Homecoming game against Evansville-Albany is tonight
By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
Two first-half touchdowns by host Jefferson on Friday night put the East Troy football team in a bit of a precarious situation.
The Trojans fought back – and grabbed the lead – but just couldn’t quite hold on.
East Troy erased a 12-0 deficit, but the Eagles scored twice in the second half en route to a 24-13 Rock Valley Conference victory.
The loss dropped the Trojans to 4-2, while Jefferson improved to 4-2. Clinton and Evansville-Albany lead the RVC standings at 5-1, followed by the Trojans and the Eagles and Big Foot, Beloit Turner and Brodhead at 3-3.
East Troy needs one more win in its final three games to clinch a Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association playoff berth.
The loss really came down to one factor, East Troy coach Jeff Crandall said.
“The game this week came down to turnovers,” Crandall said. “We had three in the second half, and it is tough to win games when you lose the turnover battle.”
East Troy cut the 12-0 deficit in half on an 8-yard touchdown run by Owen Goedland, and then took a one-point lead at halftime when quarterback Jake Dessart connected on a 14-yard touchdown pass to Noah Nyffeler.
Nyffeler added the extra point to break the tie.
Goedland’s touchdown came even though Jefferson was determined to stop the run, Crandall said.
“They were playing with seven defenders in the box, which is hard to run against,” he said. “We made a few adjustments blocking-wise, and (on) the touchdown run, Owen broke one tackle and then was able to outrun the rest of the defense for the score.”
The Eagles didn’t change their plan on East Troy’s second score, and the combination of Dessert-Nyffeler took advantage.
“Teams have been stacking the box to take away our run game,” Crandall said. “So on the second score, we took what was open, which was the middle of the field.”
Crandall was pleased with how his team responded in the face of the early deficit.
“Our players were calm,” he said. “They knew they just needed to start executing better.
“Some keys (to getting back into the game) were our offensive line was doing a really good job blocking the blitz and allowing our quarterback and receivers to make some plays. Our defense came up with some stops, forcing Jefferson to punt.”
The Eagles answered back in the second half with the go-ahead and insurance touchdowns to account for the final score. Jefferson took advantage of one of East Troy’s three turnovers, which set up the tie-breaking score.
“Turnovers are key in games,” Crandall said. “When you lose the turnover battle in a close game, your chances of winning are much lower.”
Dessert finished the night with 184 yards passing, while Goedland rushed 12 times for 58 yards. Jacob Price led the receiving corps with six catches for 98 yards.
Defensive leaders included Goedland, Jake Pieper and Sean Cox, Crandall said.
Jefferson’s one-two running back punch of Evan Anfang and Hunter Milbrath had 162 and 104 yards rushing, respectively.
Those two were a handful, Crandall said.
“When you play an offense like Jefferson, you have to be assignment sound every play,” he said. “When you are not, the usually turn it into a big play for them.”
Tough challenge ahead
East Troy hosts Evansville-Albany on Friday night, which whipped winless Whitewater 63-14 last week.
Crandall knows his team has to put together a solid effort.
“Evansville-Albany is always a big, physical team,” he said. “We need to play physical on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. Winning the battle at the line of scrimmage will be key in this game.”
