The final regular-season home game for the Shawano football team turned out to be one for the Hawks and their fans to forget about.
The Hawks will play their home games on a brand new turf field starting next season and wrapped up their home schedule Sept. 27 with a 37-8 nonconference loss to Luxemburg-Casco.
Shawano fell to 1-5 on the season and will now need to win its final three games - on the road against Xavier, Waupaca and Fox Valley Lutheran - to have a shot at qualifying for the upcoming WIAA playoffs.
The Spartans, on the other hand, are now 6-0 and well on their way to another North Eastern Conference championship.
Luxemburg-Casco scored on its opening drive as Eli Derenne found a wide open Tatum Klaubauf for a 28-yard pass with 5:21 to go in the opening quarter.
Shawano’s Joseph Doperalski ended the Spartans’ second drive by intercepting Derenne’s pass, but the Hawks turned the ball over on downs. The Spartans took over at the Shawano 11-yard line and scored on Derenne’s 15-yard pass to Mason Trimberger on a fourth-down play, and the visitors had a 14-0 lead with 3:52 remaining in the first half.
Trimberger’s interception gave Luxemburg-Casco the ball at midfield, but the Spartans turned the ball over on downs. Shawano went three-and-out on its next drive, and the Spartans needed only two plays to find the end zone again before halftime.
Derenne’s pass to Trimberger set the Spartans up at the Shawano 18-yard line and Cameron Dorner scored on the next play to give the Spartans a 21-0 lead with 13 seconds to go in the half.
Derenne added a 9-yard touchdown run with 4:17 to go in the third quarter, and Wyatt Bailey added a 29-yard field goal with six seconds remaining in the quarter to give the Spartans a 31-0 lead.
Luxemburg-Casco’s final touchdown – Derenne’s 10-yard pass to Trimberger – came with 5:49 remaining in the game.
The Hawks avoided their second straight shutout with 1:58 to go in the game on Aiden Rasmussen’s 35-yard pass to Austiin Heling.
“It was very frustrating how they scored their first two touchdowns,” coach Alan Tomow said. “We got beat, and we were down seven (points). If he makes the catch (on the second touchdown) and we tackle him, it’s our ball. We need to be better in those situations. We were fine getting them in third-and-longs and even fourth downs, but it’s getting that next stop and that finish. They took advantage of opportunities. That’s what 6-0 teams do.”
Tomow realizes it’s a long shot for his team to make the playoffs this season.
The Hawks will head to Appleton on Oct. 3 to face Xavier in a matchup of Bay Conference teams.
“I don’t think we’ve beaten Xavier in our school history, and we have a Xavier squad that’s struggling,” Tomow said. “Something we can take out of this is we’re playing without some defensive linemen, and we had a lot of guys get an opportunity and get experience against a really good team.”
The bottom line is the Hawks need to be better, according to Tomow.
“It’s the same mistakes that keep being made,” he said. “We may have to shake things up there and try to jump-start our run game. We’re in the position we are because of the mistakes we’ve made. We have Xavier next week, and that’s what we’re going to worry about. Hopefully, we’re in a position to play our best football game.”
