That football rematch with Appleton Xavier will have to wait until next year.
Waupaca handed Sheboygan Falls a 44-0 shutout Friday, Oct. 21, in a Division 3 Level 1 playoff game, but won’t face Xavier in the second round. That’s because the Hawks fell to Marinette 27-21 in another Division 3 first-round matchup. The second-seeded Comets will now head to Marinette to take on the unseeded Marines Friday or Saturday, Oct. 28-29.
Meanwhile, Amherst and Tigerton/Marion picked up Level 1 wins in Division 5, while Iola-Scandinavia came up short in Division 6.
Division 3
Waupaca 44, Sheboygan Falls 0
WAUPACA – The Comets took control of the game with a 24-point second quarter and held the Falcons to 32 yards of offense.
Sam Menzies capped the game’s opening drive with a 3-yard run. Bjorn Asher added a 26-yard field goal in the second quarter and added a 28-yard TD reception from Menzies. Aaron Gooch and Beau Ash added 11- and 1-yard touchdown runs, respectively, to give the Comets a 31-0 halftime lead.
Ajay Johnson scored from 6 yards out in the third quarter and Gooch wrapped up the scoring with a 2-yard run in the fourth quarter.
Waupaca outgained the Falcons 294-26 on the ground and 102-6 through the air and had an 18-2 advantage in first downs. The Falcons also never moved the ball into Comet territory.
Beau Ash ran for 138 yards to lead Waupaca’s rushers, while Asher caught two passes for 69 yards.
Division 5
Amherst 48, Laconia 13
AMHERST – Amherst picked up the school’s first-ever football playoff win with a convincing win over the Spartans Saturday, Oct. 22.
Chris Zblewski threw a pair of touchdown passes and ran for two more scores as the third-seeded Falcons opened up a 41-0 halftime lead.
Amherst (9-1) will now play unseeded Bonduel Oct. 28 or Oct. 29 in Bonduel. The Falcons handed the Bears a 15-14 loss in the regular-season finale. Bonduel advanced to the second round with a 12-0 win over Niagara/Goodman/Pembine.
Zblewski opened the scoring with a 5-yard run in the first quarter and Willie Doll returned a fumble 22 yards and scored on a 27-yard run for the Falcons’ second and third TDs of the first quarter.
Doll added a 10-yard run in the second quarter, while Zblewski threw TD passes of 14 and 2 yards to Max Strand and Jon Konkol, respectively.
Zblewski scored Amherst’s final touchdown on a 9-yard run before Laconia’s Sawyer Schmitz scored on runs of 50 and 54 yards.
Tigerton/Marion 46, Crandon 24
CLINTONVILLE – Adam Mielke ran for 195 yards to lead the Thundercatz over the Cardinals Oct. 21 in Clintonville. Mielke scored on runs of 29 and 23 yards in the first quarter.
Justin Miller added a pair of 4-yard TD runs in the first half, while Tyler Marquardt scored on a 1-yard quarterback keeper and Brandon Sivertson added a 16-yard run to give the Thundercatz a 39-8 lead at the break.
Clay Detert scored from 4 yards out for Tigerton/Marion’s final TD.
The top-seeded Thundercats (8-2) will face defending Division 5 state champion Brillion (9-1) Oct. 28 or Oct. 29 in Clintonville.
Division 6
Coleman 48, Iola-Scandinavia 7
COLEMAN – Coleman improved to 10-0 on the season with a win over the Thunderbirds.
The T-Birds’ lone score came on Spencer Erickson’s 67-yard pass to Bradly Hardel in the second quarter.
Erickson passed for 289 yards, but the T-Birds could only muster 19 yards on the ground. Coleman rushed for 317 yards and threw for another 188, as the Cougars rolled up 505 yards of offense.
Hardel caught a team-high six passes for 200 yards.