Season ends in first playoff game
By Chris Bennett
Correspondent
The final two games of the regular season for the Elkhorn Area High School football team are the stuff of schoolboy legend.
The same is not true of the Elks’ second consecutive playoff appearance, but the experience does little to mar an overall successful season.
Elkhorn learned what it’s like to play against itself Oct. 24 in a 28-14 loss to Reedsburg in a WIAA Division 3 Level 1 playoff game at home.
“They did to us what we like to do to other teams,” Elks coach Tom Lee said. “They run the same basic offense. They run the wishbone and a little bit of double wing.”
Reedsburg scored quick, controlled the ball and eased to victory and a berth in Level 2 of the Division 3 playoffs.
“They had two very good first quarter drives and scored on touchdowns on both of their drives, and we did not,” Lee said.
The Beavers play Monona Grove Friday in a Level 2 playoff game at Monona Grove. Monona Grove beat Evansville/Albany 37-0 Oct. 24 at home in a Level 1 playoff game.
Elkhorn, seeded third in its bracket, ends the season with an overall record of 7-4. Reedsburg is seeded sixth in the bracket, and improved to 8-3 overall with the victory.
“If we play them 10 times it might be 5-5 or 6-4,” said Lee, who also said the Beavers outplayed their seed.
Lee said the Elks surrendered a big kickoff return to Reedsburg to start the second half. The Beavers used a short field to their advantage and scored after 35-yard drive to go ahead 21-7.
The Elks answered with a seven-yard touchdown run by Keenan Leahy with two minutes left in the third quarter and cut their deficit to 21-14.
Elkhorn stiffened defensively, got the ball back on offense and mounted a drive. The Elks drove to the Beavers’ 35-yard line and stalled with about six minutes left in the fourth quarter.
“We just could not get the first down,” Lee said. “We had a great opportunity to tie it up at 21-21 and the drive stalled.”
Reedsburg scored with 1:51 left in the fourth on a four-yard run by Cal Mazur for the final margin.
The Beavers led 14-0 after two first quarter touchdowns. Dustin Tourdot scored on a six-yard run and Austin Schyvinck threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Schulenburg.
Elkhorn scored its first touchdown on an eight-yard run from Dylan Peterson with 10:03 left in the second quarter.
Reedsburg finished with 356 yards of total offense to the Elks’ 208.
Lee offered no excuses for the Elks’ loss, but drew an interesting parallel between each team’s final game of the regular season.
Elkhorn traveled Oct. 17 to Southern Lakes Conference foe Burlington and beat the Demons 35-28 in overtime to claim a share of the program’s first SLC title since 2007.
Reedsburg, which plays in the Badger North Conference, played last-place Portage Oct. 17 at home and won 42-7.
“The game was over at halftime,” Lee said. “Basically, their kids didn’t have a physical ballgame. We had an unbelievably physical ballgame against Burlington and went into overtime. It was a physical battle.”
Keep in mind the Elks played Lake Geneva the week before playing the Demons and defeated Badger 29-13 in another physical contest.
“I would love to have played Reedsburg after they played Mount Horeb or after they played Monona Grove,” said Lee, naming two Badger North opponents – and playoff qualifiers – that defeated Reedsburg in the regular season.
Elkhorn entered its game against Reedsburg after two consecutive emotional and physical conference donnybrooks, and Lee said the Elks were likely not at 100 percent health.
“I told the kids our conference prepared us well,” Lee said. “It was two physical weeks. We had kids banged-up during the week. I don’t think we were at 100 percent.”
Regardless of how it ended, the Elks’ season is a resounding success. No one considered the Elks a pre-season favorite for the SLC title, yet the Elks won a share.
Elkhorn also made its second consecutive appearance in the playoffs and defeated Lake Geneva Badger for the first time since the SLC reformed in 2009.
“I didn’t want the season to end, but I told the kids if we played as well as we could and we lost a tough, close game, so be it,” Lee said.
