Waupaca uses pounding running game to defeat Xavier football
By Paul Lecker
AppletonSportsPage.com
APPLETON – With an automatic playoff berth on the line, the Waupaca and Xavier football teams tried to match pounding running games in a battle of wills.
It was the Comets that prevailed, shutting down Xavier’s rushing attack and pulling away for a 34-15 victory Friday night at Rocky Bleier Field at Xavier High School.
Both teams will head into the WIAA playoffs. Waupaca (4-5, 4-3 Bay Conference) earned an automatic berth with the victory and will travel to La Crosse Logan for a Division 3 Level 1 game on Oct. 25. Xavier (5-4, 3-4 Bay Conference) was announced as an extra qualifier Saturday morning when the brackets were released and will host Little Chute for Division 4 Level 1 game next Friday.
Waupaca set the tone on the opening drive as quarterback Austin Adamczak and running back Xzavier Pittman combined for nine carries and 66 yards to reach the Xavier 6. Then the two hooked up for a 6-yard pass as Pittman crossed the goal line to put the Comets on top 7-0 after chewing up nearly five minutes of the opening quarter.
Xavier, which came into the game averaging 327 yards rushing per game, was unable to get much going on the ground, finishing with only two runs of more than 10 yards on its 41 attempts.
The Hawks was able to cash in some points after recovering fumble at Waupaca’s 42 late in the first quarter. The drive ended at the 15 and Ethan Bires booted a 32-yard field goal 57 seconds into the second quarter to make it 7-3.
Waupaca missed a field goal after a 75-yard drive stalled at the 10, but after a three-and-out, the Comets took over at the Xavier 38 and needed just six plays to find pay dirt again as Adamczak ran in from the 1 with 2:29 to go before halftime, giving them a 14-3 lead.
Xavier’s defense held after an interception and Waupaca missed another field goal, leaving the score at 14-3 going into halftime.
Waupaca put some distance between them and the Hawks in the third quarter. After forcing Xavier to punt, the Comets needed only six plays to go 69 yards as Pittman raced 43 yards for a touchdown on fourth-and-5 to make it 21-3.
Xavier put together a promising drive on its next possession, something that seemed necessary if it was to stay in the game. However, after reaching the red zone on 10 running plays and a big fourth-and-14 pass from Matthew Potter to Brendan Bruen to keep the drive alive, Waupaca forced a fumble and Owen Hansen scooped it up and raced 83 yards down the right sideline for a touchdown, breaking the backs of the Hawks.
Down 27-3, Xavier went to its passing game and Potter hit Cole Hietpas for a 73-yard touchdown and Jonah Gentry for an 18-yard TD strike in the fourth quarter, but it was too little, too late.
Adamczak’s 28-yard touchdown run in between the two Xavier scoring drives put the game away for the Comets.
Adamczak finished with 150 yards and Pittman with 146 on the ground for Waupaca.
Comets 34, Hawks 15
Waupaca 7 7 14 6 – 34
Xavier 0 3 0 12 – 15
First Quarter
W – Xzavier Pittman 6 pass from Austin Adamczak (Eric Hills kick), 7:11.
Second Quarter
X – Ethan Bires 32 field goal, 11:03.
W – Adamczak 1 run (Hills kick), 2:29.
Third Quarter
W – Pittman 43 run (Hills kick), 7:21.
W – Owen Hansen 83 fumble return (kick missed), 3:13.
Fourth Quarter
X – Cole Hietpas 73 pass from Matthew Potter (run failed), 9:47.
W – Adamczak 28 run (Hills kick), 7:19.
X – Jonah Gentry 19 pass from Potter (run failed), 5:47.
Team Statistics
First downs: W 15; X 12.
Rushing (att-yards): W 52-296; X 41-139.
Passing (comp-att-yards-int): W 5-7-77-0; X 8-18-144-1.
Total yards: W 373; X 283.
Fumbles (total-lost): W 1-1; X 1-1.
Penalties (no.-yards): W 4-45; X 4-35.
Punting (no.-avg.): W 1-42.0; X 2-31.5.
Individual Statistics
Rushing: W, Adam Adamczak 33-150, Xzavier Pittman 19-146. X, Matthew Potter 30-81, Cole Hietpas 7-46, Eli Mares 3-9, Jonah Gentry 1-3.
Passing: W, Adamczak 5-7-77-0. X, Potter 8-16-144-1, Mares 0-2-0-0.
Receiving: W, Westen Lauritzen 2-27, Pittman 2-11, Andre Hendrix 1-39. X, Hietpas 3-92, Brendan Bruen 2-23, Gentry 2-25, Finn Schanke 1-3.
Fumble recoveries (defense): W, Hansen. X, Osaze Fourniller.
Interceptions (defense): W, Ryder Vergauwen.
Records: Waupaca 4-5, 4-3 Bay Conference; Xavier 5-4, 3-4 Bay Conference.