By Dan Truttschel
Sports Correspondent
While nobody associated with the Big Foot football team would admit it, there was little to any chance visiting Beloit Turner could pull off a miracle upset Friday night.
And after the first quarter, that chance was exactly nil.
Big Foot, the state’s top-ranked Division 4 team, screamed out to a 35-point first-quarter lead and rolled past Turner 63-0 to improve to 3-0 in the Rock Valley Conference and 5-0 overall.
Both programs are polar opposites, but what Turner brought to the table wasn’t really a focus for the week, Big Foot coach Rodney Wedig said.
“We talk about getting better all week in practice, and we have used these last two weeks to get a look at some younger kids in game situations to make sure that we have the depth at different positions as the season goes on,” Wedig said.
And from that aspect, Wedig was pleased with his team’s effort.
“I thought we did a great job of execution on both sides of the ball, including the young guys that played in the second half,” he said. “That is probably where I have seen the biggest improvement, is with the guys coming off the bench.”
Big Foot scored five touchdowns in the opening quarter to get things rolling.
Brandon Hausner led the way with runs of 20 and 25 yards, followed by a pair of touchdown passes from Brett Morris.
Morris hit Gus Wedig on a 58-yard scoring strike and then found Chandler Hehr for a 35-yard touchdown pass.
Big Foot’s first-quarter onslaught ended with a 1-yard run by Tim Long.
Long added two more scores in the second quarter on runs of 2 and 30 yards, followed by the first varsity touchdown for freshman Olinh Craig, who scored from 19 yards out.
“(Craig) runs hard,” Wedig said. “I like the way he can make people miss in the open field. He is only going to get better, but I was very excited for him. He works hard.”
Big Foot’s scoring ended with 3:24 left in the opening half on a 2-yard run by Zakery Greco.
Another “quiet” but certainly not hidden weapon for the Chiefs, senior kicker Ian Gallagher, made all nine extra points for Big Foot.
Gallagher is just 18 extra points shy of breaking the state record for a career and continues to be a valuable weapon for the Chiefs.
“He is only getting better and there will be games when a field goal or PAT may make the difference,” Wedig said. “So I am glad he is on our side, because with him as a kicker and a punter, you can always flip field position.”
Defense gets into act
While the Chiefs’ offense was rolling up 467 total yards, the defense was just as impressive Friday night.
Big Foot allowed just 19 yards rushing and 67 passing for Turner – and completely shut down the Trojans’ spread offense.
“Last time we played a spread team like that (Delavan-Darien), we gave up a lot of big plays,” Wedig said. “We really stressed getting to the ball and making tackles.”
Wedig added that Big Foot’s starting defense has not allowed a team to get into the red zone (inside the 20-yard line) the last three games.
Morris finished the night with 148 passing yards, as he completed seven of 11 attempts. Hausner led the rushing attack with six carries for 109 yards, followed by Long with 13 carries for 109 yards, Greco with five carries for 40 yards and Craig with 10 carries for 38 yards.
Wedig was the top receiver with three catches for 78 yards, followed by Daniel Pearce with two carries for 24 yards.
Defensive leaders were Wedig with five tackles and Tyler Wicks, Charles Peterson, Long, Jake Sherwin and Tyler Vara each with four.
Big Foot is back in action this Friday night when it travels to Clinton for a 7 p.m. RVC contest. The Cougars fell to 3-2 overall last week with a 52-26 loss at Brodhead-Juda.
Even with that defeat, however, Wedig expects a tough challenge.
“They are much improved from years’ past,” he said. “They run the option and run it well. Their QB reminds me of the kids from Delavan, quick and elusive.
“We need to make sure we don’t give up any big plays, and we need to not give the QB room to wiggle.”
