Homecoming game is tonight against Whitewater
By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
Last week’s matchup with state-ranked Brodhead-Juda figured to be a bit of a tall order for the East Troy High School football team to handle.
And it was.
The Cardinals, perennially one of the state’s top Division 4 teams, took control with 22 first-half points and never looked back in a 41-0 Rock Valley Conference victory.
East Troy fell to 0-4 overall and 0-1 in conference play.
“They were just flat out, a better team,” East Troy coach Eric Sulik said. “We didn’t do enough to get things going offensively.
“We knew we had to establish and get a lead early. We knew their offense takes a while to score. With one exception, we made them earn their yards.”
And, as often is the case, the Cardinals’ dominance began up front, Sulik said.
“They had four linemen who were just phenomenal,” he said. “They had very good feet. They were quicker than I expected.”
Brodhead’s Mitchell Johnson put the Cardinals on the scoreboard with a 1-yard touchdown run at the 5:46 mark of the first quarter.
Two more touchdowns in the first half built Brodhead’s lead to 22-0 by the intermission.
Griffin Day scored the first of his three touchdowns on a 4-yard run with 8:55 left, followed by a 45-yard scoring strike from quarterback Brennen Bescup to Ned Slocum.
The Cardinals closed out the scoring with three more touchdowns in the last two quarters.
Day scored on runs of 1 and 51 yards, followed by a 4-yard run by Jack Speckman.
For the game, East Troy managed just 32 yards passing and four yards rushing on 14 carries. Truman Kent had two receptions for 33 yards and Jack Remsa had three for 24.
There were some positives to come out of the loss, Sulik said.
“We did some good things defensively,” he said. “It was the best tackling we did all season long. I know the scoreboard didn’t necessarily reflect that.
“Offensively, we had a hard time with the wet turf. We tried to get some things established through the air, but we just weren’t able to. My hat’s off to them. We knew they would be a very good team.”
Sulik said his young group, including some players who have switched positions out of necessity, can learn a valuable lesson from the loss.
And a tough one at that.
“We are just not as physically strong as we needed to be this season,” Sulik said. “For whatever reason, we’ve kind of taken a step back in that department.
“We’re learning that you have to put the nine months in (the weight room) before the season. We had a number of guys who did, but it wasn’t enough. It has to happen in the off-season. I think our young guys are realizing that.”
Homecoming kickoff is 7 p.m.
East Troy looks to get into the victory column this week when it hosts Whitewater tonight for a 7 p.m. Homecoming contest.
The Whippets earned their first win of the season last week with a 25-0 victory over Parkview.
“They’re trying to spread the ball out a little more than they have in the past,” Sulik said. “They have a good running back, who is physical, but can bounce it to the outside.
“They’re going to be fired up. They have one conference win and are looking to get number two. … We’re looking forward to (the challenge).”
