Wildcats can’t keep up with Timberwolves in playoff loss

A 98-yard scoring drive gave River Ridge a two-possession lead and made it clear the Blair-Taylor defense would be in for a long night.

The Wildcats responded to that drive with a touchdown of their own, but they had no answer for the Timberwolves’ sibling duo of Matthew Nies and Andrew Nies. The brothers combined for four touchdowns in the first half to go into halftime with a 32-6 lead. They didn’t let up in the second half, winning 52-20.

The loss ended the season for B-T with a 6-4 record. All four of B-T’s losses came to teams who made the playoffs — three of them are still playing. River Ridge will play at Pepin/Alma in Level Two this week — the Eagles won the Dairyland Conference and were undefeated this season. 

It was the fifth straight year B-T qualified for the playoffs, the longest streak in program history, coach Andy Nehring said.

It also marked the last game for 12 B-T seniors. 

“These seniors never had a game canceled on a Friday night due to Covid-19, or any other reason, in the four years they played high school football. That’s something to be thankful for,” Nehring said. “It was my privilege to be their coach this season.”

River Ridge 50 B-T 20

The Wildcats had chances early, but they were unable to finish drives or get stops. 

B-T’s first drive went deep into River Ridge territory as runs by Ethan Kniseley and Jackson Shramek put the team across midfield. After a pass to Gabe Armitage gained 11 yards, Shramek ran for a first down at the River Ridge 21. 

But the drive stalled from there. Shramek was tackled for a four-yard loss on the next play, incomplete passes on second and third down brought up a fourth down with 14 yards to gain for the first. Kniseley dropped back to pass, but was sacked, giving River Ridge the ball at the B-T 27.

The Timberwolves cut through B-T’s defense on their first drive as they picked up 19 yards on a pass to Braden Crubel before Andrew Nies ran for 21 yards later on the drive. Andrew Nies finished the drive with an eight-yard touchdown. The point after was missed.

B-T went three-and-out on their next drive as the snap on a third down was low, rolling to Kniseley, who was forced to take a sack on the play. A long punt by Bryan Rogstad that was downed at the River Ridge two-yard line gave B-T a chance for either a safety or to get the ball back in good field position. 

Both of those chances went down the drain on the first play, however as Andrew Nies broke free for a 24-yard gain and a penalty for a horse collar added 15 yards to the run. B-T had a chance for a stop with a third-and-11 play, but a quick pass to Crubel gained enough for the first down. Matthew Nies then passed to Aidan Gage for a seven-yard touchdown and hit Crubel for the two-point conversion that put River Ridge ahead 14-0 with about eight minutes left in the first half.

B-T responded as Shramek rattled off a long run before a pass to Evan Nehring gave the Wildcats a first down at the River Ridge 27.

B-T later faced a fourth-and-seven before Nehring found a soft spot in their zone coverage and gained nine yards on a catch. Shramek finished the drive with a 12-yard touchdown run. The two-point pass was incomplete, but B-T was on the board, making the score 12-6 with 5:19 left in the half.

That’s when the game spiraled out of control.

A long kick return gave the Timberwolves the ball at the B-T 42 to start their next drive. After an 11-yard run by Andrew Nies to begin the drive, Nies fumbled, but River Ridge recovered for another first down at the B-T 21. A bubble screen to Crubel took the ball down to the three before Andrew Nies scored on a one-yard run. Gage ran in the two-point conversion, making the score 20-6.

B-T looked like it might be able to compete in a shootout as their next drive got to midfield, but two false start penalties were followed by an interception. 

Matthew Nies broke free for a 58-yard touchdown run, making the score 26-6 with a minute left in the half.

After another B-T turnover, River Ridge called a trick play with Brandon Davis passing to Crubel for a 60-yard touchdown pass with 12 second left. That put River Ridge ahead 32-6 at halftime.

The Timberwolves received the kickoff to start the second half and drove down for another touchdown — a two-yard run by Andrew Nies. 

They scored again before the end of the third quarter, a 13-yard run by Davis that made the score 44-6.

B-T kept fighting with two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. The first was a 41-yard strike from Kniseley to Nehring. DaVonne Turner ran in the two-point conversion. 

The Timberwolves answered that score with a 59-yard pass from Reese Drew to Drake Barrineau with 6:15 left. 

B-T scored again with reserves in the game was Tavian Shramek passed to CJ Drummer for a 28-yard touchdown. Shramek then hit Brayden Paulson for the two-point conversion. 

The Wildcats had some success offensively. They ran for 173 yards — an average of 7.2 per carry and passed for 132. However, three drives ended with interceptions and their defense was unable to get a stop.

River Ridge ran for 331 yards in the game — averaging 8.1 per carry. Matthew Nies ran for 147 yards on 11 attempts and Andrew Nies finished with 107 yards on 17 carries. Matthew Nies passed five-for-seven for. 70 yards. Crubel caught five passes for 123 yards. 

Blair-Taylor —

Rushing (att./yds.) — J. Shramek 11/98 Turner 2/40 Kniseley 9/18 Gr. Armitage 2/17

Receiving (rec./yds.) — Nehring 5/76 CJ Dummer 2/39 Ga. Armitage 1/11 Nitek 1/6

Passing (comp./att./yds.) — Kniseley 8/13/104 Shramek 1/3/28

Tackles (solo/total) — Nitek 3/5 G. Koxlien 1/2 Lien 1/1 C. Koxlien 5/6 Wagner 1/1 J. Shramek 1/1 Kniseley 1/1 Ga. Armitage 5/11 Gr. Armitage 7/10 Nehring 1/5 Jahr 1/2 Roseth 0/1 Elvaker 1/4 Rogstad 1/5 Ewing 1/1