As good as the Pulaski football team’s defense looked in a 35-0 shutout of Ashwaubenon, the Red Raiders’ rushing game was just as effective.
Anthony Ficarri and Bohdan Schmidt accounted for all five of Pulaski’s touchdowns as the Red Raiders improved to 2-1 in Fox Valley Classic Conference-North play and 4-1 overall with a win over the Jaguars.
It was Pulaski’s 11th straight win over Ashwaubenon and sets up a showdown with one of the FRCC-North’s top teams, West De Pere.
Ficarri found the end zone on each of Pulaski’s first two drives. He scored from a yard out and also scored on a 3-yard run.
The Red Raiders didn’t score again until the third quarter, but had another opportunity in the second quarter after Braun Wotruba blocked a punt that set Pulaski up at the Ashwaubenon 20-yard line. However, a personal foul penalty pushed Pulaski back 15 yards, and the Red Raiders ended up turning the ball over on downs.
“Hats off to Ashwaubenon in the second quarter,” coach Jerad Marsh said. “They made a couple of adjustments and did a nice job. We had a couple of hiccups that we couldn’t quite finish. We had some momentum there and just couldn’t capture it in the second quarter.”
Pulaski added to its lead by scoring on its first three drives of the second half. Ficarri capped a 70-yard drive with a 25-yard, run and Schmidt added a 3-yard run and also completed a pass to Ficarri for the two-point conversion to make it 28-0 with 1:32 remaining in the third quarter.
Ficarri’s fourth touchdown, a 3-yard run, came midway through the fourth quarter.
“Our staff did a great job at halftime taking care of what needed to be cleaned up, and the guys came out here with some confidence,” Marsh said.
Besides scoring five touchdowns, Ficarri and Schmidt also led Pulaski with 149 and 107 rushing yards, respectively. The Red Raiders finished with 328 rushing yards while Andre Burnett added 72 yards on only three carries, including a 61-yarder to set up his team’s first score.
Ficarri now has 16 rushing touchdowns in five games, including eight in the last two. He also scored four times Sept. 11 in a win over Green Bay Preble.
“With what we do offensively, that’s what we hang our hat on,” Marsh said. “The big guys up front take care of business and do things that we ask them to do. Bo is able to do so much on his own. When a play breaks down, he’s able to use what the good Lord gave him.”
Next up on the schedule for the Red Raiders is an FRCC-North matchup with West De Pere on Sept. 25 in De Pere.
West De Pere, the defending WIAA Division 2 state champion that eliminated Pulaski from the playoffs last year, is currently 5-0 overall and 3-0 in conference play and sits atop the FRCC-North standings tied for first place with Bay Port, another undefeated team that fell in the Division 1 state championship game last year, handed Pulaski its only loss this season.
Bay Port and West De Pere will meet Oct. 2 on the Pirates’ home field.
“We have to take care of our business,” Marsh said of his team’s upcoming game with West De Pere. “These are great games and we’re lucky to be in an excellent conference with a state runner-up and champion. Anytime we get to compete against that kind of pace, speed and execution, that only makes us better.”
Pulaski’s Cole Nowak, Mason Goodness and Raphael Fischer wait as Ashwaubenon’s offense breaks a huddle. (Greg Seubert)
Anthony Ficarri picks up a first down in the second half of Pulaski’s 35-0 Fox River Classic Conference-North win over Ashwaubenon. Ficarri ran for a team-high 149 yards and scored four touchdowns for the second game in a row. (Greg Seubert)
