West finds a way, stops Arrowhead

In the game of the year last Friday night in the Classic 8 Conference, the host Arrowhead varsity football team won two big battles against the No. 1-ranked and defending WIAA Division 1 state champions from Waukesha West. But they couldn't pull off the big one.

The No. 5 ranked Warhawks outgained the Wolverines (422 yards to 336) and had two fewer turnovers (1 to 3). About 95 percent of the time when a team wins those two important statistical battles, it usually also wins the game.

But last Friday night marked the exception to the rule. West lost the little battles but scored a come-from-behind 19-13 victory over the Warhawks before a huge crowd of just more than 4,000 people.

With the score tied at 13-13 and just 5:08 remaining in the game, the Wolverines marched 80 yards in 10 plays, getting the game-winning touchdown when all-state senior running back Joe Schobert, who seems to always come up big against the Warhawks no matter the sport, vaulted himself into the air over his offensive linemen for a 1-yard touchdown on third and goal with 1:43 left to play.

The biggest play of the night highlighted that final drive for West. On the third play of that series, a 1st and 10 from the West 30-yard line, senior quarterback Brandon Berghoefer launched a high pass down the right sideline toward Arrowhead defensive back Jackson Abresch and Schobert, running shoulder-to-shoulder. Abresch and Schobert both went high into the air, and Schobert came down with the ball at the AHS 26-yard line. Seven plays later, the Wolverines put the winning points on the scoreboard.

"We worked on that play in practice all week, and coach called it and Berg threw up it up to me, and I just tried to make a play on it," Schobert said. "It worked the way we had hoped."

Coach Steve Rux, who has led West to a pair of state championships since 2004, knew he had the right guy on the receiving end of the play.

"You have to take shots at times, and I like Joe Schobert when the ball is coming to him," Rux said with a huge smile on his face. "He played his heart out tonight. He's got great leaping ability and great hands. We thought we had a shot there, and we hadn't taken many shots down the field. So he was the guy we wanted to go with."

West takes league lead

Arrowhead, with no timeouts left, moved the ball 30 yards to midfield before time ran out on a desperation throw fell short of the end zone.

By winning, the Wolverines (8-0 overall) took sole possession of first place in the Classic 8 Conference with a 6-0 mark and one game to play. Arrowhead is second at 5-1. West will finish the season Friday at home against Waukesha North (3-5, 2-4), and Arrowhead will finish at Mukwonago the same night.

West, who once trailed Arrowhead in the overall series by a lopsided 15-1 margin, now holds a 3-2 edge over the rival Warhawks in their last five meetings. The two teams both have four wins in the last eight games.

Arrowhead had the ball in West territory nine times in the game and managed just two touchdowns.

"Our defense played hard all night," Rux said. "It's difficult to go against a spread look that we don't see very often. Our defense has gotten us all year to his point, and it got us a win tonight. That's a very good football team we just beat."

Turning in big plays for the Wolverines were seniors Ryan Mader and Jordan Jensen. Both made numerous tackles for losses or no gain.

Others making big plays were senior Daniel Konowalski, senior Nate Howard and junior Eric Schmitz.

"We did a great job on defense tonight," Konwalski said. "We prepared the best we could for their spread offenses and our coaches did a great job of getting us ready for whatever they came at us with. We have a lot of pride on defense. This feels great right now."

Schobert finished the night with 157 yards rushing on 35 carries, caught three passes for 82 yards and scored three touchdowns.

Hawks score first

Arrowhead drew first blood as Saeger scored on a 2-yard run capping a short 31-yard, four-play drive that came after Jesse Christofferson's fumble recovery - one of three West turnovers in the game. The first play of that drive was a 26-yard pass from Saeger to Sean Berendes.

South tied the game in the second period when Schobert scored on a 9-yard run in the final three minutes.

The Warhawks outgained the Wolverines in the first half, 220-164, but could do no better than a 7-7 tie.

Schobert gave West a 13-7 lead when he scored on a fourth-and-2 play from the 6-ayrd line.

Billy Hirschfeld blocked that extra-point kick for the Warhawks and also blocked one on the final West score.

AHS tied the score on Saeger's run with 5:08 to play after scoring on an impressive 73-yard drive in eight plays. Saeger completed a 19-yard pass in that drive to Wright early in the drive and then hooked up on a 20-yard pass to Kenny Finco three plays later.

Standings

Box score

Waukesha West 19, Arrowhead 13

Scoring:

AHS - Ryan Saeger 2-yard run (Stephen Dentice kick)

WW - Joe Schobert 9-yard run (Steve Drida kick)

WW - Schobert 6-yard run (kick blocked)

AHS - Saeger 10-yard run (kick failed)

WW - Schobert 1-yard run (kick blocked)