By Reagan Hoverman

It was a very diuerent feeling for the Spring Valley and Elmwood/Plum City football teams on Friday night in the first round of the WIAA playous.

The #3 seed Spring Valley Cardinals scored a touchdown late in the fourth quarter to secure a 12-8 victory over the #6 seed Hurley North Stars in the first round of the Division 7 playou bracket on Friday, Oct. 21.

After a scoreless first quarter, and nearly an entire second quarter, the Cardinals got on the board first when junior quarterback Wyatt Goveronski connected with sophomore running back Cade Stasiek on a 50-yard touchdown pass to take a 6-0 lead. Spring Valley’s explosive passing play came with a sense of urgency, as the touchdown came with less than 45 seconds remaining in the first half of action.

Hurley’s lone score of the contest came with five minutes remaining in the third quarter when junior running back Jack Caudill found the endzone on a nine-yard touchdown run. Hurley completed the two-point conversion when sophomore running back Devin Soltis went careening into the endzone to give the North Stars an 8-6 lead over the Cardinals.

Then with six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Spring Valley strung together a methodical scoring drive that culminated in a five-yard touchdown scamper by sophomore running back Tanner Dicus to give Spring Valley a 12-8 lead after an unsuccessful two-point conversion.

Spring Valley’s defense, which head coach Ryan Kapping has praised throughout the year for limiting big plays, was able to neutralize the North Stars’ ouense the rest of the way and secure the 12-8 win to advance to the Division 7 Regional Championship game. Spring Valley is slated to compete against the #2 seed Edgar on the road on Friday, Oct. 28. Both teams enter the regional championship game with 9-1 records. That game is slated to begin at 7 p.m.

Elmwood/Plum City bounced by Boyceville, 4020 The #4 seed Elmwood/ Plum City Wolves struggled to contain the fifth-seeded Boyceville Bulldogs’ ouense in a 40-20 first-round playou loss at home on Friday, Oct. 21.

The Bulldogs had success in all three phases of the game but particularly ouensively, as Boyceville accumulated more than 400 yards of total ouense compared to 248 yards for the Elmwood/ Plum City Wolves.

Boyceville got on the board first when senior fullback Sebastian Nielson scored on a six-yard touchdown run to give the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter. Boyceville added two more scores in the second quarter, the first was a 13-yard run by junior quarterback Nick Olson and the second was a two-yard run by the aforementioned Nielson.

Boyceville took a 20-0 lead going into the halftime intermission that proved to be too much to overcome for the Wolves’ rush-heavy ouense. Elmwood/Plum City at one point trailed 27-0 in the third quarter before senior running back Trevor Asher scored on a seven-yard touchdown carry to make it 27-6.

Boyceville responded with another scoring drive that Nielson again capped ou with a two-yard touchdown run to make it 33-6 in favor of the Bulldogs. Elmwood/Plum City began finding its ouensive groove as the Wolves scored 14 unanswered points to make it 33-20 Elmwood/Plum City’s Asher added a pair of scores in the fourth quarter to pull the game within two scores, 33-20, with three minutes left in the fourth quarter. However, Boyceville’s strong clock management and ouensive line play paved the way for another Bulldogs touchdown to seal the 40-20 victory over Elmwood/Plum City and end the Wolves’ season.

EPC’s Asher finished the game with 42 carries for 207 yards and three rushing touchdowns, but the Wolves’ inability to slow down Boyceville’s ouense ultimately proved to be too much to overcome. The Wolves finished the season with a 6-4 overall record and as the runner-up in the Dunn-St. Croix Conference standings.

Elmwood/Plum City junior quarterback Aaden Birtzer rolls out of the pocket looking for a receiver downfield during a game earlier this season. Photo by Reagan Hoverman