Friday Morning Quarterback

By Pete Watson/News Republic

There wasn’t much incentive for the Baraboo Thunderbirds football team to go out and fight for every inch of turf on Wednesday in their 2009 curtain call at Beryl Newman Stadium.

Winless and outscored 303-40 coming into its game against the Reedsburg Beavers didn’t lend itself to the thought of upset.

But the T-Birds (0-9) did come out battling and did so until the final whistle against the playoff-bound Beavers in a 35-0 season-ending loss.

That kind of fight, and pride the Thunderbirds showed against tall odds is what has BHS coach Jeff Ochsankehl hopeful for the future.

The challenges faced by Ochsankehl in his first year with the program were equal to those of his players.

Coaches had to learn names and skill sets, players had to learn schemes and terminology.

Many times this season both coach and player learned constructive lessons — a 72-6 loss at Waunakee — that helped lay the groundwork for a program seeking a more prosperous direction.

"I think this year we found out the importance of getting ready for a season," Oschankehl said. "That’s the big lesson. We’ve got a lot of work to put in between now and next fall to play at the level that you need to be at to compete — to put us into positions to win some games.

"Unless we start doing the things that we have to start doing to become a good football program, we’re not going anywhere. We have to make that decision.

"We have to establish a commitment to what needs to be done."

Before Wednesday’s game, Ochsankehl philosophized about what changes are necessary when taking a program up the ladder of success.

It’s not just improvements physically via the weight room or offseason workouts, it’s more to do with adjustments in attitude and approach.

"Football at this level if fun, but it’s not recreational. It’s a competitive event," Ochsankehl said. "In a nutshell our kids like playing football. But if you want to be good at football you have to be passionate about it as opposed to just showing up and going through the motions. There has to be a change in that direction."

Ochsankehl is looking forward to the day when Baraboo football is more of a must-see event than just a to-do option at the end of the week.

"As bad as we’ve done this year, there were still a lot of people coming to games," he said. "Instead of our games being just something to do on Friday night, we want it to be something that people want to come out and be part of and get excited about."

BHS gave some glimpses of how exciting the team can be on Wednesday. The squad showed improvement defensively throughout four quarters and offensively showed it has made some strides since August.

 

No you don’t

 

 

 

BHS junior defensive back Mubarak Kiyamov wasn’t going to let Reedsburg speedster Matt Lennon beat him to the outside.

On first down of Reedsburg’s second possession of the game, Lennon took the pitch from quarterback Chad Mazur and looked to get around the right side and into open space. Lennon’s only problem was that Kiyamov stayed at home a few yards off the line of scrimmage and read the play, before darting into the backfield and tackling the ball carrier for a 3-yard loss.

 

And you don’t either

 

Kody Lane, a junior defensive lineman for the T-Birds, got the jump on Mazur during a third quarter drive by the Beavers.

On first and 10 from their own 43, RHS went to its option and Mazur broke to his left. Because of penetration into the backfield by Tanner Mulock and Joe Labeots, Mazur had no choice but to tuck the ball, head for the sideline try to turn up field. Lane beat the quarterback to end line and made a sure tackle for a two-yard loss.

 

Cheers

 

Junior Chris Vierbicher probably doesn’t intimidate too many opposing players with his 5-foot-8, 159-pound frame. But he sure can motivate his teammates.

Before the start of the third quarter on Wednesday, Vierbicher made his rounds on the sideline chanting and pounding the pads of his teammates chanting "last half, last half."

Given that it was the last 24 minutes for the seniors, Baraboo’s offense did its best to parlay the reminder into something positive.

The squad took the field and held the ball for nine plays, chewing up 20 yards, before the Beavers were able to force a turnover on fourth down.

 

Too tall

 

Baraboo receiver Mark Kowalke has been the go-to guy all season long for quarterback TJ Kaminski.

For the year, the 6-7 junior finished with 21 catches for 400 yards and four touchdowns.

On Wednesday, Kowalke brought in five catches for 44 yards that included a 20-yard grab in the first quarter.

Trying to muster up a big play, Kaminski threw twice to Kowalke on first and second down with no luck. But on third and 10 from their own 35, Kaminski scrambled to his right, planted and threw to Kowalke who was double-covered down the right sideline.

The coverage proved to be no matter for Kowalke, as the reception artist timed his jump perfectly and pulled the ball down between both defenders for a first down.

 

Throwing option

 

Kaminski threw 20 times and completed seven passes against the Beavers.

The senior QB found three receivers in the game, hitting Kowalke, Palacek and Taylor Schuster.

Schuster’s catch was his second of the season and it went for five yards.

 

Return investment

 

BHS kickoff returner Cory Alfaro had a solid outing on Wednesday.

The junior made three returns of 20, 13 and 18 yards for an average of 17 yards per.

 

Running men

 

Baraboo got contributions at running back from four players.

Senior Josh Baerwolf led the core with 10 carries for 46 yards. Kaminski, Brady Palacek and Vierbicher combined for 25 yards on 16 carries.