Spencer-Columbus football defeats Nekoosa
The Spencer-Columbus (SC) Rockets finally got their long-sought-after win last Friday night, defeating the Nekoosa Papermakers in a home thriller.
“I am really proud of our guys. It has been a long and hard fight, but they came through with a victory tonight,” wrote SC coach Jason Gorst in an email.
The competitive, back-and-forth battle on the gridiron left fans wondering until the final moments of the game who would come out on top.
The Rockets got the ball first, starting at their own 30. They marched down the field, with the big play of the drive being a 13-yard run from Mac Konieczny. The drive finished with a 1-yard touchdown run by Landon Behselich. The extra-point kick was good.
On the next drive, Nekoosa got the ball on their own 31. Francisco Vega ran the ball for 15 yards to propel the Papermakers forward. The drive ended with a 1-yard touchdown run by quarterback Nash Krcmar. The 2-point conversion was a pass complete to Logan Spice, making the score 8-7 with Nekoosa leading.
On the ensuing SC drive to start off the second quarter, the Rockets started on their own 20. That drive lasted for four plays, capped off with a 63-yard touchdown run by Behselich. The Rockets then went for two, giving the ball to Konieczny. He crossed into the end zone to make it 15-8 and allow the Rockets to regain the lead.
The following drive had Nekoosa starting at their 20. In the middle of their drive, Jacob Bertling completed a 50-yard run. Two plays later, Spice caught a 19yard touchdown pass from Krcmar. The two-point conversion was good, to give Nekoosa the edge, 16-15.
The action continued on the next drive, starting at Nekoosa’s 40 following a return by Konieczny. SC got a 7-yard touchdown run from Logan Ehlert. The two-point conversion was good, as Behselich took it in. That left the score 23-16 in favor of the Rockets.
Nekoosa was unable to put anything together on their following drive, leaving the Rockets ahead at the half.
In the second half, Nekoosa began at their own 22-yard line. They drove down the field and got stopped on fourth-andgoal at the 1-yard line as Cal Birkhauser broke up the pass to get the big stop for the Rockets.
SC got the ball back on their own 1-yard line. The Rockets got past the 30, but fumbled and Nekoosa recovered the ball, giving the Papermakers another chance to stay in it.
Nekoosa started at SC’s 34. They moved the ball down the field, ending with a 5-yard touchdown run from Bertling, leaving the game at 23-22, still trailing the Rockets by one. The Papermakers attempted a 2-point conversion, but SC got the stop to hold on to their thin lead.
On the Rockets’ next drive, they started at the 50-yard line. They ran the ball down the field, ending with a 2-yard touchdown run by Behselich once again. The extra-point kick sailed to the left of the goalposts, but the Rockets had still given themselves a bit of a cushion, 29-22.
Then Nekoosa started at their own 35. A couple of plays in, SC’s Caleb Hilgemann intercepted a Krcmar pass to halt the Papermakers’ momentum. At that point, SC was able to literally and figuratively run out the clock to earn their first win of the season.
The Rockets were efficient on third downs, converting on 75 percent of their 12 attempts. They also converted both fourth-down opportunities.
Behselich was the leading rusher for the game, with 133 yards on 15 attempts. Konieczny was also an important part of the running game with 80 yards on 16 attempts. Teddy Meyer was his team’s leading tackler, with eight on the game.
