Second quarter burst gives Wildcats blowout win

It was a slow start for the Blair-Taylor football team’s offense, but it got going in the second quarter as they cruised for a 49-8 win over Eleva-Strum last Friday.

In the team’s last regular season game, B-T opened with an interception on its first drive, then needed two fourth down conversions on two touchdown drives that eventually opened the floodgates.

The Wildcats finished second in the Dairyland Conference with a record of 6-1 and they’re 6-3 overall. All three of B-T’s losses came to teams that qualified for the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association playoffs this year.

We are proud of how much our players have improved from the beginning of the season until now,” B-T coach Andy Nehring said.

There was some confusion about B-T’s Level One opponent. The WIAA originally announced the Wildcats would play at home against Wauzeka-Seneca (6-3). However, B-T’s social media page said a mistake was made with the enrollment figures. B-T went from being a fourth seed to a fifth seed and from playing at home to playing at River Ridge — a two and a half hour road trip — on Friday. RR tied for the Six Rivers conference championship and went 8-1 on the season.

The winner of that game will play the winner of the game between (1) Pepin/Alma and (8) Iowa-Grant next week Friday with the highest seed hosting in the Division Seven bracket.

B-T 49 E-S 8

B-T drove down the field on its first possession but it ended with an interception. The next two also nearly ended before the end zone, but big plays in crucial situations helped B-T turn what was a tight game into a blowout win.

After the interception, B-T’s defense recovered a fumble. They drove down to the E-S 30-yard line, but faced a fourth-and-12. On the last play of the drive, Ethan Knisley’s pass to Evan Nehring was tipped, but Nehring came down with the reception, then raced up the sideline for a touchdown. Jackson Shramek ran in the two-point conversion to make the score 8-0. 

B-T’s next drive was in jeopardy near midfield when they faced a fourth down with seven yards to go. Again, Knisley looked to Nehring who came down with another catch, this time picking up the first down before going out of bounds. The Wildcats ran Shramek down the field as he finished the drive with a three-yard touchdown then ran in the two-point conversion, making the score 16-0 with about 10 minutes left in the first half. 

Three touchdowns in 36 seconds broke the game wide open.

B-T got the ball back and Knisley hit Nehring for a 32-yard touchdown pass, then again for the two-point conversion that made the score 24-0 with 6:36 left in the first half. 

After an E-S fumble on the ensuing kickoff, B-T got the ball back in the end zone just six seconds later when Knisley passed to Zach Nitek for a 36-yard touchdown. Knisley kicked the point after to make the score 31-0.

B-T’s defense took the ball away again and 30 seconds later the offense was in the end zone again as Grason Armitage ran for a three-yard touchdown. The point after was missed, but B-T led 37-0 with six minutes left in the half.

The Wildcats punched in another touchdown when Shramek got loose for a 29-yard score. The point after was no good as B-T took a 43-0 lead into halftime.

Nehring scored for a third time in the game, this time on defense when he returned a fumble 35 yards for a touchdown about two minutes into the third quarter. 

E-S got on the board with a safety then scored a touchdown late in the game.

“This was a nice win for our kids against a well coached team,” coach Nehring said.

Despite the slow start, B-T’s offense was efficient as Knisley passed for 117 yards on seven attempts, while they ran for 228 yards — an average of 6.2 per carry. Shramek led the team on the ground with 152 yards on 21 attempts. Nehring caught four passes for 81 yards. 

B-T

Rushing (att./yds.) — Shramek 21/152 Nehring 1/24 Knisley 5/18 Paulson 2/13 Gr. Armitage 3/10 Ga. Armitage 1/7 Trapp 1/4 Lien 2/0 Boe 1/0

Receiving (rec./yds.) — Nehring 4/81 Nitek 1/36

Passing (comp./att./yds.) — Knisley 5/7/117

Tackles (solo/total) — Nitek 1/1 Lien 0/8 Kruse 0/1 T. Shramek 1/2 Waldera 0/1 Wagner 2/6 Johnson 0/2 Paulson 1/4 Ga. Armitage 2/3 Gr. Armitage 2/6 Smith 0/1 Kling 1/2 S. Jahr 0/4 K. Jahr 0/1 Roseth 0/6 Elvaker 2/7 Taylor 0/2 Truschka 2/3 M. Nehring 1/4 Rogstad 2/7