Hortonville shuts out Appleton East football in tight defensive battle
By Dustin Riese
For AppletonSportsPage.com
APPLETON – The 2024 football season has been an interesting one for Appleton East as it continues to be a work in progress.
After securing a pair of wins to open the season, the Patriots dropped their first conference game to Neenah last week and got blanked 42-0 in the process.
Looking for a rebound against Hortonville, it was the offense that struggled to get things going as the Polar Bears came into Appleton and secured their first win of the season, winning 6-0 on Friday night at Pickett Field.
East (2-2, 0-2 Fox Valley Association) has now gone two straight games without scoring and they are pushing 10 consecutive quarters without points going back to their 6-0 Week 2 win over Kettle Moraine.
“Just like the Kettle Moraine game, our defense gave us a chance to win this game,” Patriots head coach Mark Krommenacker said. “The stops they made in the second half were incredible, all the way to the last 10 seconds of the game. They had a great plan and they executed it. We once again just put ourselves into holes that we couldn’t dig out of on offense.”
This was one of those games where possessions would be at a premium as both teams like to run the ball and take time off the clock. It was evident early on from the Patriots as Kyreese White and Damian Fisher broke free for several big gains, with Fisher breaking loose for a 37-yard gain to move the ball into Hortonville territory.
A few plays later saw the Patriots closing in on the 5-yard line only to be turned away for a turnover on downs. Missed opportunities was the theme of the night for East as it had several chances to put points on the board only to come away empty.
With neither team coming away with points in the first quarter, it was the Polar Bears offense going to work to start the second. This proved to be the lone drive with points in the game.
AJ Pheifer and Levi Strange played a big role in that as their tough runs kept the chains moving and set the Polar Bears offense up in Patriots territory. That is when the passing game went to work as Pheifer hooked up with Grady Quick for 23 yards as Hortonville took a 6-0 lead with just over six minutes to go in the first half. The Polar Bears would miss the extra point.
As was the case throughout the first quarter, the Patriots had a chance to put points on the board late in the first half as a pair of big runs from Fisher and Alex Thompson moved the ball inside the Polar Bears 20 before they came away empty again.
The ground game continued to play a role in in the second half with Michael Morales breaking free for a big first down run only to have a penalty nullify what could’ve been a great opportunity for East. Had it not been for the Patriots defense and their ability to contain the Polar Bears offense, this one could’ve gotten out of hand quickly as things remained 6-0 midway through the third.
Krommenacker commended his defense.
“The defense has allowed six points in each of the last two home games,” he said. “I can’t say enough how impressed I am with those performances from the players and coaches. It’s fun to see them come together.”
Still searching for their first points of the game, East went to the air for a rare completion as Joshua Christiansen hauled in a massive reception to help move the ball near midfield. That was followed up by another nice run from White, but as was the case throughout the game, the Patriots came up empty and gave the ball back to Hortonville.
The theme continued throughout the fourth as the Patriots had no problems moving the ball, but instead had problems finishing drives as a pair of drives stalled on downs and a late interception sealed the win for Hortonville (1-3, 1-1 FVA).
“We have to find a way to sync up our offense and our defense playing well on the same night,” Krommenacker said. “Now we have an opportunity to come back and see who’s willing to use this as a way to learn and get better.”
Appleton East will be back at home next Friday, Sept. 20, against undefeated Kimberly (3-0, 2-0 FVA).
Click here to view the Fox Valley Association football standings & scoreboard
Polar Bears 6, Patriots 0
Hortonville 0 6 0 0 – 6
Appleton East 0 0 0 0 – 0
Second Quarter
H – Grady Quick 23 yard pass from AJ Pfiefer (run failed).
Individual Statistics
(Hortonville not reported)
Rushing: AE, Alex Thompson 9-74, Damian Fisher 15-68, Kyreese White 7-15, Brody Snyder 6-8, Brandon Moua 1-0.
Passing: AE, Thompson 2-9-39-1.
Receiving: AE, Joshua Christiansen 1-34, Fisher 1-5.