8-Man Quarterfinal Results Thursday, November 5th
Audubon At Waco Wayland
Audubon 34
Waco Wayland 30
What a battle and what a finish for the Audubon Wheelers as they advance to the State semifinals with a come from behind win. The Wheelers struggled in the 1st half but found themselves only down 16-14 at half. They dominated the 3rd quarter with a couple impressive drives and took a 28-16 lead into the 4th quarter. The Warriors rallied back in the 4th quarter with a pair of touchdowns and two defensive stands forcing the Wheelers to punt. The Wheelers trailed by two after Simeon Reichenback broke free for a 35-yard touchdown with 7:25 left. Audubon had a decision to make with just over five minutes left. They faced a 4th and long in their own territory but the Warriors had scored on their last two drives and were controlling the ball on the ground. Audubon had all three timeouts left and punted it away. The Wheelers defense got a tackle for a loss on first down and looked like they were going to get off the field but a holding call on a screen pass gave the Warriors offense new life with a first down. The defense didn’t bend and forced Waco Wayland to punt, setting up the play of the game. Waco Wayland called a timeout before 4th down with around two minutes left. Braden Wessel set up at his 10 yard line and waited for Reichenback to punt it away. He caught the ball at the 10 yard line, he was hit before reaching to 15 but refused to go down. He broke another set of tackles a few steps later. Wessel eventually found an opening and exploded down the left side of the field with nobody but teammates around him. The 70-yard punt return for a touchdown gave the Wheelers the lead with 1:47 left. The defense made one more stop and the Wheelers were able to run out the clock for a 34-30 win.
Things didn’t start well for Audubon, fumbling on their fourth play from scrimmage. Waco Wayland recovered at the Wheeler 25, but the defense held and forced a 38-yard field goal from Reichenback. Audubon dodged a bullet that would be critical late in the game. The Wheelers couldn’t get the run game early and faced a 3rd and 10 on their next possession. Gavin Smith dropped back and found Carter Andreasen wide open down the middle of the field. Andreasen pulled away from the trailing defense and scored on a 65-yard pass to put Audubon up 7-3 with 4:24 left in the 1st quarter.
The Wheelers lead didn’t last long. Waco Wayland used a long pass, setting them up in Wheeler territory and scored on a 9-yard run by Jon Rice. The Warriors led 10-7 early in the 2nd quarter. Audubon went three and out, setting up another Warrior score. The Warriors were pinned at their own 4 yard line but slowly moved the ball near midfield. Reichenback broke free for a 49-yard touchdown. Waco led 16-7 but went for two and didn’t get it. Audubon responded quickly, Braden Wessel took an option pitch from Gavin Smith and scampered for a 38-yard gain. Carter Andreasen scored his second touchdown of the game two plays later on a 17-yard run and Audubon was down 16-14. Waco drive stalled just before half and they punted back to Audubon. Gavin Smith hit Braden Wessel from a 50-yard gain on the final play of the half but Audubon trailed 16-14 at the half.
Wessel ignited the Wheelers to start the second half when he nearly broke the kickoff, setting the Wheelers up with good field position. His physical return set the tempo for Audubon and they found the running game with Gavin Smith breaking several big runs. Audubon marched down the field and scored on a Carter Andreasen 9-yard run. Audubon led 21-16 and had all the momentum. Andreasen and Cooper Nielsen took over on the Warriors next offensive possession, stuffing back-to-back running plays and forcing the Warriors to punt. Audubon battled through a couple penalties on their next drive, one of the holding calls wiped out a long touchdown run by Gavin Smith. He would not be denied as Smith scored on a 23-yard run, putting the Wheelers up 28-16 with 6:18 left in the 3rd quarter. That was the Wheelers final offensive touchdown in the game.
Jon Rice capped a 13-play drive for the Warriors, where they picked up three, fourth downs conversions. Rice two yard run cut the Wheeler lead to 28-23. After an Audubon punt Reichenback broke free for a 33-yard touchdown and the Warriors had regained the lead at 30-28. Audubon looked in deep trouble when Waco Wayland got the ball back with 4:51 left at their won 31-yard line. The defense held and Braden Wessel sent the Wheelers into celebration mode with the 70-yard punt return for the touchdown. Waco Wayland had one more chance but Manny Beisswenger ended their hopes with an interception with 1:06 remaining.
The Wheelers offense came alive in the 2nd half as they finished with 153 yards rushing, led by Gavin Smith with 82-yards on 20 carries. Carter Andreasen finished with 31 yards rushing and a pair of touchdowns and Braden Wessel added 40 yards on 2 carries. The Wheelers passing game was strong most of the night. Smith finished 4-7 but had 147 yards and a touchdown. Carter Andreasen had 1 catch for 65 yards and a touchdown. Braden Wessel added 2 catches for 63 yards and Garrett Christensen had 1 catch for 19 yards that helped set up a 3rd quarter touchdown. Audubon finished with 300 yards on offense.
The defense was led by Gavin Larsen, who finished with 16 tackles, including 9 solo tackles. Joey Schramm added 12 tackles and Gavin Smith finished with 14 tackles. The defense held Waco Wayland to 240 yards rushing and only 79 yards passing.
The win improves Audubon to 10-1 on the season and sets up a rematch with CAM Anita in the semifinals on Wednesday. Audubon lone loss came to CAM Anita on September 24th. The Wheelers struggled early getting down big but rallied back to fall 58-42. They will play at the dome on Wednesday morning at 10:00. The game will be broadcast on 93.7 KKRL with Jeff Blankman and Randy Spies.
Audubon Stats
Gavin Smith: 4/7, 147 Yds, TD; 20 Car, 82 Yds, TD; 14 Total Tackles
Braden Wessel: 79 Yd Punt Return TD; 2 Rec, 63 Yds
Carter Andreasen: 5 Car, 31 Yds, 2 TD; 1 Rec, 65 Yds, TD
Gavin Larsen: 16 Total Tackles
Box Score
Teams 1 2 3 4 Final
Audubon 7 7 14 6 34
Waco 3 13 0 14 30
Other 8-Man Finals
CAM Anita 64 Newell Fonda 13
St Mary’s Remsen 64 Don Bosco 42
Easton Valley 67 Kee Lansing 22
