By Dan Truttschel
Sports correspondent
It wasn’t difficult for Big Foot football coach Greg Enz to pinpoint the difference in his team’s 45-22 Rock Valley Conference loss last week at Jefferson.
“This was a classic case of turnovers and stops defensively,” Enz said.
The Chiefs had four turnovers that led directly to 29 points – and against a team like Jefferson, which improved to 4-0 in the RVC, that is just too much to overcome.
Big Foot stayed close with the Eagles early on.
After Jefferson scored the game’s first two touchdowns to take a 13-0 lead, the Chiefs responded with a 24-yard pass from Jackson Enz to Pedro Sierra that cut the deficit to 13-6 heading into the second quarter.
The Chiefs took their only lead of the game at 14-13 early in the second quarter on a 3-yard touchdown run by Enz, who followed with a two-point conversion pass to Aidan Greco.
“We were keeping possession of the ball (early) and moving it, which we were able to most all of the game,” Enz said. “When we come out and fall behind 13-0 after our second possession, this put a lot of pressure on the offense to overcome the deficit.”
Jefferson began to pull away at that point.
Evan Anfang scored his second touchdown of the night on a 1-yard plunge, and then added the two-point conversion run to give the Eagles a 21-14 lead.
After a Big Foot fumble on its next possession, Jefferson cashed in on a 1-yard run and conversion by Nolan Klawitter that sent the Eagles to halftime with a 29-14 lead.
Another turnover after the intermission led to Anfang’s third score of the night to stretch the deficit to 37-14.
“At that juncture, we had to be efficient and have some luck to get back into (the game),” Enz said.
Enz added that Jefferson didn’t do anything special on either side of the ball that Big Foot wasn’t prepared for, but again, the game came down to execution.
“(They didn’t do) much that was concerning,” he said. “They are fundamentally sound, but didn’t necessarily make us ineffective. Offensively, they just continued to do what they had been with a strong run game.”
The Chiefs put their final points on the scoreboard in the third quarter on a 6-yard touchdown pass from Enz to Sierra.
Enz completed 12-of-22 passing attempts for 131 yards and added 17 carries for 58 yards rushing. Sam Ritchey chipped in with 12 carries for 53 yards, while Sierra had five catches for 91 yards and Greco five for 31.
Ritchey provided the Chiefs with a spark, Enz said.
“Sam was back for his first game of the season and was an explosive addition to the run game that we look forward to having as we move forward,” he said.
Defensive leaders included Enz with 13 tackles, Jack Gillingham with 11, Jack Hereley and Ritchey with nine, Tucker Milligan with eight and Konor Gerhardt with seven.
Gillingham continues to be productive on the defensive side of the ball, Enz said.
“(He) had another solid defensive performance in terms of tackles and continues to improve his techniques and fundamentals,” Enz said. “(That) will make him a better defensive player as he moves along in his career.”
Anfang led Jefferson with 24 carries for 206 yards and three touchdowns.
“He is a good system running back,” Enz said. “(He) has some good quickness and a feel for the cutback.”
Big Foot faces another stiff challenge this week when it hosts Beloit Turner on Friday night at 7 p.m.
The Trojans, coached by former Williams Bay coach Derek Diehl, improved to 4-0 last week with a 42-19 win over Brodhead-Juda. Turner, tied with Jefferson and Clinton atop the RVC standings, is ranked ninth in the latest wissports.net Division 4 poll.
“They want to run at you,” Enz said. “They play physical football and then hit you with play-action passes over the top. They have a good crop of athletes and obviously, Brandon Malkow on both offensive and defensive line.”
Malkow, a 6-foot-5, 300-pound senior, is drawing NCAA Division I interest.
As his team prepared for tonight, Enz said he knows the Chiefs can’t have a repeat of the turnover issues they had against Jefferson.
“We need to take care of the football,” he said. “We have to improve our ability to stop teams in the run game. If these two things happen, we can win most football games we play.”
