FIRST AND SHORT

Weekend Warriors: Bellore's role increases for 49ers

JR Radcliffe
jr.radcliffe@jrn.com
Cardinals wide receiver John Brown (12) fumbles the ball while tackled by 49ers linebacker Nick Bellore (50) and inside linebacker Gerald Hodges (51) during the second quarter at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. on October 6, 2016. The Cardinals recovered.

Nick Bellore (Whitefish Bay) is typically a special-teams player for the San Francisco 49ers, but he had a huge day last Thursday against the Arizona Cardinals when he filled in for injured NaVorro Bowman, racking up 11 tackles overall and seven solo, including a half sack.

Bellore saw the field for all 68 defensive snaps. It wasn't a perfect outing, as Niners Nation points out, but the article does have a number of quotes from Bellore postgame.

In Cleveland, both Joe Thomas (Brookfield Central) and Joe Schobert (Waukesha West) had strong games according to Pro Football Focus, but the Browns continued to have an awful year plagued by poor play and several quarterback injuries.

Brian Smith (Brookfield East) caught three passes for 60 yards, but Minnesota lost a heartbreaker to Iowa in the Big Ten on Saturday, 14-7.

Nate Tanguay (Mukwonago) had a monster day for North Dakota State in his team's 20-3 win over Missouri State. He finished with six tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, a sack and a forced fumble, as the No. 1-ranked FCS school in the nation stayed undefeated.

Sean McGuire (Franklin) and Western Illinois won a wild 36-35 outcome against Indiana State, keeping the Leathernecks (4-1) on the FCS top-25 poll at No. 13. McGuire completed 24 of 43 passes for 363 yards and there touchdowns, and he also ran for a touchdown and 28 yards to lead the way.

Western Michigan has landed its first-ever ranking in the Associated Press poll, standing at 6-0 following a 45-30 win over Northern Illinois on Oct. 8. Zack Taylor (Catholic Memorial) is on the roster, seeing action at nose tackle in one game this year. Mike Caliendo (Brookfield East), another freshman, has not seen the field but is on the roster as an offensive lineman.

Dan Bell (Menomonee Falls) is the starting left guard for North Dakota, which notched a 40-7 win over Sacramento State on Saturday to move to 4-2 overall on the year. That's good enough to get UND on the FCS top-25 poll this week, debuting at No. 23.

Florida Atlantic made some headlines this weekend when it thought it had won the game on a Hail Mary, only to have the play overturned on replay. Bryan Beck (Franklin) routinely sees the field on the offensive line for FAU, and former Brookfield Central standout Ben Strickland is the team's defensive backs coach.

Alec Kocour (Catholic Memorial) had seven tackles and a pass breakup but Illinois State fell to Youngstown State, 20-6.

UW-Whitewater running back Drew Patterson (left) scored three touchdowns to help Whitewater cruise to a 48-6 victory over host UW-Eau Claire on Saturday.

At the Division III level, it doesn't get better than the Oshkosh-Whitewater tilt Saturday, played before a record crowd at Perkins Stadium. Drew Patterson (Sussex Hamilton) scored the winning touchdown with 55 seconds left, shaking tacklers and finding the end zone from 16 yards away as UWW held off the Titans, 17-14. Dom Todarello (Arrowhead) scored Oshkosh's first touchdown, and Tony Gumina (Sussex Hamilton) made two catches on the final drive to set up his childhood friend Patterson's score. CJ Blackburn (Waueksha North) had 44 yards rushing and 15 yards receiving for Oshkosh in addition to 78 return yards. Branden Lloyd (Mukwonago) had a tackle for loss and a half sack, teaming with Dallis Ramos-Deleon (Waueksha West) on the latter for Oshkosh.