Football: Bonduel eliminated from playoffs by Coleman

Cougars take advantage of Bears’ mistakes
By: 
Morgan Rode
Sports Editor

BONDUEL — The Bonduel High School football team was eliminated from the postseason in a 40-0 loss to Coleman in a Division 6 playoff contest on Friday.

The level one playoff matchup had a similar look to when the teams squared off back in the first week of the regular season, with the defenses dominating in a low-scoring affair. Coleman was able to blow open a tight game by returning a pair of Bonduel fumbles for touchdowns.

“A couple momentum plays that are hard to come back from,” said Bonduel coach James Westrich on the two fumbles that got returned for scores. “The first one wasn’t as bad as the second one, the second one really kind of put the dagger in.”

Bonduel won the first matchup 13-8, but it was Coleman that got on the scoreboard first on Friday.

After forcing Bonduel to punt near midfield, Coleman worked the ball 81 yards down the field before capping the drive with a touchdown pass on third down.

The Bears answered by putting together a long drive of their own. Senior quarterback Cole Letter connected with junior Carson Robaidek on a couple passes for first downs while juniors Max Sokolski, Max Marohl and Isaac Banker split rushing attempts.

Facing a fourth-and-one from the Coleman 17-yard line, the Bears were stuffed in the backfield, turning the ball back over to the Cougars.

Coleman hit on another long pass play to get into Bonduel territory, but senior Alex Garside made a big tackle for loss on fourth down to end the drive.

Bonduel had to punt after just three offensive plays, but the Bears’ defense forced an incompletion on third down to force the Cougars to punt it back.

The game looked to take a huge swing in Bonduel’s favor when senior Dylan Burch blocked the Coleman punt, setting up the hosts at the Coleman 27. But the Bears fumbled on the very next play, and the Cougars scooped it up and returned it for a touchdown to take a 13-0 lead into halftime.

Coleman carried the momentum into the second half, going 59 yards in just five plays to increase its lead to 20-0.

Garside gave the Bears a jolt with a long kickoff return, but on the second play of the drive, Bonduel fumbled and Coleman was able to scoop it up and return it for another score.

“A lot of stuff really didn’t go our way and we caused ourselves a lot of problems,” said Letter. “But at the end of the day, I’m just proud of the way my guys never quit on one another. Passion is one thing that people can’t take away from you, and maybe the game didn’t roll our way, but I’m proud of everything they did.”

After that, Bonduel was unable to get much going offensively, punting on its next two drives. Coleman was able to score touchdowns after each punt to extend the lead to 40-0.

After Bonduel picked up a first down on its next drive, the Bears fumbled again, and the Cougars ran out the clock from there to finish off its upset.

“In the huddle after the game, I said ‘when you look back at this season, don’t look at the scoreboard at the end of it, look at the 12 weeks of work you put in and think about all the memories and bonds you’ve created through your hard work. And remember that nobody can take away your work ethic and passion and that’s something to live by,” said Letter.

Bonduel ends the season with a 7-3 record.

Coleman 6 7 20 7

Bonduel 0 0 0 0

First quarter

C: Payton Nelson 3-yard pass from Cayden Bintz (pass failed), 2:40

Second quarter

C: Trevor Risner 70-yard fumble return (Jayden Scott kick), 1:37

Third quarter

C: Nelson 31-yard pass from Bintz (Scott kick), 9:28

C: Nelson 40-yard fumble return (Scott kick), 8:42

C: Risner 3-yard pass from Bintz (run failed), 3:44

Fourth quarter

C: Zack Cops 2-yard run (Scott kick), 10:13

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