Whether the Suring football team qualifies for the WIAA 8-player playoffs this season remains to be seen.
If the Eagles’ latest win is any indication, however, the team is in good shape of advancing to the postseason for the first time since 2019.
Suring hosted Gillett on Sept. 12 for its annual Across the Bay Conference matchup, scored on all five of their possessions in the first half and cruised to a 47-6 win over the Tigers.
The Eagles improved to 3-1 on the season, while Gillett fell to 0-4.
Grant Thomson capped the game’s opening drive with a 1-yard run and Kroix Kempka added the two-point conversion run to give the Eagles an 8-0 lead with 7:45 remaining in the first quarter.
After forcing a three-and-out on Gillett’s opening drive, the Eagles took over on their own 45-yard line. Thomson’s 51-yard run on the second play of the drive and another two-point run from Kempka made it 16-0 with just under five minutes remaining in the opening quarter.
Taylor Booth-Stoffregen hooked up with Kempka for a 48-yard touchdown pass on Suring’s third drive of the first quarter and Dyllan Flynn added the two-point run.
The Eagles weren’t finished in the quarter, as Suring recovered a Gillett fumble at the Tigers’ 40-yard line. Kempka scored again on the first play of the drive and Flynn added the two-point run with 30 seconds on the clock.
Suring added to its lead with two more touchdowns before halftime.
Dayne Ermis returned an interception 34 yards on the first play of the second quarter and Kempka’s two-point run made it 40-0.
The Eagles’ next drive ended with their final score, as Kempka opened the drive with a 57-yard run with 8 1/2 minutes to go in the half.
A running clock in the second half limited both team’s possessions.
Trevor Schaal set up Gillett’s touchdown in the final minute of the third quarter with a fumble recovery that set the Tigers up at the Suring 26-yard line. Clayton Borremans capped the drive with an 11-yard touchdown run to complete the scoring.
“It basically comes down to if we play clean, we have success, and that’s what plagued us last week against Sevastopol,” Suring coach Mitch Taylor said. “We spotted them 28 points, came back and made it a battle.”
The Eagles will wrap up their nonconference schedule Sept. 19 at Niagara before heading to Lena to face undefeated Lena/STAA Titans, which knocked off the only other unbeaten team in the conference – Sevastopol – 44-20 on Sept. 12.
“We have two (conference) wins and a big loss to Sevastopol,” Taylor said.
Suring hasn’t been to the postseason since the Eagles switched to 8-player football in 2019. Suring qualified for the WIAA 11-player playoffs 10 times from 1999 to 2018 and made it to Level 3 in 2008.
“They haven’t been a part of (the playoffs),” Taylor said. “We’ve been in the middle of the pack or the lower part. Now, they’re working hard, because they want to bring it back up and make Suring football what it once was.”
The WIAA’s 8-player format gives programs like Suring an opportunity to field a team.
“Our enrollment’s going to be under 100 (students) at the high school,” Taylor said. “We get to keep our identity, and we’re not combined with anybody. They’re playing hard, and that’s exactly what I want to see. They get out there, and they’re not afraid to play against some bigger kids.”
Gillett and Suring are only 10 miles apart and players from both communities know each other well.
“It’s Gillett and Suring,” Taylor said. “This is the one that you always mark on the schedule. That’s what they told me when I moved here. I’m not from the area, but they said, ‘If you beat Gillett, you’re OK.’”
