Oconto Falls, last season’s undefeated Northwoods Conference champion, were reminded of the power of the Packerland last Friday in a 35-7 thumping at Kewaunee.

It marked the first time since 1999 that the Panthers played in the ‘Pack.’

Junior tight end Dane Harrell returned to his roots as a fullback, scoring two touchdowns after pancaking a would-be tackler on Blake Temme’s opening-drive TD run to provide an explosive start.

“I was fullback in grade school, and this brought back a lot of memories,” said the 6-foot-4, 230-pound Harrell. “Just running people over. It’s awesome.”

Kewaunee won the battle in the trenches, 249 yards of offense compared to just 60 yards passing and 62 on the ground for the Panthers, an average of just three yards per play.

“It was amazing,” said senior lineman Benjamin VanGoethem. “It was a dogfight. We really wanted this one, and it showed.”

The Storm improved to 1-1 in conference play, 2-2 overall, matching Oconto Falls. Bonduel and Peshtigo are both 2-0 in the Packerland.

Kewaunee is at Sturgeon Bay this week and at Southern Door Sept. 25, returning home for Homecoming, Parent’s Night and Alumni Night Oct. 2 vs. Peshtigo.

“Having a little road stretch is another really good test for us,” said Storm coach Randy Charles. “We’ve started extremely slow (in) both road games so far. Finding a way to get that momentum early on the road when your routine isn’t exactly like it is at home — we’ve got a lot of young guys still figuring that out — it’s a learning and growth process. It’s finding a way to bring that energy and fire every single play.”

Kewaunee pieced together a long opening drive, culminating in Temme’s short run with 5:25 left in the first quarter.

Then it was Dane Time. The big junior rumbled through a gaping hole for a short run with 8:08 left in the second, and less than four minutes later, took a pass from Diesel Bosdeck and plowed downhill from 17 yards.
Mason Kovacs caught a short pass for another TD with 38 seconds left in the half, and it was 28-0 at the break.

The Storm made it 35-0 early in the third after forcing a punt on Oconto Falls’ first drive of the second half. For the second straight week, a blocked punt — this time by Blake Bortolini — resulted in a scoop and score. Last week it was Harrell; this time, fellow junior Baylor Elliot picked up the bouncing pigskin and sprinted 22 yards for his first career varsity touchdown.

A Kewaunee fumble led to Falls’ only score late.

Bosdeck completed 14 of 19 passes for 126 yards and two TDs, with Kovacs catching six for 62 yards, Harrell three for 36 and Peyton Schaller three for 21.

Temme gained 58 yards on 16 carries, Harrell 35 on five, Bosdeck 18 on two and Tucker DuFresne had an eight-yard run.

Bortolini and Landon LaTour each had three pancake blocks, and VanGoethem and Warren Weidner each two. Defensively, Bortolini had eight tackles (seven solo) and Harrell five (all solo). Schaller and Nicolas Smidel each had an interception, with Smidel returning his 30 yards.

Elliot had a 22-yard punt return and A.J. Spranger was 5-for-5 on extra-point kicks.

Valley Christian 31, Algoma 14

The Wolves lost for the first time this season, 31-14, and it was a costly one. Algoma’s top receiver, senior Cooper Fay, suffered a broken collar bone in the second half.

Valley Christian (4-0) beat Sevastopol 42-22 two weeks ago and shut out Montello and Oneida Nation by a combined 106-0 in its two other games thus far. Their game with Gibraltar has been cancelled this week as the Vikings don’t have enough healthy players to field a competitive team.

Ethan Melotte gained 79 yards on 26 carries but completed only three of seven pass attempts for a dozen yards, two to Jack Schwader and one to Fay.

Jacob Blahnik scored one of Algoma’s touchdowns on a 60-yard run, and Jack Meverden had the other on a 33-yard burst. Blahnik had four carries for 78 yards and Meverden six for 44.

Defensively, Brady Walker had 14 tackles and a sack, Meverden 13 (six solo) and Blahnik 11, plus a fumble recovery. Schwader added nine tackles and David Tebon seven.

Algoma hosts N.E.W. Lutheran for Parent’s Night this Friday before traveling to Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah Sept. 25. N.E.W. is 3-1 overall, 2-1 in the Packerland-8. Sevastopol is also 3-1, 2-1, while Algoma is 3-1, 1-1.

Little Chute 49, Lux-Casco 14

The visiting Mustangs stayed tied for the North Eastern Conference lead with a win that included four fourth-quarter touchdowns. Little Chute and Freedom are both 4-0 overall, 2-0 in the conference, while the Spartans fell to 2-2, 1-1.

Luxemburg-Casco got a four-yard touchdown pass from Eli Derenne to Joey Jeanquart for a 7-6 lead in the first quarter, but were outscored 43-7 the rest of the way.

Derenne finished with nine completions in 23 attempts for 87 yards, one TD and one interception, plus 62 yards rushing on 15 carries. Jeanquart caught four passes for 31 yards and Trenton Price two for 44, and Ben Klass had a short TD run among his 11 carries for 42 yards.

Ethan Werner led the defense with 13 tackles, including eight solo. Jeanquart, Grant Seering and Callen Murphy each had eight tackles while Lane Ledvina had seven, and Talon Tassoul two tackles for loss and a fumble recovery. Murphy also had two tackles for loss, and Seering one.

The Spartans travel to Wrightstown this week before hosting Seymour for Homecoming weekend Sept. 25.