Five touchdowns, three interceptions and 226 rushing yards.
It’s just a regular day at the office for Carter Moesch.
The Bonduel senior running back had one of the biggest nights of his football career Oct. 30 as the Bears improved to 11-0 on the season with a 41-14 win over Belleville in a Division 6 Level 2 playoff game at Rush Niles Memorial Field.
The win means the top-seeded Bears are still alive in the WIAA state playoffs and will host No. 3 Cedar Grove/Belgium at 7 p.m. Nov. 6. The Rockets defeated second-seeded Kewaunee 17-14 in another Level 2 game, preventing the fourth matchup in the last two seasons between the Bears and Storm, as both teams compete in the Packerland Conference and also met in the playoffs last year.
The fourth-seeded Wildcats raised a few eyebrows on their first drive, as they opened the game with a 76-yard drive that included Jackson Fahey’s 12-yard touchdown run with 6:45 left in the first quarter.
Bonduel turned the ball over on downs after a high punt snap on fourth down, but the Bears regrouped and scored on their next three drives to take a 21-14 halftime lead.
Moesch scored on a 67-yard run on the first play of the second quarter to cap an 86-yard drive. He added a 4-yard run with 4:17 to go in the first half, but Belleville tied the game on its next drive with Rayden Taylor’s 13-yard pass to Charley Spiegel.
The Wildcats never found the end zone again, while Bonduel added to its lead before halftime on Moesch’s third touchdown, a 5-yard run with 33 seconds to go before the break.
Moesch’s fourth touchdown – an 11-yard run – capped a 73-yard drive to start the second half and he ended Belleville’s next drive with his first interception.
The Bears couldn’t take advantage of the turnover, however, as Landon Yarbough picked off a Quinn Wesenberg pass to give the ball back to the Wildcats.
Moesch’s final touchdown came on an 18-yard run with five seconds remaining in the third quarter.
He ended Belleville’s next drive with his second interception.
Malachi Gray wrapped up Bonduel’s scoring with an 8-yard run with 4:39 to go in the game, and Moesch wrapped up his day on the field with his third interception to end the Wildcats’ next drive.
Gray added 108 rushing yards.
“Our offense played really well in the first half (with) a couple of explosive plays, and that kind of let our defense figure things out,” coach James Westrich said.
“Our kids are very good at taking adjustments and executing them on the field. With these new offenses the last couple of weeks, it takes a little bit to figure them out. As the game went on, we buckled down, had some turnovers and made some stops.”
Westrich said Moesch ended up being the difference in the game.
“The kid’s great,” he said. “He works extremely hard all year long (and is) very dedicated to his craft. No one works harder than him and when games like this come, he wants the ball in his hands.”
