RIB LAKE 50, FLAMBEAU 6 - Offense rolls, youngsters step up in surprising blowout of Falcons

RIB LAKE 50, FLAMBEAU 6

Two forced fumbles defensively turned into two touchdowns to start the game and things snowballed in Rib Lake’s direction from there Friday in a surprisinglydominant 50-6 Northwoods East Conference win at Flambeau.

The Redmen scored touchdowns on all seven of their possessions where the firstteam offense was on the field while piling up 373 yards of total offense, all on the ground.

Despite losing three key players to injury in the first half, Rib Lake dominated from start to finish to improve to 4-1 in the conference and 4-2 overall and remain in the conference title and WIAA playoff mix with two regular-season games left.

“Our younger guys did good stepping up when they needed to,” junior cocaptain Ethan Cook said. “We went through a lot of adversity tonight with three guys going down,” Talon Scheithauer said. “Guys stepping up in a big moment, that’s what made the game what it was.”

Scheithauer had another big game offensively, scoring five of Rib Lake’s touchdowns while rushing for 194 yards on just 14 carries. Tucker Phillips had the other two scores, including a backbreaking 40-yard score on the last play of the first half.

“It was a solid win against an opponent we thought we were going to be equal to,” Rib Lake head coach Jonah Campbell said. “We thought it was going to be a tough game. We showed up with the right attitude, the right mentality and played a solid game.”

The Falcons (2-3, 3-3) were missing a couple of key players due to injury as well. Rib Lake’s first loss in the game happened on the first series when sophomore twoway starter Brevin Brahmer went out with a knee injury.

“When he went out, Brady Heiser had to step up and play defense a lot more than he has than at any other point in the season,” Campbell said. “Keaton Schmidtfranz jumped in. It took him a couple of plays to get into it, but he played well at guard. We had to make a few adjustments to replace Brevin. He’s been producing pretty well on both sides for us this season. It was tough to swallow when he went down with that injury.”

Just after the injury, Ethan and Lucas Cook both hit Flambeau ball carrier Oliver Taylor and forced a fumble that Lawson Carlson recovered on the Falcons’ 49-yard line. Scheithauer’s 23-yard run got the Redmen into the red zone. A 9-yard sack was only a temporary setback as Scheithauer scrambled for a 13-yard touchdown two plays later for a 6-0 lead 5:02 into the contest.

Three plays into Flambeau’s next drive, Phillips sacked quarterback Cole Schley and forced a fumble that Heiser recovered at the Flambeau 16. Phillips scored from 6 yards out three snaps later and Logan Schmittfranz added the two-point run for a 14-0 lead.

“That was a big momentum swing getting our offense to score, getting that early lead,” Ethan Cook said.

“When you come out early and get a stop right away and produce turnovers on the defensive side and then capitalize on the offensive side, it really boosts confidence across the board,” Campbell said.

Flambeau got two first downs and got into Rib Lake territory on its next drive, which eventually stalled on downs. The Redmen took over at their 35 and needed less than four minutes to get into the end zone on Scheithauer’s 16-yard run that made it 20-0 with 9:13 left in the first half.

The Redmen lost Schmittfranz for the game in the second quarter, taking away the team’s leading tackler at middle linebacker. Lucas Cook, a freshman, took the majority of snaps from that position the rest of the way. Cornerback Seth Borchardt also left the game with a shoulder injury in the quarter. Freshmen Blake Henderson and Josiah Mann got more snaps and more than held their own at defensive end and defensive back.

Offensively with Schmittfranz out, Talon Scheithauer took his position at running back while freshman Slade Scheithauer took the snaps at quarterback.

“The big thing was him just having the confidence,” Talon Scheithauer said of his brother. “His confidence picked up as he kept going and we fed off him. I mean, our quarterback has to lead us.”

“For a freshman with no reps, he did a good job,” Ethan Cook said.

“Logan’s been such a crucial part of our team for the last three years on both side of the ball,” Campbell said. “He’s a senior who’s never missed a game due to injury and never had to sit out due to injury. He’s toughed out a lot of stuff. It was one of those things that was hard to deal with and adjust to.”

Flambeau did put together a nice drive as Rib Lake was trying to adjust defensively, going 74 yards on 11 plays and scoring on Schley’s 7-yard run with 5:06 left to get within 20-6. The Falcons’ momentum didn’t last long. The Redmen went 55 yards on just two plays to answer. Phillips ran for 24 yards and Scheithauer scored from 31 yards to make it 26-6.

The Redmen threw the knockout punches before and after halftime. The Redmen got a defensive stop at their 23 with 28 seconds left in the half and two timeouts left. Two runs by Phillips gained 22 yards. A 15-yard penalty on Flambeau on a run by Slade Scheithauer got Rib Lake to the Falcons’ 40. On the last play of the half, Phillips got outside along the right sideline broke a couple of tackles, stayed in bounds and scored. He added the twopoint run to make it 34-6.

“We’ve created a lot of big plays on the ground,” Campbell said. “We had a couple of big plays on the previous drive which led us to believe that we could run the ball. If we gain some yards, we’ll manage the clock and do what we can do. We didn’t want to pass and turn the ball over, so to be able to do that on the ground was huge. We would’ve been comfortable going into halftime without that score without giving them another opportunity to score.”

After halftime, Rib Lake drove 65 yards in 14 plays and ground 7:01 off the clock before getting a 21-yard touchdown run from Scheithauer.

“That one was probably the best drive in the game just being able to sustain, pick up first downs and grind the clock away,” Campbell said. “We’ve won a lot of games with big plays, but being able to show we can control the ball, control the clock and move the ball without needing a big play to score I think was big for us.”

Given one last play before starting to bring in the substitutes, Scheithauer spun out of what seemed like a sure tackle and sprinted 63 yards for the game’s final points with 1:20 left in the third quarter.

“We didn’t punt at all or have any turnovers until the last one where we took a delay of game before we punted it,” Scheithauer said. “That was the only time we gave up the ball. Our offense was working well, the line was getting it done up front, giving the backs enough time to make guys miss.”

Phillips finished with 122 yards on 14 carries. Tucker Phillips had eight solo tackles and eight assists, while Ethan Cook had three solo tackles and eight assists. Lucas cook was involved in seven tackles.

Now winners of three straight games, Rib Lake hosts winless Athens tonight in a rare Thursday game.

“We always talk about getting 1% better every day and just keep going,” Scheithauer said. “That’s our biggest thing, keep getting better every day.”

Talon Scheithauer (l.) and Tucker Phillips combine to hold Flambeau quarterback Cole Schley to a short first-quarter gain during Rib Lake’s 50-6 win Friday. MATT FREY/THE STAR NEWS