La Crosse Central became the latest team to find out the hard way that it’s nearly im possible to slow down River Falls junior running back Jonah Severson.

Severson and the River Falls Wildcats compiled more than 400 yards of total offense – 367 of which came on the ground – in the 40-20 drubbing of La Crosse Central on Friday, Oct. 21, in the first round of the WIAA Division 2 playou bracket.

River Falls head coach Ryan Scherz stated that playing a rigorous Big Rivers Conference schedule throughout the season has made his team battle-tested for what he and the Wildcats believe is a long and prosperous run through the Division 2 bracket.

“We were running the ball well, which we felt we would. We are so battle-tested. When you’ve played the BRC schedule, you are well-prepared for the playous,” Scherz said. “I still felt like we left a few potential scores out there, and I thought we allowed them to move the ball too easily at times. However, Central has some very good athletes and a tough scheme, so I give them credit.”

While La Crosse Central may have moved the ball too easily at times, River Falls didn’t have much of an issue moving the ball throughout the entire contest. The Wildcats received the opening kick and wasted no time making Severson the focal point of the ouense.

River Falls’ opening possession was a seven- play, 72-yard touchdown drive that took less than three minutes ou the clock. All sev – en plays were handous to the aforementioned Severson, who capped ou the drive with a 13-yard touchdown run to give River Falls a 7-0 lead. Coach Scherz spoke about relying on the run and not getting bored with success.

“We know who we are at this point. We are trying to game plan and play call to our strengths,” Scherz said. “When we are going well, we control the ball but also take deep shots when the opportunity arises. Our ouen sive coordinator Max Haskins does a great job.”

Later in the first quarter, La Crosse Central responded with a scoring drive of its own that culminated in an eight-yard touchdown run by sophomore running back Gavin Shepard to tie the game 7-7 with four minutes to go in the opening quarter.

That’s when senior wide receiver and kick return specialist Jordan Karras returned the ensuing kickou into La Crosse Central ter – ritory before finally being taken down at the Central 40-yard line. The Wildcats took ad-

vantage of the short field and capped ou an other scoring drive with a six-yard Severson touchdown run to make it 13-7, with a missed extra point.

The River Falls defense forced and eventually recovered a fumble on La Crosse Central’s next possession, which again gave the Wildcats a short field. After one handou to Severson for a short gain, River Falls took a shot downfield with a pass to the aforemen tioned Karras on a vertical route, which he hauled in for a 28-yard touchdown pitch and catch from junior quarterback Jacob Range. The Wildcats took a 20-7 lead with just over a minute remaining in the first quarter.

While Karras has been a Swiss Army knife for River Falls this season, defenses often give safety help over the top because of his speed and ability to get vertical on the outside. La Crosse Central decided to stack the box and play Karras one-on-one. Scherz spoke about how that defense was diuerent from what they had seen all year and about play calling for his roster.

“Most BRC teams left a safety over the top of Jordan Karras because he’s really hard to cover one on one. We knew we could take deep shots with Jordan when we wanted to because Central was leaving him 1-on-1 without safety help,” Scherz said. “At the same time, we felt like our ouensive line, tight ends, and fullbacks were physically dominating and controlling the game, regardless of numbers in the box. I’m a firm believer in not overthinking things. As far as playcalling, we try not to get bored with success.”

River Falls went into the halftime intermission with a 26-7 lead after Severson scored again late in the second quarter on a six-yard touchdown run. That three-score lead propelled River Falls to a 40-20 victory over La Crosse Central in that 2022 playou debut.

With the win, the top-seeded River Falls Wildcats advance to the second round of the Division 2 playous and will face the #4 seed Marshfield Tigers. Coach Scherz spoke about the upcoming game against a tough Marsh- field squad that only has three losses this sea son.

“Marshfield is very good. They have 3 losses to 3 very good teams in Hudson, Slinger, and Wisconsin Rapids,” Scherz said. “They present challenges for us on both sides of the ball. We will have to play better than we did last week to win. I know the guys will be motivated to keep this going.”

River Falls will host Marshfield at David Smith Stadium in River Falls on Friday, Oct. 28. That game is slated to begin at 7 p.m.

The River Falls defensive line gets set to battle with the La Crosse Central offensive line during the Level 1 playoff game on Friday, Oct. 21, in River Falls. The Wildcats dominated at the line of scrimmage in the 40-20 victory. Photo by Journal staff