Ramblers run all over Wildcats
Edgar loses to squad with a D-1 recruit
The Edgar Wildcat football team saw its season come to a close after it dropped its WIAA Level 3 playoff game at Carson Park in Eau Claire on Nov. 4.
The Wildcats took on Eau Claire Regis as a part of the Division 7 tournament but Regis proved to be a welloiled machine as they went on to beat Edgar by a final score of 53-8.
Regis’ Carson Tait got the scoring started as the Ramblers went down the field on their opening drive and punched it in from the four yard-line. The ensuing two-point conversion was no good as Karter Butt, Brady Stencil and Justin Davis combined to stuff Regis running back Jack Weisenberger at the goal line.
Edgar responded with a 65-yard touchdown drive that was capped off by a Butt one-yard run and a successful two-point conversion. The Wildcats had the momentum as they led 8-6 with just over three minutes left to play in the first quarter.
Regis wouldn’t let that score carry into the second quarter as they used a 31-yard scamper from University of Minnesota commit Zander Rockow to stretch the lead to 12-8 at the end of the first.
The second quarter proved crucial as Rockow, Weisenberger and Tait all scored touchdowns in the final six minutes of the half against the Edgar run defense to open up a 33-8 advantage for Regis at the break.
The Wildcat coaching staff got their players fired up for the second half as Edgar received the kickoff out of the break and marched into Regis territory. A run up the middle by Jase Apfelbeck was snuffed out by a Regis lineman and Rockow ripped the ball out of Apfelbeck’s hands and returned it for a 51-yard touchdown. The play set the tone for the rest of the half as the Edgar offense was unable to do much of anything against the Rambler defense.
The Wildcats didn’t have an answer for the Regis offense as the Ramblers piled on 47 unanswered points after Edgar’s first quarter touchdown and ran away with the victory.
Regis asserted its dominance on both sides of the ball as they averaged nearly 10 yards per play while on offense while Edgar averaged 3.3 yards per play. Butt finished the game as the leading rusher and receiver as he carried the ball 17 times for 96 yards and a touchdown and caught three passes for 23 yards. Junior Teegan Streit led the Wildcat passing attack as he completed five of his seven passes for 22 yards and tacked on a two point conversion.
Butt finished the game with 21 tackles to lead the team while Kohlbe Weisenberger and senior Carver Higgins had 15 and 13 tackles, respectively.
Rockow finished the game with 193 yards on 15 carries with two touchdowns for the Ramblers.
The Wildcats’ season ended with a 10-2 record as six seniors will graduate after having been a part of the 2019 state runner-up team in Division 7.
Keghan Hartway, Avery Normington, Davis, Stencil, Higgins and Dillan Yonker will be leaving the program after four strong years. The Wildcats will return a plethora of talent with Butt, Streit, Apfelbeck, Weisenberger and a host of others returning next season.
Regis will move on to face Bangor at Arcadia High School in the Level 4 playoff matchup on Nov. 11.
