By Mike Ramczyk
KENOSHA – For the second time in school history, the Lake Geneva Badger football team was one game away from the state championship Friday night in a Division 2 state semifinal against mighty Waukesha West.
But one week after shocking the state’s No. 1 team, Waunakee, the Badgers couldn’t pull off another upset despite hanging with the top-seeded Wolverines in a tie game until the third quarter.
West’s quarterback Conor Blount threw four touchdowns to four different receivers, and the Wolverines built a 28-7 lead en route to a 28-14 victory in frigid temperatures at Kenosha Indian Trail High School.
With both star running backs, Tyler Vandevelde for Badger and Jair Scott for West, held in check, it was the signal-callers that stole the show. Unfortunately for Badger, Blount was an assassin through the air, completing 11-for-18 passes for 142 yards and four touchdowns, three of which came in a 12-minute stretch to open the second half and essentially put the game away.
Badger quarterback Mason DuMez scored on a 1-yd run one minute into the second quarter, and suddenly Badger had a 7-0 lead and the confidence of becoming the first team to score a point on West in the postseason.
DuMez added a 1-yd touchdown run with 3:54 left in the game, but the rest of the game belonged to Blount, who tossed strikes of 10, 11, 3 and 34 yards to build an insurmountable 28-7 lead with six minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Blount added 34 yards on the ground, and while Scott was held to 44 rushing yards, 80 below his season average of 120, sophomore Peter MacCudden picked up the slack with 94 rushing yards and a receiving touchdown.
Nick Daniels had four catches for 69 yards, including the dagger, a 34-yard touchdown in the fourth to put the game away.
Vandevelde, Badger’s 1,000-yard rusher, was held to 55 yards on 15 carries. He gave credit to the Wolverines, who improved to 11-2 and will face Homestead for the Division 2 state title Friday afternoon.
“We stopped that Scott, but their QB is amazing,” Vandevelde said after Friday’s game. “I’m rooting for them to win at state. They have my respect.”
Badger finished its season 10-3, including a share of the Southern Lakes Conference championship. The Badgers earned a 2 seed and were fortunate to be the largest school in the Division 2 after seven straights seasons in the Division 1 playoffs.
DuMez, who helped turn Badger’s season around after becoming the starting quarterback in Week 7, gained 75 yards on the ground and threw for 52.
Badger was outgained, 323-199.
Check out the full story and photos in Thursday’s Lake Geneva Times.
Like the SLN Walworth County Facebook page for photos from the game.
