By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
Another week, another dominating effort by the Big Foot football team.
And now that the post-season has arrived, the stakes are even higher.
Big Foot took an emphatic step toward its ultimate goal Friday night with a 56-0 whipping of visiting St. John’s Northwestern Military Academy in a Division 4 Level 1 contest.
The win improved the Chiefs to 9-0 and sends them to the second round this week against Rock Valley Conference rival Brodhead-Juda.
Big Foot took control early, as it jumped out to a 28-0 lead. The Chiefs now have outscored their opponents 190-0 in the opening 12 minutes.
“Execution again (was the key),” coach Rodney Wedig said. “We took advantage of some great special team plays on the punt returns and took them out of their game.”
Big Foot scored a little more than two minutes into the game when quarterback Carter Hehr connected on a 43-yard touchdown pass to Matt Ripkey.
Mason Dixon followed with a 13-yard touchdown run, before Hehr struck on special teams with a 62-yard punt return for a touchdown that built the Chiefs’ lead to 21-0.
Hehr does a little bit of everything for Big Foot – and he does all of it very well, Wedig said.
“A lot of people probably think it is crazy to have your quarterback on the field for every play, but I talked to the West De Pere coaches in the off-season, and they talked about how (Jay) Tollefson, last year’s state offensive player of the year, was a QB and a returner,” Wedig said.
“(Hehr) is a lot like that. He is such a weapon and so well-conditioned. It is a waste to have him on the sideline.”
Dixon added another touchdown, this time on a 7-yard run, to send the Chiefs to the second quarter ahead by 28 points.
The second period mirrored the first, as Big Foot put 28 more points on the scoreboard.
Dixon scored from 16 yards out 16 seconds into the period, followed by a 4-yard pass from Carter Hehr to his younger brother, Chandler.
Having a chance to let brothers combine for a touchdown always is a highlight, Wedig said.
“Having (my sons) Jake and Gus play together last year, the Walkers play together, I know it always something that brothers dream of when they are playing catch in the backyard when they are young,” he said. “I’m just glad the situation presented itself.”
Big Foot closed out the scoring with two more touchdowns in the second quarter. Carter Hehr had a 47-yard touchdown run, followed by a 1-yard run by Dixon.
For the game, Big Foot had 121 yards passing and 278 yards rushing, compared to just 26 yards passing and 45 on the ground for St. John’s.
Dixon rushed eight times for 95 yards, followed by Carter Hehr with four carries for 75 yards. Quin Dixon added 49 yards on three attempts.
Ripkey had two catches for 60 yards to lead the receivers, followed by Gus Wedig with two catches for 34 yards.
RVC rival next
There certainly won’t be any secrets between Brodhead-Juda and the Chiefs when the two teams meet Friday night at 7 p.m. in a Level 2 game. Brodhead improved to 6-3 with a 19-12 win over Campbellsport in the first round.
Big Foot rolled past the Cardinals 42-7 in late August, but Wedig knows things will be different this time around.
“They have adjusted their defense after the first three games, and it is paying dividends for them,” he said. “We have to be able to adjust because you know they will have some adjustments ready for us.
“They have really solidified their offensive line, and their defense is very much improved.”
Another concern for every coach, especially at this time of year, is health, but Wedig is confident his team is doing well on that front.
“They are pretty good all-around,” he said. “I think our legs are good, and I’m hoping Mason has plenty of miles left on him.”
The winner Friday will face either Roncalli (7-2) or Lakeside Lutheran (9-0) in a Level 3 game next weekend. Lakeside entered the postseason as the state’s top-ranked Division 4 team.
