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Prep football: Offensive line powers Waunakee to 35-0 win

Scott Shafer  —  9/13/2008 11:27 am

The Waunakee football team was in hog heaven Friday night as the Warriors blanked rival Monona Grove 35-0 behind an offensive line that appeared convinced there were truffles in the end zone.

"It's all the hogs tonight. We got to give the hogs congratulations tonight," said senior fullback Jordan Bezemek, referring to the monstrous Warrior offensive line that opened up gaping holes that let a trio of backs gain over 281 yards on the ground, including a 46-yard ramble by Bezemek setting-up the Warrior's fourth first-half score.

"They just put a big hole there and I just tucked the ball and ran. Good push and it was open," said Bezemek who finished with 66 yards rushing and a key third-down drive-extending reception on the Warrior's second offensive possession.

The victory was the Warriors' third of the year and their second consecutive shut-out. Last week, the Warriors beat Milton 41-0 at home for the school's 60th consecutive home victory.

Waunakee coach Pat Rice has led the Warriors to a 129-13 record for a .908 winning percentage spanning the past 11 years, including eight trips to the WIAA state semifinals, four berths in the state finals and two state championships. The Warriors have also won nine conference titles in the last 11 years, including the last five in a row, and haven't lost a home game in 10 years.

The visiting Warriors looked poised to score on their opening drive before a Keaton Smith's red-zone pass was intercepted. However, after a four-and-out stop of the Silver Eagles, Waunakee scored on a Smith touchdown toss to senior wide-out Seppi Reda. The Warriors then scored on their next three first-half possessions with a committee running approach on their way to a 28-0 halftime lead.

"Our offense line is back and they are doing some things up front that are allowing us to get some space," said Rice. "We got three or four different backs that have distinctly different styles."

In the first half, the Warriors front line made space in the middle for bruising between tackle runs by Bezmeck, junior Kyle Acker, and senior Jared Woock.  In the second half, speedy junior tailback Kanha Mann waited for blocks to develop behind an indefatigable offensive line before squirting outside.

The Silver Eagles, coming off narrow victories over Baraboo and Reedsburg, were hoping to beat the Warriors for the second time in three years at home, but got off to a slow start.

After falling behind 7-0, Monona junior tailback Ryan Roberts gained a tough 14 yards on the ground on three plays, but the drive ended when senior quarterback Aaron Kondrasuk was picked off. Waunakee scored on their next possession and the Silver Eagles were in a 14-0 hole. After another four and out by Monona, Waunakee scored again with 7:25 left in the half for a 21-0 lead.

Monona looked poised to score in the second half, but a five-and-a-half minute, 12-play drive ended in a turnover on downs. Waunakee's offensive line then supported their own 13-play, six-minute drive that saw Mann punch it in from the one yard line. All 13 plays were runs, 12 of which were carried by Mann, who finished with 101 yards rushing.

Waunakee head coach Pat Rice was impressed with how his team is responding to having three big games in a row.

"We've been growing up each week and its fun to watch," he said.

"We traditionally play pretty well over on that side of the ball (defense) and I think our kids understand that is something we hang our hat on. I really like how these kids have responded to three pretty big games. They've grown up each week and handled the ups and downs of a football game very well," explained Rice, who had nothing but praise for "the hogs" up front.

"They had numbers in the box at times and we were able to get hats on them and move them," he said. "It was pretty good."

Waunakee (3-0) travels to play an undefeated Mt. Horeb-Barneveld (3-0), who left Baraboo Friday night with a 26-7 road victory.

Scott Shafer  —  9/13/2008 11:27 am