Jaguars rally past De Pere

ASHWAUBENON – Cam Wheeler saw an opportunity Thursday night at Goelz Field.

The Ashwaubenon senior sure is glad he took it.

Wheeler caught the game-winning touchdown with 14.3 seconds remaining to propel the Jaguars to a 15-8 victory over De Pere in a Fox River Classic Conference game.

The 6-foot-1, 215-pounder was supposed to stay in the backfield and block on the play for a rollout, but Wheeler made the heady play to release in the middle of the field and get in the sight line of sophomore quarterback Cadian Vang.

The decision resulted in a 5-yard TD to cap a 77-yard drive, which ultimately helped Ashwaubenon avoid an 0-3 start that would have greatly hindered its chances of extending its 20-year WIAA playoff streak.

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“We did talk the kids about playoffs this week,” Ashwaubenon coach Mark Jonas said. “We don’t usually, but they knew where they stood. When you’re 0-2, and they’re 2-0 you, you’ve got to win the game.”

After being sacked more than five times in the game, Vang showed great poise in marching the Jaguars down the field at the end. He moved the chains on a fourth-and-8 with a pass to junior Sam Nooyen and later set up the game-winning touchdown with a 19-yard pass to fellow sophomore Luke Schroeder.

“I’m just really impressed with the integrity of our kids,” Jonas said. “Cadian can make plays. He’s a tough kid for a sophomore. I give him a lot of credit.”

Ashwaubenon took a 7-0 lead when Vang connected with Nooyen for a 27-yard scoring strike midway through the second quarter.

The Jaguars squandered an opportunity at the end of the first half to add to the lead following an interception return to the De Pere 8 by senior Ashton Steinike.

Facing a fourth-and-goal, Ashwaubenon initially lined up for a field goal in the final minute but opted to send the offense out following a De Pere timeout and it resulted in De Pere senior Conner VandenHeuvel making an interception.

Jonas said he made the decision not kick a field goal to avoid a block and potential return, like the Redbirds had done the previous week in rallying for a victory against Green Bay Southwest.

De Pere opened the second half with a 73-yard drive, which was capped by a 4-yard TD run by senior Caelan Markusen. The Redbirds took the lead with a 2-point conversion run by senior Landon Kirby.

After rotating between Kirby and junior Christian Bocik in the first half, Kirby remained at quarterback in the second half when De Pere had an overwhelming advantage in time of possession.

“We went three-and-out so much in the first half that neither one of them had a chance,” De Pere coach Chad Michalkiewicz said. “That’s on me. I didn’t have them prepared to go.

“Second half, we did whatever we wanted up and down the field and we didn’t punch it in. We didn’t close.”

The Redbirds had the chance to put the game away when senior Sam Hafner forced a fumble that was recovered by junior Daniel Youngquist at the Ashwaubenon 17. The De Pere offense was forced back to the Ashwaubenon 31 on the ensuing drive and settled for a shotgun punt by Kirby on fourth-and-24.

De Pere will attempt to bounce back next week when it hosts undefeated Green Bay Preble.

Jonas is going to let his players enjoy its first win during the holiday weekend before turning their attention to undefeated Bay Port next week.

“It’s fun for these kids,” Jonas said. “It just is. They needed to have that kind of win.”