Kewaunee wins ‘War on the Shore’

The Kewaunee football team has grown by leaps and bounds from where it was last year.

The Storm showcased that Friday during a 42-7 victory over Algoma in the 124th meeting of the War on the Shore.

Northeastern Wisconsin’s oldest rivalry was a far cry from the pair of one-point games the squads played to last season.

Kewaunee used its athleticism and experience to build a 35-0 halftime lead to pick up its 11th straight win in the historic series.

“It definitely helps when you have seniors,” Kewaunee coach Randy Charles said about having 18 seniors compared to a handful last season. “When you have seniors that will take over like Cody (Bultman), who will control and manage the game the way you ask him to, that makes a big difference. Having senior leadership and guys that know what to do and just go out there and make plays has definitely put us in a good position.”

The Storm will find out exactly where it stands next week when it hosts Southern Door in a matchup that will go a long way in determining the MONLPC-Large champion.

Kewaunee is aiming to contend for its first conference title since 2010 and appears to be a much different squad from the one that sustained a pair of lopsided losses to the Eagles last season, including a 41-3 defeat in the first round of the WIAA Division 5 playoffs.

After missing the beginning of last year with a knee injury, Bultman continued his impressive start Friday by completing 14-of-19 passes for 192 yards and three touchdowns. He’s thrown for 777 yards and nine TDs during his team’s 3-0 start.

All three of Bultman’s scoring strikes against Algoma went to senior Michael Halada, who totaled 61 yards on the three receptions. Senior Cameron Hanrahan made four catches for 50 yards, while senior Andrew Richard added two catches for 40 yards.

“We just have so many athletes out here,” Halada said. “Cody just throws the ball really well. He’s taking a big step forward being a leader.”

Halada, a 6-foot-5 receiver, actually serves as a microcosm, too, of just how much the Storm has grown since last year with his playmaking ability.

“He started coming on towards the end of last season and filling that role and doing that for us,” Charles said.

Lincoln Barta rushed for 112 yards and a pair of TDs in the win behind the offensive line of Tanor Bortolini, Riley Paplham, Conner Parkman, Sam LeCaptain and Sterling Gardner.

“I definitely think our offensive line has picked it up overall from what they did last year,” Charles said. “They’re starting to control a little more and starting to open up some holes. That’s made a big difference for us. I think they’ve done an excellent job of protecting Cody.”

Bultman got off to a rough start Friday with Algoma junior Zach Schmidt collecting an early interception.

Algoma senior Casey Nelson was picked off by Michael Barribeau on the ensuing drive, and Kewaunee’s offense took control from there against a young Wolves team in search of its first win this season.

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“We had guys in the position, but they made a better play,” Algoma coach Wade Vandervest said of Halada making leaping catches on two of his TDs.

“We have to get these guys that are younger to grow up quick. We’ve gotten better, but we still have some work to do. Hopefully, as the season goes on we’ll get better each and every game and the scoreboard will show it a little more. We’re making strides. I have to always remember that we are young yet still.”

Sophomore Oliver Robertson rushed for 61 yards and a TD for the Wolves. Sophomore Jordon Deringer and junior Zach Dellis each recorded eight tackles to lead the defense.

Bortolini posted four tackles for loss, including three sacks, to lead the Storm, which also got an interception from McCoy Walechka.

Algoma and Kewaunee both will face tough tests over the next two weeks with each team playing Southern Door and Oconto.

The Eagles came away with a 34-33 overtime victory over the Blue Devils Friday to extend their conference winning streak to 14 games.

It marked the third straight week Southern Door’s game went down to the wire. Its tough schedule saw it win 46-40 against Winneconne in Week 1 and fall 17-14 at Wausau East in Week 2.

The Storm is looking forward to seeing how it fairs in its first big test of the season after outscoring opponents 119-20 in its three wins.

“We’re hungry to go out there and go toe-to-toe with those guys and really battle it out,” Charles said.

Algoma 0 0 0 7 – 7

Kewaunee 14 21 7 0 – 42

First quarter

K – Michael Halada 13 pass from Cody Bultman (Alex Hewett kick)

K – Halada 31 pass from Bultman (Hewett kick)

Second quarter

K – Bultman 1 run (Hewett kick)

K – Lincoln Barta 2 run (Failed 2-point attempt)

K – Halada 17 pass from Bultman (Barta run)

Third quarter

K – Barta 5 run (Hewett kick)

Fourth quarter

A – Oliver Robertson 29 run (Ryan Feuerstein kick)

Individual statistics

Rushing – A: Oliver Robertson 11-61, Jordon Deringer 8-37, Zach Dellis 1-3, Casey Nelson 9- -7; K: Lincoln Barta 14-112, Michael Barribeau 5-17, Owen Kudick 2-7, Cody Bultman 2-1.

Passing – A: Casey Nelson 1-4-2-44; K: Cody Bultman 14-19-1-192.

Receiving – A: Zach Dellis 1-44; K: Michael Halada 3-61, Cameron Hanrahan 4-50, Andrew Richard 2-40, Lincoln Barta 2-20, McCoy Walechka 2-16, Wyatt Kruse 1-5.