Sauk Prairie held scoreless in 34-0 loss to Reedsburg

Photo by Dan Larson / Sauk Prairie Eagle

Jon Goeres (left) looks to make a lead block for Tyler Halverson on a second-quarter run in Sauk Prairie's 34-0 loss to Reedsburg Friday night. Halverson finished with 69 yards rushing on 14 carries to lead the Eagles.

By Dan Larson / Sauk Prairie Eagle

REEDSBURG — In reality, Sauk Prairie's Badger North football game with Reedsburg Friday night was over almost as quickly as it started.

The Beavers scored on their first two possessions to take a two-touchdown lead midway through the first quarter, held Sauk Prairie to 60 first-half yards and forced the Eagles to turn the ball over twice in the half en route to a 27-0 halftime lead.

And Reedsburg tacked on one more touchdown early in the second half for a 34-0 win at Millenium Field.

But despite the lopsided affair, Sauk Prairie (1-6, 1-3 Badger North) showed its character in refusing to quit.

"You just have to keep each other going, because you play for the pride, you play for the memories." said senior defensive back Dustin Walsh, who chased down Beavers' back-up quarterback Chad Mazur at the 13-yard line late in the third quarter, stopping Mazur from finishing a run that initially looked like it was going to be for 71 yards and a 40-0 Reedsburg lead. Sauk Prairie recovered a Beavers fumble three plays later to complement Walsh's hustle.

"There's more than just winning, (and) that's what you've got to play for."

Added Eagles' coach Scott Schutt: "I said (at halftime), 'I don't care what the scoreboard says, it's about showing that you can play football and playing how you're (capable) of.' And I think we did that in the second half."

Indeed the Eagles did. They held Reedsburg (5-2, 3-1) to just 130 second half yards — compared to 241 in the first half — and didn't allow the Beavers to score over the final 19 minutes, 24 seconds of the game.

But Tyler Mazur made sure the second half wouldn't matter. The senior quarterback scampered 42 yards for a touchdown on Reedsburg's seventh play of the game, and he picked up a 16-yard touchdown on the fifth play of the Beavers' next possession to give Reedsburg an early 14-0 lead.

"I think the fast start was important for us, because if we did let them think that they could be in this game, then you're seeing a different team," Reedsburg coach Brian Pottinger said. "I thought if we got them down right away, that might have a little bit of a mental affect on them."

Mazur struck again midway through the second quarter with a 28-yard touchdown strike to Ryan Dischler — capitalizing on the first play of the possession after a Sauk Prairie fumble gave the Beavers the ball at the Eagles' 28-yard line — to make it 20-0. Justin Huinker's extra-point try sailed wide right.

Huinker ran 14 yards for a touchdown late in the half to make it 27-0, and Mazur picked up his third rushing touchdown — this one for 24 yards — early in the second half to punctuate the Beavers' scoring.

Sauk Prairie had to play much of the game without starting quarterback and free safety Zach Fiene, who appeared to injury his shoulder on a defensive play early in the first quarter and wasn't able to return.

The loss means that Sauk Prairie needs to win its remaining two games — at Baraboo on Oct. 17 and versus Waunakee on Oct. 22 — to earn a .500 conference record and playoff eligibility.

For a complete story from this game, pick up the Oct. 15 edition of the Eagle.

TEAM STATISTICS

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Stats and updated standings courtesy of: http://prepstats.madison.com