Drop Playoff Heartbreaker On Last Second Teedee 21-14; Tough Loss Ends Brilliant 10-2 Season The Bulldogs knew their season was going to end sometime, but didn’t expect it to happen at home on Saturday. Unfortunately it did.
Giving it their best shot, Peshtigo battled top seed Brillion toe-to-toe before wearing out down the stretch in suffering a heartbreaking 21-14 Division 5 state quarterfinal loss.
Heartbreaking?
It couldn’t have played out any worse for Peshtigo. After jumping out to a promising 14-0 second quarter lead, the Bulldogs wore down as Brillion knotted things up in the third frame before scoring with 3.6 seconds left to claim the win. That’s 3.6 seconds, not minutes, and no time for a comeback.
“That was a tough way to end a great game. I can not ask for anything more of my kids...they played for as hard as they could for as long as they could and then wore down. We had 9 players go both ways, Brillion was a little deeper, our defenders had a hard time getting off blocks at the end and we were getting up slower and slower after each play,” Peshtigo coach Sam Komp said. “I really believe we are as good as any team left in our half of the bracket and believed we would be playing in Level 4. It didn’t turn out that way, but I’m awfully proud of my players.”
The post-season loss cut short a brilliant 10-2 season for the Bulldogs, champions of the M-O Conference for the first time since 2006 and also snapped a 10-game winning streak that started following a season opening 34-6 loss to Oconto. In between the bookend defeats were plenty of thrills as Komp and company rolled to the league title and a pair of playoff wins.
The quarterfinal showdown had all the makings of a great match-up and environment ...pitting number one seed Brillion (12-0) and number two Peshtigo (10-2), in front of a jam packed Bulldog Stadium totaling over 1200 fans and temperatures reaching 68 degrees. Probably a bit too warm for the Bulldogs, who lacked the depth of the champions of the Olympian-Packerland Conference.
“I’m not taking anything away from Brillion, they deserved to win, but it was probably 20 degrees too warm for our liking. We have to tip our hat to Brillion, lost their top runner in Kittel, sucked it up to come back from that 14-0 deficit and that is why they’re champions,” Komp added.
Both teams played short-handed in the backfield. After suffering an ankle injury against Manawa last week, Peshtigo top runner Mack Dura, who gained over 1400 yards this year, struggled to accelerate and was held to 22 yards in 11 carries. Meanwhile Brillion lost the services of Kyle Kittel, the player of the year in the Olympian-Packerland Conference and son of the head coach (Pete), on their opening series to a knee injury.
“I think the thing that happened was Brillion was able to overcome the loss of their great player, a hair better than how we overcame Dura. I hope and pray that the coach’s son is well enough to play this week,” Komp remarked. “We worked on two game plans...one with Dura and one without. We really didn’t know until Friday if he was going to play. Dura gave it his best shot but was pretty much running on one leg.”
Defense was the name of this evenly matched post-season affair as both offenses were held well below their averages. Each team had 8 possessions with Brillion scoring on three and having a pair of turnovers while the Bulldogs went 2-8 with 4 punts.
With Dura hobbling, Coach Komp split up his duties between explosive end/ back James Meeks, fullback Cody Nelson and quarterback Jeff Gardon.
Peshtigo managed 214 yards, which is usually a first half total and finished with 104 rushing and 110 passing. Nelson rambled for 44 yards on 11 carries, Meeks 33 on 5 and Dura 11 rushes for a season low 22 yards. Gardon found the mark on 9 of 19 passes for 110 yards...3 balls to Collin Terry for 31 and a pair to Meeks for 67.
Finding the majority of their success on the ground, Brillion battered the Bulldogs for 272 yards on 55 plays for a 4.9 yard average. Sparked by senior fullback Casey Mueller with 30 carries for 121 yards, the Lions gained 252 yards on 52 rushes while Justin Zeamer added 13 attempts for 89 yards and two scores. Quarterback Jacob Hebbard attempted a trio of passes and didn’t find much success...first one was intercepted by Meeks, second knocked down by Ron Skuja and third one was a 20 yard completion to Will Jensen.
Playing with plenty of emotion, the Peshtigo defense flexed their muscle to stop a trio of early Brillion drives.
Taking the opening kickoff, run-oriented Brillion had the Bulldogs reeling moving from 30 to 30 on 8 straight runs. It didn’t look good until the Lions got to the Peshtigo 30 where they tried to catch the Bulldogs napping with a pass. Bad move. Waiting on the opposite end of the toss was Meeks, who returned the “pick” 15 yards to the 27.
Trying to shake off some early jitters, the Bulldogs slowly drove to the 45 before being forced to punt. An 8 yard pass from Gardon to Terry put the ball at the 36 before four runs and a penalty backed the Bulldogs up.
Getting the ball back at their own 33, Brillion stayed on the ground for 5 straight runs to the Peshtigo 47 only to get turned back. This time Skuja got his “big paw” in front of a pass setting up a fourth down punt.
Drive number two produced points for Peshtigo in 18 plays thanks to 4 completions by Gardon and a roughing the punter penalty.
Starting at their own 20, the Bulldogs took the “long route” to reach paydirt. After Dura struggled for 3 yards on first down, a motion penalty sent Peshtigo back to the 17. This is where Peshtigo’s balanced attack came through with flying colors as Gardon hooked up with Terry for a 18 yard strike to the 35 then saw Meeks come up with a circus catch for a 42 yard completion to the Brillion 23. The athletic play had the leaping Meeks grab the ball away from a trio of defenders for a first down and huge momentum lift.
From the 23, it took Peshtigo 11 plays to score. A holding penalty retreated the Bulldogs to the 38 while off-setting flags wiped out a 18 yard pass to Terry. Facing fourth down at the Brillion 38, Peshtigo decided to play the “field position game” and got help as the Lions were penalized for roughing punter, Eric Parnell. It helped the Bulldogs, but also hurt them as Parnell suffered a leg injury on the boot, forcing him to the sidelines for the rest of the game.
Getting a new set of downs at the 22, the Bulldogs continued their trek goalward. Nelson battered for 3 yards to the 13 then converted a tough fourth down run for a yard to the 12 and a new set of downs. The going continued to be tough as Gardon went nowhere on an option run then saw passes to Terry and Shawn Oestreich miss the mark for a fourth down at the 12.
Needing 10 yards to keep the drive alive, Peshtigo converted as Gardon fired an 11 yard completion to Mack Drees to the one yard line. It was the first career catch for Drees and couldn’t have come at a more opportune time. On the next play, Nelson blasted his way into the end zone at the 8:25 mark and Mitch Johnson booted the point after for a 7-0 lead.
The momentum continued to stay on Peshtigo’s side of the field as the defense again came up big. On the first play following the teedee, hard-hitting linebacker Nelson forced Mueller to give up the ball with Michael Berth recovering at the 26.
The Bulldog lead grew to 14-0 four plays later as Nelson powered into the end zone from 7 yards out. Peshtigo gave Brillion a new look to open the drive with the speedy Meeks as the featured back in a power I formation for three straight runs. Meeks scooted for 8 yards on first down then tore off 10 more yards on third down to the 7.
Nelson took it from there thanks to a couple of key blocks from Berth and DJ Koronkiewicz to make his way to the end zone. Johnson split the uprights for a 14-0 Peshtigo lead with 6:03 left in the half.
Things looked good for the Bulldogs until Brillion took the ensuing kickoff and drove 61 yards in 11 plays to score with 1:25 left in the half. All 11 plays were rushes with Mueller and Zeamer shouldering the load. Zeamer had the early key runs with a 9 yard jaunt to the Peshtigo 46 and a 10 yarder to the 19. Four plays later Zeamer put the points on the board with a 10 yard scamper to the end zone. Strong-legged Dyllan Eichhorst booted the point after for a 14-7 halftime score.
“Their drive to end the half really changed the tone of the game and gave them momentum. We started to get tired and couldn’t come up with a stop when we needed one,” Komp said.
The second half wasn’t any different as Peshtigo ran off 22 plays on 4 possessions and was forced to go “three and out” three times. Brillion also had 4 offensive opportunities, running off 29 plays and producing a pair of teedees.
After Peshtigo’s second punt of period three, Brillion took over at midfield and knotted things up at 14-all. Points were just 8 runs away as the Lions took nearly 6 minutes off the clock. After Mueller was tossed for a 3 yard loss by Nelson on first down, Brillion used a counter by Zeamer for a 33 yard gain to the Bulldog 27 then sprung quarterback Hebbard loose for 15 yards on a “keeper” to the 5. Three plays later Zeamer scored from 6 yards out and Eichhorst added the PAT at the 1:01 mark.
Trying to regain the momentum, the Bulldogs put together a gutsy 13 play, 61 yard march to the Brillion 15. Unfortunately, they couldn’t tally points.
The running of Dura and Nelson banged away at the Brillion defense for 6 of the first 8 plays to move the ball to the 39. Facing a third down, Komp went back to the pass as Meeks came up with another great snag from Gardon to the 14.
Looking to finish the drive in the end zone, the Bulldogs would only go backwards. Dura lost a yard on first down while Gardon saw three straight passes to Meeks and Terry fall incomplete. On the pass to Meeks in the end zone, the senior was open for second and had the ball in his hands before great play by the Brillion defender broke things up.
Turning the ball over on downs, Peshtigo’s defense dug deep and came up with their final stop of the game, forcing Brillion to punt after reaching their own 35.
Getting the ball back with 4:04 left at their own 26, the Bulldog had one thing in mind...use as much of the clock as possible and score at the end.
It didn’t work that way as the offense sputtered and punted after three plays.
Back to back motion penalties had the Bulldogs starting from their own 17. Trying to stay out of a hole, Dura gained 5 yards on first down while a second down Gardon to Terry pass came up empty. The ball went back to Dura on third down as the senior back was thrown for a 3 yard loss, forcing a punt by Meeks to the 50.
That is where Brillion began their game winning drive. With two timeouts to burn and field goal kicker Eichhorst waiting in the wings, the Lions picked up 7 yards on first down before striking it big through the air on third down. This time Hebbard fired a quick pass to Will Jensen, who danced his way for 20 yards to the Peshtigo 23.
The Bulldog defense did their best to keep Brillion out of the end zone tossing Zeamer for a yard loss while Mueller gained a tough yard on second. Facing a third and 10 from the 23, Brillion went back to Mueller to move the ball between the hash marks for a potential field goal. The fullback did better than that ripping off an 18 yard gain to the 5. With time ticking under 10 seconds, Brillion gave the ball back to Mueller, who fought his way in for the score with 3.6 ticks left. Eichhorst’s kick was good for the 21-14 final score.
With just enough time for a kickoff return, the Bulldogs needed a miracle but never got it. Meeks fielded the kick and tried to weave his way through the Lions before getting tackled to end the game.
Looking back on the second year of his second stint as the Bulldog head coach, Komp had plenty of praise for his players.
“When we decided to come back to coach, we knew there were some good returning players and athletes that we could be successful with. Those kids lived up to and beyond our expectations,” Komp said. “We had a tremendous group of skilled players....a back that ran for over 1400 yards two straight years, the two best receivers I ever had together and an outstanding quarterback that could get them the ball. Plus our line came together with one senior, three juniors and a sophomore.”
Continuing the veteran coach added... “we had a good mixture of players and great chemistry on this team. To be honest with you, this was the best two years of my coaching career. I love these kids like my own.”
During his 8 years at the head of the Bulldog football program, Komp’s teams have won five M-O Conference championships and compiled a remarkable 53-3 league readout. Peshtigo has qualified for the playoffs every year under his leadership, including state semifinal appearances in 1996 and 1999.
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