BY JOSH STALOCH
SPORTS EDITOR
KEWAUNEE – A dazzling drive on offense to begin the game, followed immediately by a brick-wall defensive stand set the tone for Friday’s matchup of the Packerland Conference’s unbeatens, with the Kewaunee Storm coming away with a convincing 48-6 victory over the visiting Eagles of Southern Door.
“It’s a group that really buys into what we’re trying to do,” said Kewaunee head coach Randy Charles of his team’s mentality at this point in the season.”They’re not about the superstars or all-stars.They’re about doing their job, going out and putting in the work day to day. I think that’s what makes this team special.”
The game’s opening drive saw the Storm start at their own 40, with DJ Echols and Owen Carlson combining for nice runs to move the chains.
Kewaunee got into enemy territory but the drive looked like it had stalled out when a third-and-10 play from the 32-yard line came up short.
But coach Charles, showing extreme levels of confidence in quarterback Thomas Stangel, dialed up a play that saw his signal caller loft a pass perfectly down along the Southern Door sideline and right into the hands of Maddix Mueller, in stride, for the first score of the game.
The Storm’s defensive unit didn’t allow much over the course of the game and it only needed three plays to bring out the punt team on the Eagles’ first drive.
Next up, the Kewaunee offense was dealt a setback of its own as Stangel was intercepted on a second down play. Quick to shake it off, Stangel made a big defensive play on the next down to deflect a pass in the end zone from Eagles quarterback Drew Daoust.
Southern Door looked ready to march down the field on the drive but steady play by the Kewaunee defense kept the visitors away from the goal line. Coy Kleiman knocked another potential scoring pass down and then Mueller did the same moments later on a fourth-down play.
Up next, a defense-demoralizing run of 84 yards on second down from Carlson got the Storm into the end zone quickly for a 12-0 lead.
Playing defense, Carlson forced a fumble on the Eagles’ next drive and the Storm turned the takeaway into seven points on a score by Tyler VanGoethem, making it 19-0.
Kemper Robinson intercepted a Daoust pass on Southern Door’s next drive and the Storm went into the locker room with a healthy lead that was never challenged the rest of the way.
“I’m just working hard and doing what I can. The offensive line is a big part of it,” replied Carlson when asked what the key to his three-touchdown night was. “There’s a lot of team chemistry out here. We’ve been playing together since we were five and we trust each other. We just keep building on that.”
Editor’s note: The Luxemburg-Casco Spartans were successful on the road in week eight, taking down Fox Valley Lutheran by a final of 35-21. The Algoma Wolves picked up another victory on Friday also, a 44-32 road win over Sevastopol. Check next Saturday’s print edition of the Star-News for statistics from all three contests.
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