Mustangs get back to basics in state quarterfinal win over Wrightstown

Mark Krommenacker isn't above reproach when it comes to his play-calling. The second-year Little Chute head coach admitted that maybe he went a little too exotic in some of his calls in the second quarter of the Mustangs' WIAA Division 4 state football quarterfinal matchup Nov. 6 against Wrightstown. A pick-six in the second quarter gave the Tigers a halftime lead, but the Mustangs went back to basics in the second half to upend the Tigers 26-14. Little Chute (11-1) moves on to the state semifinals to face North Eastern Conference rival Freedom (12-0) at Ashwaubenon High School on Nov. 13. The Mustangs led 12-7 after the first quarter and were looking to stage another scoring drive when Wrightstown's Lincoln Hermsen picked off a play-action pass from Jaden Hermsen at the line of scrimmage and returned it 35 yards for the touchdown. That made the score 14-12 at the half and Krommenacker knew what he had to do in the second half. "We were a little bit maybe shell-shocked at that time, and rightfully so, because Wrightstown came out and had a good plan and got after us," Krommenacker said. "I think it's my fault. I got a little too fancy at times with some play calls and turns out you need to probably just pound it and get it to some of your best players and run behind some of your best players." That's exactly what the Mustangs did as they controlled the clock in the third quarter. Little Chute retook the lead 20-14 on Trevor Verhagen's 10-yard score. That 12-play, 62-yard drive began off a Reece Joten interception and Joten also put the offense on his shoulders on the scoring drive, rushing for 31 yards on eight carries, including seven consecutive. "We know that we're a very physical team and we just had to fix up some mental errors," Joten said. "And once those mental errors were out, we just did our assignment and then we could just push the ball." MORE: Wisconsin high school football scores, updates | WIAA playoffs quarterfinals VOTE NOW: Vote for the Cellcom Post-Crescent high school team of the month Jaden Hermsen scored on a 2-yard touchdown run in the second half to complete the scoring. He also had a 22-yard touchdown run in the first quarter with Micha Hill scoring on a 16-yard touchdown reception. Jeshua Tobon had 89 yards on 12 carries to lead the Little Chute ground attack with Joten adding 22 carries for 84 yards. "We got offensive linemen who were getting off the ball," Krommenacker said. "And by the end of the game, they're pretty much calling the plays because they know what's going to work and that's OK to do. That's what seniors, that's what leaders, do." Krommenacker knows the challenge that is ahead with Freedom, which blasted Northwestern 42-6 in its quarterfinal matchup. The Mustangs lost to Freedom earlier in the season, 49-29. "I can't wait to have another opportunity," Krommenacker said. "That first time we played them, we made a ton of mistakes. And that's similar to tonight early in the first half. We made a lot of mistakes and, you know, we've changed some things. We changed personnel, we've got some different guys in different spots. But by no means is this going to be easy. We know that going in there. "And I think the best part about this game and the best part about the first half of this game is it's obvious that we have some things that we got to shore up and that we got to work on and that mistakes that we cannot make next week, because we will not get away with it." Eggert's five touchdowns spark Freedom Axzil Eggert rushed for 250 yards on 18 carries and scored five total touchdowns in Freedom's 42-6 demolishing of previously undefeated Northwestern in a D4 state quarterfinal. Eggert scored on runs of 4, 1, 50 and 16 yards and also had a 6-yard touchdown pass to Jayden Rueckl. Freedom's defense was also stellar, holding Northwestern to 183 yards of total offense. George VanSchyndel also had a 16-yard touchdown run for Freedom, which plays Little Chute in a semifinal at Ashwaubenon on Nov. 13. Late field goal lifts Hilbert Hilbert survived two Coleman fumble recoveries for touchdowns in its 25-22 victory in a D7 state quarterfinal. The Wolves won the game on Cashtan Konen's 26-yard field goal as time expired, propelling Hilbert to the state semifinals and a date with Iowa-Grant in Oconomowoc on Nov. 13. Coleman took a 22-14 lead on back-to-back fumble recoveries for scores, but Hilbert answered on Kendrix Grenzer's 23-yard touchdown pass to Ezra Sevela. Sevela's 2-point conversion tied the game, setting up Konen's game-winning kick later in regulation. FVL falls to undefeated La Crosse Logan in D3 Braden Heiges had two touchdown passes and two more rushing but it wasn't enough as Fox Valley Lutheran (9-3) saw its season come to an end in a D3 state quarterfinal at La Crosse Logan, 36-24. Heiges scored on a 7-yard run and a 1-yard run and also had a 23-yard touchdown pass to Joona Tuominen and an 11-yard score to Levi Hermann. Junior quarterback Thomas Check had a 53-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and a 6-yard score in the fourth for Logan (12-0). Check also had an interception late in the fourth quarter to ice the victory.