 177 yards passing, 63 to Tomori on five completions, and ran for 38 yards for the Lightning, who are now 3-0 overall and 1-0 in the FVA.
Appleton North hosts Oshkosh West (2-1, 0-1 FVA) next Friday, Sept. 8, at 7 p.m.
Lightning 21, Cardinals 19
Appleton North 7 7 7 0 – 21
Fond du Lac 6 0 0 13 – 19
First Quarter
AN – Abraham Tomori 13 pass from Luke Kritzer (Mason Skorstad kick).
F – Braden Bingen 6 run (PAT failed).
Second Quarter
AN – Jack Robinson 18 run (Skorstad kick).
Third Quarter
AN – Brock Arndt 15 pass from Kritzer (Skorstad kick).
Fourth Quarter
F – Conner Klapperich 66 run (PAT failed).
F – Klapperich 1 run (Halden Krueger kick).
Team Statistics
First downs: Appleton North 15; Fond du Lac 15.
Rushing (att-yards): AN 30-92; F 25-169.
Passing (comp-att-yards-int): AN 18-27-177-0; F 13-27-116-2.
Total yards: AN 269; F 285.
Fumbles (total-lost): AN 0-0; F 0-0.
Penalties (no.-yards): AN 3-25; F 4-20.
Individual Statistics
Rushing: AN, Luke Kritzer 16-38, Jack Robinson 9-38, Tyson Salm 4-3, Bobby Salm 1-3. F, Connor Klapperich 18-125, Jeremiah McGee 6-38, Braden Bingen 1-6.
Passing: AN, Kritzer 18-27-177-0. F, Klapperich 13-27-116-2.
Receiving: AN, Abraham Tomori 5-63, Brayden Hechel 4-34, Caden Prince 3-23, Michael Guido 3-23, Robinson 2-19, Brock Arndt 1-15. F, Conor Johnson 6-41, Max Mengel 3-56, Timmy Harry 2-16, Caden Umentum 1-2, Zach Koehler 1-1.
Interceptions (defense): AN, Christian Pride, Jabari Hammond.
Records: Appleton North 3-0, 1-0 Fox Valley Association; Fond du Lac 0-3, 0-1 Fox Valley Association.