OSHKOSH – Jack Cole threw for four touchdowns – three of those to Henry Lange – and the defense notched its first shutout of the season as the Fond du Lac football team ran it winning streak to three with a 35-0 thumping of Oshkosh West at J.J. Keller Field at Stadium on Friday night.
“We wanted to play a complete game tonight where offense played well, our defense played well and special teams played well. That’s been the emphasis all week,” Fond du Lac coach Mike Gnewuch said. “We’ve been great at times on offense, we’ve been great at times on defense but we really haven’t been able to put it all together and we were able to do that tonight.”
The Cardinals scored the first three times it touched the ball in building a 20-0 lead early in the second quarter.
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Keon Jefferson, who rushed for 148 yards on 14 carries opened the scoring with a 1-yard plunge to cap an 8-play drive, while Cole and Lange had their first scoring connecting on the second possession on a 20-yard pass play to make it 14-0.
“We wanted to establish that we were going to come out with energy and that doesn’t always happen with a 5 o’clock game,” Gnewuch said. “I was pleased with the way our kids responded to that.”
Fond du Lac’s defense stepped on the next possession after Oshkosh West had marched into Cardinal territory when Jimmie Diener made a leaping interception in the end zone to stymie a Wildcat drive.
The Cardinals then marched 80 yards in seven plays after the interception, getting a 38-yard scoring pass from Cole to Devan Krzanowski to build the 20-point lead it would take into halftime.
Fond du Lac then all but sealed the win on the opening drive of the second half as it extended its lead on a 29 yard Cole-to- Lange connection. “We just keep preaching that we want to win that first possession whether we are offense or defense,” Gnewuch said. “We want to set the tempo for the entire half so that was huge for the offensive to march right down and punch it in.”
Cole finished 10-off- 15 for 190 yards, while Lange’s three catches all went for scores and he finished with 99 yards receiving. His final score off the night came midway through the third quarter when he ran wide open through the West secondary and Cole found him for a 50-yard score. “He’s a skilled kid and he’s got really, really good hands,” Gnewwuch said of the junior tight end. “I don’t know if he even knows the potential he has on the football field yet but he keeps getting better.”
Fond du Lac 14 6 15 0 – 35
Oshkosh West 0 0 0 0 – 0
Scoring summary:
FON – Keon Jefferson 1 run (Jared Scheberl kick).
FON – Henry Lange 20 pass from Jack Cole (Scheberl kick).
FON – Devon Krzanowski, 38 pass from Cole (kick failed).
FON – Lange, 29 pass from Cole (Cole run).
FON – Lange, 50 pass from Cole (Scheberl kick).
Team stats:
FON OW
First downs 12 9
Total yards 437 214
Rushing 32-247 7-15
Yards passing 190 199
Passes 10-15- 1 28-47- 3
Fumbles 0-0 0-0
Individual leaders:
Rushing; FON – Keon Jefferson 14-148.
Passing: FON – Jack Cole 10-15- 1-190. OW – Ben Kohl 28-44- 2-199.
Receiving: FON – Henry Lange 3-99. OW – Carson Faust 6-59, Andrew Thiele 6-46, Derek Kroll 5-38, Drew McEnroe 4-25.