October 25, 2018 at 9:23 a.m.
Pointers run to Level II with Racine Lutheran
For a half last Friday Ozaukee had the upper hand and took a 21-20 lead into the break, thanks to a trio of touchdowns. Jack Genzmer sprinted 80 yards for the first score and Carson Rennicke kicked the conversion. Rennicke caught a pass from Brent Hoffmann that ended up in the end zone from 61 yards out. Hoffmann scored the third one from six away and Mitchell Weyker carried for the two point conversion.
The Pointers answered the first Ozaukee tally with a 31 yard Isaac Lindsey to Brandon Dolphin pass and Curtis Cox kicked the conversion. Lindsey then carried himself from three yards out and led 14-7 after Cox's kick. Next came two Ozaukee scores but Danny Pittz had a one yard plunge to get the Pointers within one. The score ended up 21-20 when the kick was off the mark.
Clearly it was adjustment time and Mineral Point went back to the drawing board where the changes were not many but were effective.
"We had two simple adjustments to make at halftime," said coach Andy Palzkill. "Our backs needed to trust our kick out blocks and get vertical which they did very well in the second half. Defensively, we needed to tackle the legs with our hawk lift fundamentals. We did a better of job of that in the second half which limited missed tackles and resulting big runs. The players brought great intensity to the second half as well."
They did that and more to the tune of five touchdowns which changed the complexion of the game from a close contest to a 55-28 route.
Lindsey scored twice in the third on runs of five and 74 yards. Will Straka, who was the workhorse down the stretch, found his way for a 68 yard scamper.
In the final frame freshman Dominik McVay scored on a 38 yard blast and a one yard carry. His scores were sandwiched between a two yard run by Ozaukee back Ben Berweger.
The second half was satisfying for Palzkill.
"We played good football in the third quarter," said Palzkill. "Our defense tackled effectively and we were able to run the ball well. Ozaukee was doing their best to limit our passing game and played us with a five man box. This allowed us to have a number of big runs and our kids blocked well for each other."
The run was very effective once the line play picked up.
"Isaac Lindsey, Will Straka, Dominic McVay, and Danny Pittz all had rushing touchdowns," Palzkill said. "The offensive line did a great job of making adjustments and then being very physical. Wes Berget, Gabe Sporle, Justin Baehler, Blake Wendhausen, and Larry Steffes make up our offensive line and they have improved each week. Coach Chris Mitchell does a great job with this group and they are definitely playing well at this point in the season."
Besides the improved play and the adjustments the second half the Pointers began to limit their mistakes.
"The game was very close and we were behind at halftime 21-20. The big difference for us was simply executing," Palzkill said. "We had two turnovers that gave them good field position and some missed tackles that led to the Ozaukee scores. In the second half, we executed better on both sides of the ball. We were able to take advantage of their defensive front and run the ball effectively. Will Straka was the difference-maker for us. He had some big runs in the third quarter and brought a lot of energy to the field. We did not plan on playing Will due to a nagging injury, but I am glad we did."
Straka ended up with eight carries for 123 yards. Lindsey led the Pointers with 16 carries for 180. McVay had 11 carries for 81 yards and Pittz came away with 10 on three carries.
Lindsey threw for 111 yards as he completed 10 of 15. Dolphin accounted for 50 with two catches and Liam Stumpf 26 on two catches to lead the Pointers.
Defensively Gabe Sporle had 12 tackles with three for loss and a sack. Straka had five tackles, two for loss and a sack. Logan Schmitz had five, two for loss and Pittz had six, two for loss. Uriah Ottoway had seven tackles, a sack and one for loss.
Dolphin and Garrett Ward both had seven tackles for the Pointers.
This week it is Level II and the Pointers will be home again in their new stadium where they will face Racine Lutheran who beat Pec/Argyle last Friday 20-19.
"We are grateful for all of the support to make this stadium a reality," Palzkill said about the new venue.
"Having the ability to host a playoff game is not something to take for granted," Palzkill said. "Our athletes have invested a great deal of time and energy in the football program to allow this to happen. We are fortunate and excited for this opportunity."
RACINE LUTHERAN
R/L is led by 5-9 175 pound quarterback Colton Kraus who has pitched the ball for 480 yards with 154 of them going to 6-1 sophomore Elijah Solis. Tyler Tanner, a 5-9, 200 junior, has totaled 1302 yards.
R/L comes into the game 8-2 and finished 5-2 in the Metro Classic.
"We are very happy to host another game and it is great to NOT have a two-hour drive," Palzkill said. "Racine Lutheran is very big and very physical. They have a talented tailback and two other good athletes that carry the ball. We will have to be very aggressive and have good feet up front and tackle well. It will be a great challenge and we have plenty of things to improve on this week in practice."
