Season ends for D-DHS, Indians remain undefeated
By Kevin Cunningham
Correspondent
At 5-4 on the season, head coach Bret St. Arnauld knew Delavan-Darien High School’s football team would have its hands full against the No. 1 seed in the regional, Kewaskum. The Kewaskum Indians earned it, going 9-0 during the regular season and winning each game by double digits.
The Indians also defeated six of its nine opponents along the way by at least 28 points. Against Delavan-Darien, the Indians didn’t let up.
Through the first five minutes of play, the Comets held strong as both teams scored, but thanks to a missed extra point, the Indians led early, 7-6. From the missed extra point on, the Comets continued to struggle.
Indians running back Brandon Thull, who St. Arnauld knew before the game was an extremely talented back, scored his second touchdown with 6:35 remaining in the first quarter on a 45-yard run. Thull’s first to open the game went 63 yards.
After his second score, Indians quarterback Michael Prochnow took over the rest of the first half. Prochnow scored once through the air, and twice on the ground, both from one-yard out. Entering halftime, the Comets trailed, 35-6.
In the third quarter, Thull got back to the ground, scoring from 11 yards out. Not even two minutes later, the Indians recorded a safety and led, 44-6 with 8:00 left in the third quarter.
From that point on, no scoring occurred until the 1:25 mark in the fourth quarter, when the Comets got a 43-yard touchdown run from Zach Gidcumb – his only carry on the night. A successful two-point conversion run by wide receiver Mike Alder ensued, and the Comets eventually lost in the first round to the undefeated Indians, 44-14.
Quarterback Jacob Benzing completed five of his 12 passes for 65 yards while rushing for eight yards on 15 carries. Benzing scored the first touchdown for the Comets, bringing the score to 7-6 early in the first quarter.
Starting running back Fabias Shipman saw 15 carries as well, but only mustered eight yards on the ground. As a team, the Comets threw for 65 yards while rushing for 69 against an Indians defense that only allowed 62 points during its nine regular season games.
The 14 points the Comets scored marked the second most allowed all season by the Indians, as the only opponent to score more was Port Washington in the second game of the season with 16. Offensively for the Indians, Prochnow only completed four of his seven passes for 65 yards as well, matching Benzing’s output.
The story of the game can be found on the ground, as Thull rushed for 274 yards and three scores, averaging over 13 yards per carry. Delavan-Darien’s punter, Mike Maldonado, had a busy night, having to punt seven times.
The first round exit of the playoffs marks the season’s end for the Comets. After going 4-5 in St. Arnauld’s first season as head coach a year ago, the team made strides despite the losses, competing in the postseason for the first time since 2011.
