West Salem glides past Red Hawks in Coulee play

Coming off their first win under first-year head coach Luke Oliver, the Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau football team knew they were getting a whole different kind of test in their matchup with state-ranked West Salem. The Panthers showed why in a lopsided win over the Red Hawks to kick off the October schedule for both teams.

The Panthers (6-1, 5-0 Coulee) took advantage of a slew of early Red Hawk miscues, raced out to an early lead and rode that wave to a 45-14 homecoming victory over G-E-T (1-6, 1-4) this past Friday in West Salem.

Two minutes into the game, West Salem’s Drew McConkey picked off a third-down pass by G-E-T quarterback Sawyer Foust to set the Panthers up at the Red Hawk 22-yard line for their first drive. It took Lucas Fry just two rushes to find the end zone for an early 7-0 Panther lead.

On the ensuing kickoff, G-E-T’s Adain Busch nearly took the return all the way to the house but was stopped at the West Salem 36-yard line. However, the Panther defense held firm on a fourth-and-two run by Andrew Bishop to get the ball back.

Soon after, McConkey got loose on a QB keeper for a 41-yard touchdown gallop to extend the lead to 14-0.

Another Foust interception with pressure in his face on a third-down play once again gave the Panthers excellent field position midway through the opening quarter, which they turned into a Kaden Langrehr touchdown run and a 21-0 lead.

A snap over the head of the punter by the Red Hawks gifted West Salem the ball at the one-yard line, which Fry promptly punched in for another touchdown and a 28-0 lead late in the first quarter.

The Panthers eventually built their lead out to 45-0 before G-E-T finally got on the board with a couple of touchdowns in the fourth quarter thanks to a nine-yard run by Isaiah Carroll (set up in part by an earlier deep pass from Foust to Brode Eiken) and a well-timed pitch by Foust to Daniel Herman that was credited as a two-yard pass.

Foust completed 10 of 21 passes for 65 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions in the loss while also rushing for a team-high 40 yards on nine attempts. Wyatt Nichols also added 34 yards on 11 carries. Defensively, Mason Busch came away with an interception for the Red Hawks.

G-E-T next welcomes in Arcadia (5-2, 3-2) for a rivalry clash Friday at 7 p.m. in Galesville. That same night, West Salem and the Aquinas Blugolds (7-0, 5-0) meet up for a Coulee showdown that will determine this year’s conference champion.

G-E-T

Rushing (att./yds) — Foust 9/40, Nichols 11/34, Carroll 3/15, D. Herman 2/3, A. Busch 1/4

Receiving (rec./yds) — D. Herman 4/28, Carroll 2/11, Suchla 2/3, Eiken 1/28, Nichols 1/-5

Passing (comp./att./yds) — Foust 10/21/65

Tackles — Eiken 3, A. Busch 2, M. Busch 2, Bishop 1.5, Gamez 1.5, D. Herman 1.5, Nichols 1, Oines 1, Scow 1