Kewaskum Gridiron Indians Conclude Season at Slinger

KEWASKUM GRIDIRON

The Kewaskum Gridiron Indians closed out their 2024 season this past Saturday with all four teams traveling to Slinger. The 8th grade came up short in their game, while the 7th, 6th and 5th grade teams were able to close out the season with victories.

Eighth Grade

The 8th grade Gridiron Indians were in a tight game with Slinger throughout before the Owls pulled away in the fourth quarter en route to a 24-8 victory.

The Indians struck first in the game in the first quarter when they got tricky with a double pass where quarterback Greyson Cook threw a backwards pass to receiver Bryce Zehren who then hit Dane Piittmann for a 37-yard touchdown pass. Kamden Derge connected on the twopoint kick to make it 8-0, Indians.

With under two minutes left in the first half, Slinger was able to answer with a touchdown pass and made the two-point kick to make the score 8-8 at halftime.

In the second half, the Owls received the kickoff and put a nice offensive drive together connecting on another touchdown pass and made the two-point kick to take a 16-8 advantage.

The Indians had some nice runs by RJ Ciriacks on their next offensive drive but that eventually stalled.

The Owls then in the fourth quarter connected on their third touchdown throw of the game to make it a 24-8 lead, which is how the game ended.

On offense, the Indians were led by Ciriacks who had 99 yards rushing and Dane Piittmann who had 48 yards receiving and the lone Indians’ touchdown. On defense Ciriacks, Derge and Jack Upson all had a tackle-for-loss, Derge had a fumble recovery, and Zehren added an interception.

With the defeat, the Indians finished with a 4-4 overall record on the season and were the AAYFL Division 2 Heller Conference Champions with their 4-2 regular season record.

Seventh Grade

The 7th grade Gridiron Indians played in an offensive shootout in the first half, and then the game was scoreless in the second half with the Indians coming away with a 24-14 victory over Slinger.

The offense started the game red hot as they scored two first quarter touchdowns, with Henry Ogi scoring on a 50-yard touchdown run and then a 75-yard touchdown run. Ogi was also able to convert on both twopoint kicks to make it 16-0.

Other nice offensive plays included a 20-yard run by Kyle Spoerl and a 30-yard reception by Bowen Nass.

Slinger was able to score two touchdowns in the second quarter, while the Indians found the end zone again with Ogi hitting Tony Pasbrig for a touchdown pass to make the score 24-14 at halftime.

The second half was a defensive battle as neither team was able to put up any points.

The defense for the Indians stepped up big with some nice tackles made by Ryker Gigstead, Kobe Kreis, August Vorwerk, Mason Spoerl and Kyle Spoerl and an interception by Micah Peck.

With the victory, the 7th grade closed out their season with a 6-2 record.

Sixth Grade

The 6th grade Indians finished out their year with a victory over a tough Slinger team.

The Indian offense started out the game with a 63-yard drive that ended when Slinger forced a fumble and recovered on their own 20.

The next play, Slinger scored on an 80-yard touchdown run and converted the point after to take the lead, 7-0.

Kewaskum’s offense continued to move the ball consistently, maintaining a 65-yard drive only to be turned away after failing to convert on fourth down. The Indian defense battled back forcing a punt. Shane Guttmann blocked the Slinger punt giving the Indians another chance in the first half. The offense once again sputtered and could not find the end zone before the end of the half.

The second half began with Slinger connecting on two long passing plays to get them down to the Kewaskum three-yard line. Kewaskum’s defense once again stood strong as Mason Schulenberg forced a fumble that Easton Junk recovered for a touchback, giving the Indians the ball on their own 20. The Indians then leaned on their offensive line and let Charlie Ogi chew up yards to regain field position. Decker Schutz connected with Timmy Pasbrig on a huge third down conversion and Ogi had runs of 25, 19 and capped the drive off with a 12-yard touchdown run. Kewaskum took the lead when Brady Beck split the uprights for the two-point conversion kick, making the score 8-7 with a little over two minutes remaining.

Kewaskum’s defense denied Slinger the chance to get near the end zone as Oscar Cannestra broke up a deep pass and Shane Guttmann came up big with a fourth down sack.

Ogi was a workhorse for Kewaskum, rushing for 149 yards and a touchdown. Decker Schutz added 25 rushing and 65 passing. Lincoln Talbot led all receivers with 30 yards, while Gage Lang added 25 and Pasbrig 10.

Shane Guttman paced the defense with three tackles, a punt block and a sack. Caleb Thull and Ogi added three tackles a piece.

With the victory, the 6th grade team ended their year with a 5-3 record.

Fifth Grade

The 5th grade Gridiron Indians played in a very tough game but were able to come away with a hard fought 8-6 victory over Slinger.

Benson Stahl recovered the opening kickoff after Slinger muffed the kick but the Indians weren’t able to capitalize as the game was mostly a defensive battle.

Logan Watzlawick had a great game defensively for the Indians as he was credited with two quarterback sacks in the red zone to help prevent Slinger from scoring on those possessions.

The Indians offense was finally able to get something going when Beckett Boeldt hit Owen Paulus for a 50-yard reception and run, and then Boeldt was able to punch it in for a touchdown for the Indians on the next play, and then also made the two-point See GRIDIRON page 15 GRIDIRON

from page 14 kick to cap off the scoring for the Indians and give them an 8-6 lead.

Slinger was able to drive the ball deep into Kewaskum territory late in the game but Nathan Fonte was able to make a game saving tackle at the three-yard line as time expired to preserve the 8-6 victory for the Indians.

With the win, the 5th grade ended their season with a 5-3 record.

With that, the Kewaskum Gridiron Club’s 28th season has come to an end. The club would like to thank everyone that stopped out at games throughout the season to support the club and the hardworking players and cheerleaders. The club also would like to give thanks and appreciation to all of the great local business sponsors that help to support the club, as well as the Kewaskum School District for the use of the facility for both practices and games. We’ll see you next August for the 29th season of Kewaskum Gridiron Football and cheerleading!