Fond du Lac football gears up for Kimberly
FOND DU LAC – There’s very little mystery heading into Friday’s WIAA Division 1 Level 3 playoff football game between Fond du Lac and Kimberly.
Fond du Lac football coach Mike Gnewuch, along with his players, know the obstacle the Cardinals are up against. “They’re Kimberly,” Gnewuch said simply. “They’re very good.”
Kimberly (11-0), a No. 1 seed in the playoffs and winner of the Valley Football Association North, has won three straight state championships — one in Division 2 and the last two in Division 1 — and is currently riding a 53-game winning streak, the longest such mark in state history. The Papermakers are coming off blowout wins over Milwaukee Vincent/Destiny (78-0) and Appleton West (42-7) in the first two rounds of the postseason. In the past three years, Kimberly has hardly been challenged and that’s once again the case this season, as the Papermakers are averaging 45.8 points per game while allowing just 7.4. On paper, there simply is not a weakness for a team widely regarded as the best in the state. “Coach (Steve) Jones does a heck of a job with them,” Gnewuch said. “They’re really programmed to win every single game. Just their attitude, you can tell by the way they play. We have our hands full and our work cut out for us, but we’re excited, though. When the brackets came out, the kids were really excited. We’re up for the challenge.”
If Fond du Lac (9-2), second-place finisher in the VFA South and a No. 2 seed in the playoffs, has any shot of pulling the upset, it will start with the Cardinals’ defense. This season, Fond du Lac’s defense is allowing 16.5 points per game, but has been playing terrific during the Cardinals’ current eight-game winning streak, which includes convincing victories over Milwaukee Washington/Science/Collegiate (64-0) and Milwaukee King (38-6) to begin the playoffs.
The Papermakers are an entirely different challenge. Kimberly quarterback Danny Vanden Boom has thrown for 1,703 yards and 27 touchdowns this year, while running back D.J. Stewart has 1,514 yards rushing and 27 TDs. Leading receiver Tyler Verstegen has 37 receptions for 484 yards and 6 TDs.That kind of balance is hard to defend, but it’s what the Cardinals will need to do on Friday in Kimberly.
“You’ve really got to pick and choose (who to defend),” Gnewuch said. “You’ve got to look and see who their threats are. You’re not going to be able to take away all of them, but you have to take away some of them and just slow them down. The biggest thing that I see is they’ve had some big plays. They score on really big plays and if we can get them to earn every yard of it, we’ll be in a much better situation.”
Fond du Lac linebacker Devon Krzanowski noted the Cardinals will first need to take away the Papermakers’ running game because that opens up the rest of their offense. “We’ve got to take away their run first,” Krzanowski said. “That’s the best part of their game and try to make them throw it.”
Offensively, Fond du Lac (35.6 ppg) has featured a run-heavy attack this year, with Keon Jefferson (1,053 yards, 15 TDs) and Colton Wasieleski (872 yards, 12 TDs) leading the way. But quarterback Jack Cole (121-202 passing, 1,640 yards, 19 TDs) has found quite a bit of success through the air and Gnewuch is aware that his team will need to score some points to keep up with the Papermakers on Friday and can’t do it just with the running game. “Obviously we pound the rock and we want to establish the running game, but we know that in this game we’re going to have to throw the football effectively as well,” Gnewuch said. “We know they’re very good up front (defensively) and we’re just going to have to take what they’re giving us. It may be running the ball, but we’re going to have to be very opportunistic in our throwing opportunities as well.”
Added offensive lineman Ben Rusch: “We obviously think they have one of the strongest defenses in the state. Their defensive line is really good. But we’re pretty confident going into this because our offensive line is really good. We think we match up pretty well against them. We’ve just got to stick to our normal game plan and we’ll be alright.”
Two years ago, just like this season, Fond du Lac traveled to Kimberly for a Level 3 game with the goal of pulling the upset. That game ended 41-15 in favor of the Papermakers. Now the Cardinals are playing in the state quarterfinals for the third straight season and the situation hasn’t changed much. They still have to get past Kimberly. They’re still the underdog. But they aren’t shying away from this chance.
“We’re really excited for the opportunity,” Gnewuch said. “We think we have a great game plan on both sides of the ball. The die is cast. I guess that’s the history teacher in me, quoting Caesar. We’re going to go out and we’re going to play hard. I can promise you we’re going to play hard for four quarters.”
Kimberly avoids upset against Fond du Lac 32 – 29
KIMBERLY – Given the Kimberly Papermakers’ average margin of victory of more than 38 points this season, there hasn’t been a lot of drama in their games.
In Friday’s WIAA Division 1 Level 3 playoff game against Fond du Lac, Kimberly got everything it could handle from the Cardinals before prevailing 32-29. The victory advances Kimberly to a Level 4 contest against Stevens Point, which defeated previously unbeaten Bay Port 37-34. It was the 54th consecutive victory for Kimberly to extend its state record.
The Papermakers, who trailed 29-26 with 5:06 left in the game, drove 69 yards in 3:25 to go ahead on Danny Vanden Boom’s 16-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Verstegen in the left corner of the end zone. “I knew it was going to be a tough game,” Kimberly coach Steve Jones said. “It was a great test. Fond du Lac gave us all they could handle.”
Fond du Lac demonstrated it could go toe-to-toe with Kimberly on the Cardinals’ first possession, going 87 yards on 13 plays and capping the drive with a 10-yard touchdown run by Keon Jefferson.
Kimberly responded with a 25-yard field goal by Adam Stage and following a fumble by Fond du Lac quarterback Jack Cole, the Papermakers went up 10-7 on a 3-yard run by Zach Miller.
Fond du Lac picked up another touchdown on a 14-yard pass from Cole to Peyton Nett, while Kimberly got a 35-yard field goal from Stage to end the first half with the Cardinals up 14-13.
Kimberly struggled to run the ball in the first half against Fond du Lac’s defense, which packed the box, gaining only 50 yards on the ground in the first half. Miller, who finished with a game-high 146 yards rushing, had only 13 yards in the first half, while fellow running back D.J. Stewart would have only 10 yards.
Kimberly found a way to run the ball in the second half.
After forcing a three-and-out on Fond du Lac’s first possession of the second half, Kimberly gave the ball to Miller repeatedly. Starting with a 9-yard run, Miller would carry the ball on 12 of Kimberly’s next 14 plays, scoring on touchdown runs of 49 and 5 yards and gaining 116 yards and helping Kimberly to a 26-21 lead through three quarters.
Fond du Lac got the break it needed with six minutes left in the game.
Throwing from his own 17, Vanden Boom lofted a throw down the left sideline that Fond du Lac’s Trey Halfmann picked off and returned to the 11-yard line. Three plays later, Colton Wasieleski plowed through Kimberly’s defensive line for a 14-yard score, setting the stage for the Papermakers’ game-winning drive.
Starting on its own 31, Kimberly worked slowly to Fond du Lac’s 43-yard line.
Stewart, who had only 17 yards rushing at that point, took Vanden Boom’s hand-off, going 25 yards around right end to get the ball down to the 18. Two plays later, Vanden Boom found Verstegen in the end zone for the go-ahead score to extend the winning streak to 54 games and, more important, extend the season.
| FOND DU LAC… | …7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | — | 29 |
| Kimberly… | …10 | 3 | 13 | 6 | — | 32 |
First quarter
FDL: Keon Jefferson 10 run (Jared Scheberl kick)
K: Adam Stage 25 field goal
K: Zach Miller 3 run (Stage kick)
Second quarter
FDL: Peyton Nett 14 pass from Jack Cole (Scheberl kick)
K: Stage 35 field goal
Third quarter
K: Miller 49 run (Stage kick)
FDL: Jefferson 5 run (Scheberl kick)
K: Miller 5 run (pass failed)
Fourth quarter
FDL: Colton Wasieleski 14 run (Sam Frederickson pass from Cole)
K: Verstegen 16 pass from Danny Vanden Boom (kick blocked)
| FDL | KIM | |
| First downs | 14 | 14 |
| Total net yards | 245 | 407 |
| Rushes-yards | 30-168 | 41-218 |
| Passing yards | 77 | 189 |
| Comp-Att-Int | 10-26-1 | 12-17-1 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 1-1 | 1-1 |
| Penalties-Yards | 1-5 | 4-30 |
Individual leaders
Rushing — FDL: Colton Wasieleski12-63, Jack Cole 4-58. KIM: Zach Miller 24-146, D.J. Stewart 12-51.
Passing — FDL: Cole 10-26-1-168. KIM: Vanden Boom 12-17-1-189.
Receiving — FDL: Payton Nett 4-73. KIM: Verstegen 7-84.