By Bud Milroy
Sports Correspondent
For just the second time in the last six seasons, Catholic Central football won’t be playing in the state semifinals.
The Toppers’ 2013 football season ended Friday night when the Toppers fell to the Lake Country Lutheran Lightning, 13-7. The Division 7 state quarterfinal game, played at Kettle Moraine High School, featured two of the more potent offenses in the playoffs, but it was defense that set the tone.
“It was a great high school football game, fun to be a part of,” said Catholic Central Head Coach Tom Aldrich. “This isn’t the way we wanted the season to end but the kids gave a great effort, I’m very proud of them.”
Lake Country entered the game with a 10-1 record and the No. 6 D7 ranking. Also, the Lightning walloped Central, 27-7, back in Week 2.
The Toppers finished 7-5, rebounding nicely from a slow 1-3 start of the season.
“It was a very good defensive game,” Aldrich pointed out. “Both teams did things that were a little out of the ordinary for them and it was successful.”
Lake Country stayed on the ground for the most part and recorded 200 yards on 52 attempts.
The Toppers bend-but-don’t-break mentality kept the Lightning in check for the most part, except for one critical mistake that gave Lake Country a second chance to keep a drive alive.
Late in the first quarter the Toppers appeared to have Lake Country stopped on a 3rd and 11 pass play, but the apparent sack drew a flag for roughing the passer.
The Lightning continued its drive that ultimately ended with a one-yard touchdown run by Nate Coss. The extra point attempt failed but Lake Country held a 6-0 lead.
The Lightning only went to the air six times for 57 yards, however one of their completions was a “home run.”
A rare first-half opportunity for the Toppers came at the eight-minute mark of the second quarter. At the Lake Country 38 yard line, Catholic Central faced a fourth and inches. The Toppers went for it and the Lightning “stuffed” the play.
Lake Country needed just a couple of plays to hit pay dirt.
Quarterback Ben Wilkens connected on one of his three completions and recorded 50 of the 57 yards gained through air on the night when Charlie Jacques hauled in the pass and raced for the touchdown. The extra point was good to make the score 13-0 at halftime.
The Topper struggles on offense in the first half carried over well into the second half. The running game totally shut down for the game, finishing with just 16 yards on 25 attempts.
“They came at us with a lot of stunts up the middle which we struggled to pick up,” said Coach Aldrich. “The line was off balance all night and never really able to recover.”
Faced with a running game that wasn’t going anywhere, Coach Aldrich changed quarterbacks in the fourth quarter. Spencer Wilker took over the reins as the Toppers went to the air to try and overcome the 13-0 deficit.
“We couldn’t run our option at that point of the game anymore, and to get back in the game we knew we’d have to go to the air. Spencer throws a harder ball than Ben (Heiligenthal) and with the conditions (windy), we made the change,” Aldrich continued.
Wilker came in and did a nice job trying to rally his squad. The junior signal caller completed seven of his 12 attempts for 87 yards and twice had the team on the doorstep.
Midway through the fourth quarter, the Toppers drove to the Lightning 11 only to be stopped on fourth down when Wilker’s pass went incomplete.
The Topper defense got the ball back a few minutes later, and this time Wilker was able to hook up with Jake Surges for an eight-yard touchdown with 2:05 left in the game.
With the score at 13-7, there was still hope for the Toppers.
Unfortunately a story book ending didn’t materialize as the Topper’s onside kick was fielded by Lake Country, which then ran out the clock.
“This was a great group of kids who were close to begin with and drew closer as the season wore on. They are a fun bunch to work with. We’ll certainly miss the seniors,” Aldrich said.
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