September 18, 2014 at 10:49 a.m.
Norsemen survive battle at Dodgeville
Dodgeville finished the same part of their schedule 2-1-1 with the second one a non-played game at Marathon cancelled because of lightning.
That sets the state for the season opener for both the Coulee Conference and the SWC.
Dodgeville opens their conference season at River Valley Friday in a game against the 3-1 Blackhawks. The two teams are similar in that they both have holes to fill from last year's graduation.
While Dodgeville coach Ryan Bohnsack and his staff were not pleased with the performance against the Norsemen they are going into Friday's game with a successful SWC season in mind,
"We finished nonconfidence play @ 2-1-1 and feel confident with our ability to compete in the SWC," Bohnsack said. "We have a lot to prove and believe we have the right mix of guys and talent to make a run at conference and post season play. One down at a time and River Valley should be a quality test for us this Friday in Spring Green."
The Norsemen ruled the first half Friday with Peyton Ward racing in from the 22 at 4:24 of the first quarter and Chad Auer kicking an extra point then nailing a 30 yard field goal at the 7:51 mark of the second frame.
Dodgeville got the lead in the third quarter with a pair of touchdowns. Brady Wetter blasted 35 yards for the first Dodger score and Jordan Olson kicked the conversion.
Jordan Larson then pitched a 30 yard strike to Cris Fracia to tie the game and Olson's conversion gave Dodgeville a 14-13 lead as time expired in the third.
Westby then took the lead back and eventually the game when Ward drove in from 13 yards out in the fourth frame.
"We weren't happy with the performance/execution in the first half, but did increase in the second," Bohnsack said.
Wetter was the workhorse again for the Dodgers with 168 yards on 26 carries. The Dodgers gained 169 yards total on the ground and added 85 passing. Larson was six for 12.
The leading receiver was Francia who caught the touchdown pass for a 30 yard score.
Westby totaled 262 yards to Dodgeville's 242. They ran for 243 and passed for 18.
Leading the Dodger defense were Ryan Raess who had 14 tackles and Bryce Olson who totaled 12.