West De Pere punches ticket to state

WESTON – No regrets.

Jack Batten has told the West De Pere football team to play with that all season.

The Head Coach told his squad that again Friday as he blew into the huddle in what was a snow globe at Stiehm Stadium to celebrate with his players after they punched their ticket to Madison.

“We stated last year at the banquet that our goal is to get down to Madison,” Batten said. “Anything less would have been disappointing. It’s cool when you can do something like that and reach the goal. Now, we have to bring back the gold ball.”

Follow Preps Agenda on Facebook

Help support Preps Agenda

The Phantoms looked calm, cool and collected in producing a 35-14 victory over Rice Lake at Stiehm Stadium in a WIAA Division 3 state semifinal game.

West De Pere (13-0) advances to play Waukesha Catholic Memorial (12-1) at Camp Randall Stadium in its first state appearance since winning back-to-back titles in 2010 and 2011.

“It’s a dream come true,” West De Pere senior Jake Karchinski said. “It has been our dream since Pop Warner to play at Camp Randall. It’s going to be great going out with a bang there.”

The undefeated Phantoms got another great effort from their defense. They covered the field about as well as the snow did on a chilly evening in holding Rice Lake’s option offense to 202 yards and a season-low point total.

Meanwhile, West De Pere’s offense accumulated yards in bunches on the ground, averaging 6.0 yards per carry in rushing for 344 yards.

“It was so cold, but at the same time it was the best, most miserable game you could play in,” West De Pere senior center Cameron Reese said. “This means everything. It’s for the community and everyone. It’s what we’ve worked for all year.”

Sophomore quarterback Josh Blount rushed for 203 yards on 29 carries and scored four touchdowns. Sophomore Kaden Kosobucki added 79 yards on the ground, while junior Cody Cavil rushed for 58 yards and a touchdown.

West De Pere didn’t attempt a pass in the game.

“We had a really good offensive game plan to throw the football tonight,” Batten said. “But that went out the window with the 25-miles-per-hour winds.”

Cavil recovered a fumble late in the fourth quarter for the game’s first turnover to seal the contest, which was a rematch at the same location of a 2014 state semifinal that Rice Lake won.

The Phantoms took a 21-0 lead after scoring on the first possession of the second half with a Cavil 3-yard touchdown run.

Rice Lake found some traction in the third quarter with scoring drives on two straight possessions, but West De Pere closed the door in the fourth quarter with the wind at its back and its ears pinned back on defense.

“Their offense is designed to function in this weather pretty well also,” Batten said. “I think you have to give our defense some credit. They were very discipline tonight. When you play option football, you have to keep your eyes where they belong and everybody has to do their job. If one guy decides to ally cat a little bit, then your whole defense could fall apart. With very few exceptions, we played a very discipline game on the defensive side.”

The big difference in the contest was West De Pere’s ability to extend drives by converting on third down (7-for-12) and Rice Lake’s inability to do so (2-for-11).

The Phantoms stopped the Warriors five times on downs and made eight tackles for loss.

Senior Evan Frisque recorded a team-high 13 tackles, including 2 ½ tackles for loss and a sack.

Karchinski made nine tackles, three tackles for loss and tallied a sack. Seniors Alex Spitzer and Dylan Danforth each posted six tackles.

“We were talking before the game how we never played in the snow,” Karchinski said. “We just embraced it and it was honestly so fun. We loved it.”

Batten knows his players are going to love playing for a state championship at Camp Randall Stadium next Friday.

“I’m just really excited for our players,” Batten said. “The week of state is such a fun week. You go to the Hutson Center. There is a buzz at school. The community is excited. The kids get treated like kings for a week. Every player should have the opportunity to experience that. The 2018 West De Pere football team is going to get to experience that and that’s pretty cool.”