Xavier football prevails in defensive battle with Winneconne, advances in WIAA playoffs

AppletonSportsPage.com

APPLETON – The Xavier football team survived a slugfest with Bay Conference rival Winneconne, winning 14-3 in a WIAA Division 4 Level 2 playoff game Friday night at Rocky Bleier Field at Xavier High School.

After a scoreless first half, Xavier finally found pay dirt when Reid Hietpas hit Tyler Brightman for a 29-yard touchdown pass at the 8:29 mark of the third quarter. A.J. Seidler’s extra point made it 7-0.

Winneconne countered with a 23-yard field goal by Mason Dorn one minute into the fourth, but that would be all the Hawks’ stingy defense would allow.

Xavier, winners of 10 games in a row, tacked on an insurance touchdown late as Matthew Potter scored from the 3 to finish off the scoring.

In addition to his touchdown, Brightman picked off two Winneconne passes for the Xavier defense.

The Hawks were held to 203 total yards, 151 on the ground. Hietpas led the way with 83 yards and Potter was limited to 36 on 14 carries.

The No. 2 seed Xavier (10-1) will play a Division 4 Level 3 state quarterfinal at No. 1 seed Lodi (11-0) on Friday, Nov. 3, at 7 p.m. The winner advances to a D-4 semifinal against the winner of Baldwin-Woodville (9-2) and Somerset (6-5).

View the entire statewide Level 2 scoreboard here

Hawks 14, Wolves 3
Winneconne   0   0   0   3   –   3
Xavier   0   0   7   7   –   14
Third Quarter
X – Tyler Brightman 29 pass from Reid Hietpas (A.J. Seidler kick), 8:29.
Fourth Quarter
W – Mason Dorn 23 field goal, 11:00.
X – Matthew Potter 3 run (Seidler kick), 2:10.
Xavier Statistics
Rushing: Reid Hietpas 17-83, Matthew Potter 14-36, Isaiah Des Jardins 8-20, Evan McCormick 3-12.
Passing: Hieptas 2-6-52-0, Potter 0-1-0-0.
Receiving: Tyler Brightman 1-29, Des Jardins 1-23.
Records: Winneconne 7-4; Xavier 10-1.