Diesel Bosdeck returned an interception for 65 yards and a touchdown and followed his blockers for another on an 11-yard scramble to help Kewaunee top Luxemburg-Casco 17-6 last Friday night at Don Rabas Field.
After getting shut out 42-0 opening week at Fox Valley Lutheran, it was a welcome victory for the Storm, who face Packerland power Bonduel on the road this week.

“Our practices (last week) were more uptempo, and a lot more physical,” said Bosdeck, a junior who took on the quarterback role this season. “We had a one-play-at-a-time mentality; bring the intensity.”
Kewaunee coach Randy Charles said the Storm came out pretty flat in the opener.

“We made some mistakes early, didn’t handle those well and kind of let them compound,” Charles said. “We knew going in this week we’d have to turn it around; not just in our ability to limit our mistakes, but how to respond to them.”

Bosdeck said he saw the receiver break on what would turn out to be the first pick-six of his high school career.

“I saw the quarterback’s eyes,” Bosdeck said. “Just kind of instinct, jumped it and saw our guys getting a block on the quarterback; I cut back inside and took it all the way.”

Meanwhile, a week after torching Kewaskum for 215 yards and four touchdowns rushing and completing 14 of 19 passes for 197 yards, Spartans’ star QB Eli Derenne was held to 66 yards rushing on 15 carries and just 10 completions in 34 attempts for 115 yards.

Junior lineman Landon LaTour said the Storm turned it around by being aggressive, learning from last week’s mistakes and not trying to be the hero.

“It was a vibe,” said the 6-foot-2, 240-pound LaTour. “We worked harder, tried to communicate better. Just take care of your own responsibilities. Having fun next to your teammates, it doesn’t get much better than this.”

Down 14-0, the Spartans were knocking on the door late in the first half, but Kewaunee got the stops it needed and took over on downs.

Late in the third quarter, sophomore AJ Spranger’s 25-yard field goal made it 17-0, but Ben Klass capped a Spartans’ drive by scoring from a yard out in the fourth. A two-point try failed. The Spartans then got a stop and were an off-the-fingertip pass away from a long TD that could have put some pressure on Kewaunee.

Bosdeck finished 13-of-29 for 94 yards, and added 90 yards rushing on 15 carries. Senior Blake Temme rushed for 84 yards on 19 carries. Junior Mason Kovacs had five catches for 25 yards, senior Peyton Schaller four for 33, junior Dane Harrell three for 27, and junior Baylor Elliot one for nine.

LaTour and senior Benjamin VanGoethem combined for six of the Storm’s 13 pancake blocks, while senior Blake Bortolini and Baylor Elliot led in tackles with 11 each. Bosdeck added nine, senior Garrett LeFevre eight, and senior Gregorio Medina and Bosdeck each seven.

For the Spartans, sophomore Trenton Price caught four passes for 62 yards and senior Joey Jeanquart six for 53 yards. Klass ran for 52 yards in 12 carries.

L-C sacked Bosdeck five times. Senior Lane Ledvina had two of them, junior Talon Tassoul 1.5, and junior Grant Seering one. Senior Ethan Werner led the Spartans with 16 tackles, six of them solo. Seering and senior Julian Bailey each had eight.

Luxemburg-Casco coach Neil Seering wasn’t at practice much all week, staying with his wife who recently had major surgery. Spartans’ receiver Tatem Klaubauf also had surgery on his broken leg last week.

“We’ve had a lot of adversity, but there’s a bigger lesson here,” Seering said. “Sticking together. You can’t tell how long you’ll be in adversity, but you can determine how you act. We’re going through tough times, but we’ll bounce back. I believe in these kids, and these coaches.”

Seering said turning the ball over and some costly penalties didn’t help his team.

“Overall I thought we played well,” he said. “We made some mistakes. But I’m proud of these guys for fighting to the end.”

Bonduel preview

State-ranked (Div. 6) Bonduel beat Wittenberg-Birnamwood 36-7 at home to open the season, then won at state-ranked (D-7) Coleman last week, 19-7.

Senior star running back Carter Moesch gained 86 yards on 20 carries with a touchdown in the win over the Cougars. Senior quarterback Quinn Wesenberg threw for one touchdown and ran for another. He was 4-of-9 for 33 yards passing, and rushed three times for 12 yards.

In the season opener, senior Malachi Gray had 116 yards rushing and three TDs on just seven carries to lead the Bears.

Algoma 54, Wausaukee 8

Ethan Melotte rushed for 130 yards on nine carries, including a 21-yard touchdown run, and Jacob Blahnik and Jack Meverden each rushed for a pair of TDs as the Wolves hammered Wausaukee on the road.
Algoma was at home Thursday night (after our deadline), and Coach Wade Vandervest said his team will need to play disciplined football on the defensive side and keep the offense moving to beat Gibraltar.

At Wausaukee, Melotte completed two of four passes for six yards (both to Jack Schwader), but the Wolves ground out 334 yards on 30 carries. Blahnik had 66 yards on just three carries, including first-quarter TD runs of 37 and 20 yards.

Meverden had four rushes for 39 yards, including a 14-yard and a 15-yard touchdown. Parker Stewart gained 43 yards on nine carries, including an 8-yard TD. He also had an interception. Nolan Cochart gained 46 yards in two carries, including a 43-yard TD.

For the second straight week, most starters played only about half the game. Brady Walker led the team with 10 tackles, two for loss. Ashton Moen and Cochart each had six, and Blahnik and Schwader each five.

Upcoming games

Algoma travels to Valley Christian next Friday. Kewaunee hosts Oconto Falls on Youth Night Sept. 11. L-C was at Kohler/Lutheran/Christian this week, and hosts Little Chute on Veteran’s Night Sept. 11.