Pointers football topple Fennimore, move on to Level 1 playoffs

By Matthew Goninen

Last Friday Night, the Mineral Point Football Team wrapped up their regular season with a 27-14 win over the Fennimore Golden Eagles.

Fennimore leaned on the elusiveness of Sophomore Running Back Reece Kelley early.

While they made it to the red zone on their first drive, they would turn the ball over on downs, taking nearly 8 minutes off of the clock.

After opening the drive with back-to-back 15-yard gains from Shawn Jahnke-Fiedler,

Reece Kelley picked up 29 yards on a pitch play. From there, Dawson Crubel found Sophomore Brody Roth in the end zone for a Golden Eagle Touchdown. Fennimore’s PAT was blocked.

Fennimore, moving the ball on their next drive, lost the football on a fumble. The Pointer offense came alive, opening the drive with a 33-yard pass to Grady Finley. However, following another bad snap, the Pointers turned the ball over on downs.

“You hope your team can play complementary football,” Head Coach Justin Leonard said.

“I feel like our team has done this to a certain extent on both sides of the football this year. We are still looking for that complete game, and I feel that can happen and will need to happen next week as we enter the playoffs.”

With just 53 seconds on the clock and the ball back, the Pointer offense marched down the field, capping the drive off with a Reid Acherman Touchdown Run on 4th and 4 with time expiring. Liam Carey drilled the PAT, and the Pointers took a 7-6 lead into the break.

On the first play of the second half, Mineral Point turned the ball over on a fumble, setting up Fennimore with a goal-to-go situation.

“I was rather surprised with our miscues on offense early,” Coach Leonard mentioned.

“Our guys were extremely focused on the way over to Fennimore, and I thought we would hit the ground running. Sometimes, you just need to line up and play the game.”

After being held away by the Mineral Point defense, Dawson Crubel found Junior Tight End Jude Kinney wide open in the end zone to regain the lead. Kinney also found himself on the receiving end of the two-point conversion as Fennimore extended their lead to 7.

Following the second Fennimore Touchdown, Mineral Point took control. Liam Carey connected with Brett Bossert for a 20-yard gain. Reid Acherman found Roen Carey on a shovel pass to set up the Pointer offense inside the five, where Acherman punched it in on another QB keeper. The Pointers made their PAT, tying the game at 14.

Mineral Point made quick work of their next drive as Liam Carey found Grady Finley again. This time, it was the Junior Wide Receiver doing the work, taking the ball 69 yards downfield for the score. Mineral Point regained the lead, 21-14.

Fennimore put together a sustained drive, but pressure from Reid Acherman caused Crubel to overthrow his intended receiver. Sophomore Elliot Kite took advantage, intercepting the pass.

Late in the fourth quarter, strong runs from Roen Carey helped to move the Pointers down the field. The exclamation mark came on another Reid Acherman touchdown off of a quarterback keeper, his third of the night. While Liam Carey missed the PAT, Mineral Point still led 27-14 late.

Fenninmore, forced to go for it on 4th and 8, would not be able to move the chains.

Mineral Point would run the clock out and come away with the 27-14 victory.

Mineral Point has qualified for the WIAA Football Playoffs for the 11th consecutive season, earning a 6 seed in Division 6.

The Mineral Point Pointers will travel to Cuba City for a Level 1 battle with the 3-seed Cubans. Kickoff is set for 7:00 tomorrow night at O.A. Barth Field.

“I thought we had a good season for the amount of kids we had out for football. This group of boys that finished the season was great,” Coach Leonard added. “They were coachable and did everything we asked of them. I look forward to our guys taking on the challenge of our Level 1 playoff game this week against Cuba City.”