Defense, kick return the difference for Arcadia in Coulee gridiron win
Devon Baier of Arcadia recovered a fumble on the opening kickoff of their game against Black River Falls last week. (Times photograph by Andrew Dannehy)
On a night last Friday that saw the Arcadia High School football team rack up just 120 yards of offense, it was a long kick return and defensive power that put the Raiders back into the thick of the Coulee Conference race.
Arcadia sits at 3-3 on the year and 2-2 in the Coulee after last week’s 20-18 win over Black River Falls, tied with three other teams for third in the conference behind a pair of unbeaten squads in West Salem and Arcadia.
The Raiders are set to host one of those teams this week as Aquinas, the state’s top ranked team in Division 5, visits on Friday.
Last week started strong for the Raiders when Kaiden Rotering found Egan Pauly on a 29-yard strike for a score in the game’s first minute. Black River Falls tied the game at six with a 13-yard run later in the quarter after both teams missed their two-point tries.
Rotering put Arcadia back in front on a one-yard run in the second quarter, but it was the visiting Tigers who ended the half on a high note behind a 79-yard running score of their own.
That’s when Arcadia used special teams and defense to its advantage. Landan Bremer took the opening kickoff of the second half 72 yards into the end zone to give the hosts the 20-12 lead just six seconds after the break.
The Tigers scored another passing touchdown to cut the deficit to two points, but the Raiders got a stop on the ensuing two-point conversion. The two points proved to be the difference.
Defense was a big part of Friday’s triumph.
Max Sobotta had 11 tackles for Arcadia in a game that saw seven different Raiders record at least six tackles. Arcadia sacked Black River Falls quarterback Asher Guenther eight times, and senior Cam Boland added an interception.
Kaiden Rotering finished with 64 yards through the air, and senior Cam Boland led the team in rushing with 49 yards. Jordan Rotering had a pair of catches for Arcadia, and Pauly’s 29 receiving yards led the Raiders.
Arcadia—
Rushing (att./yds.)—K. Rotering 10/-11, Bremer 3/6, Glenzinski 6/16, Boland 10/49.
Receiving (rec./yds.)—Boland 2/0, Bremer 1/4, Glenzinski 1/6, J. Rotering 2/25, Pauly 1/29.
Passing (comp./att./yds.)—K. Rotering 7/16/64.
Tackles (solo/total)—Sobotta 5/11, Aspenson 5/9, Blaschko 4/8, Glenzinski 3/8, Patzner 1/7, Boland 4/6, Pauly 3/6, Baier 3/4, Bremer 2/3, Bork 1/2, J. Rotering 1/2, Pronschinske 1/1, Lisowski 0/1, Scow 0/1.
