Red zone breakdowns costly in otherwise solid performance

WEBSTER 8, RIB LAKE-PRENTICE 6

SPORTS Turnovers were the difference last October when the Rib Lake-Prentice Hawks lost a 20-14 overtime thriller in Webster and turnovers stood out again Friday in the rematch in Prentice, which the Tigers won 8-6 in the first Lakeland Conference game of the fall for both squads.

The final nail in Rib Lake-Prentice’s demise was the team’s fourth lost fumble of the game, which occurred on a lastminute drive that had gotten inside Webster’s 5-yard line.

The Hawks did get a stop and got the ball back with enough time to run two desperation plays before time expired but those prayers were not answered.

Rib Lake-Prentice held a commanding 278-148 advantage in total yardage, but the 4-2 edge the Tigers had in turnover differential loomed larger.

“We kind of controlled the game on offense,” Hawks’ co-head coach Jonah Campbell said. “I think we were down in the red zone on pretty much every drive. We had quite a few fourth-down conversions and then every time we didn’t convert it was either in the red zone or we had a turnover in the red zone.

“It was just a pretty frustrating game offensively as far as playing pretty well,” he added. “We drove down the field every time. We had a first down on every drive. It was frustrating to only get in the end zone once and not finish drives.”

A year ago, it was a fumbled snap as the Hawks were trying to run out the clock with a 14-8 that gave the Tigers a chance to tie the game and then win it overtime.

“I think by far we played a better game against them this year than last year,” Campbell said.

Webster improved to 2-1 overall, while the Hawks slipped to 0-2.

The first offensive possession of the game offered hints of how the game would go offensively.

Rib Lake-Prentice methodically drove down the field and took nearly seven minutes off the clock. From the 5-yard line, Jordan Yanko took a fullback dive into a small cutback lane and neared the goal line when he was hit and fumbled. This time, the Hawks were fortunate as tight end Trey Klemann was in the right spot at the right time and recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown with 5:14 left in the period.

The two-point try, an outside toss to Sam Gumz, was denied keeping it a 6-0 game.

“Trey had gotten off his block and turned around, he was the closest one to the ball and he was able to just jump on it,” Campbell said. “We got kind of lucky. Their safety went in to assist on the tackle on Yanko. If he wouldn’t have done that, he would’ve been the guy to jump on it.”

The Hawks’ defense, which turned in a second consecutive strong outing, stopped the Tigers and forced a punt. The offense drove into the red zone and sputtered. Webster then put together its lone scoring drive of the night, capping it with a 40-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Kayden Rossow to Evan Sikorski. The Tigers did get their two-point conversion, a Gage Rossow run, and those points wound up being the difference in the game.

The Hawks had another golden opportunity to grab the lead early in the third quarter. Jonas Staroba recovered a Webster fumble on the opening kickoff, but four plays later, after the Hawks had gotten a first down, they lost a fumble that killed that momentum.

The Hawks finished with balanced run/pass yardage totals. Quarterback Michael Borchardt completed 11 of 16 passes for 146 yards with five of those completions going to Dominick Classen for 64 yards. Klemann and Michael Quednow also caught two passes apiece.

Gumz gained 63 yards on 14 carries, Borchardt ran for 36 yards on nine carries and Yanko had 22 yards in seven attempts as the Hawks gained 132 yards on the ground. Defensively, the Hawks limited Webster to 3.8 yards per carry and just 100 rushing yards on 26 attempts. Kayden Rossow completed three of seven passes for just 48 yards for Webster.

Rib Lake-Prentice’s defense has allowed just 18 points and 224 rushing yards in two outings but, unfortunately, the team has no wins yet to show for it.

“I think we have quite a bit of experience now at the linebacker position,” Campbell said of the strong play so far by the defensive unit. “All of our starting linemen are seniors. The scheme is pretty much the same. We’ve only changed where they line up week to week based on our opponent. But as far as their jobs go, it’s all the same. I think them playing in it last year has helped. I think a lot of it has to do with this year having those four-hour practices in the pre-season. Last year it just took longer to understand basic concepts. We got decent at it as the year went on. They played pretty decent football last year. The amount of guys that got to go through that then come learn it through the camp this year has helped. Most of the concepts are pretty simple. It’s a pretty easy defense to learn. That makes it easier for them to just play rather than think.”

Rib Lake-Prentice steps out of Lakeland Conference play this week, hosting an Abbotsford squad that is off to an impressive 3-0 start tonight, Thursday, at 6 p.m. in Rib Lake. The Hawks and Falcons were once Marawood Conference rivals, but the teams haven’t met since 2007 when the Hawks won 44-0 on their way to a 7-1 second-place finish in the Marawood and an 8-2 overall mark that still stands as the program’s best-ever single-season overall winning percentage.

Hawks quarterback Michael Borchardt scrambles away from trouble during Friday’s first quarter.SARAH KOMAREK/THE STAR NEWS