RF improves to 4-0, Severson tallies 200 rushing yards, four TDs

The Friday night contest between River Falls and Hudson for the Little Brown Jug proved to be an instant classic in a rivalry that has spanned more than a century.

The Wildcats’ 27-14 victory on the road against the Raiders to improve to 4-0 proved to be one of the most prolific clashes between the two teams in recent memory. River Falls entered the game ranked as the #7 team in Division 2 while Hudson was ranked #10 in the Division 1 bracket, according to the weekly Wissports.com coaches’ poll.

Through the first three weeks of the sea son, River Falls relied heavily on a veteran offensive line and two bell-cow running

backs who helped score points in droves and dominate the time of possession. Junior Jonah Severson headlines the backfield while senior running back Gavin Kohel provides the latter half of the one-two punch.

On Friday night, Severson had a career day and looked more like Walter Payton than a high school junior. Severson finished the game with 212 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 36 carries.

Severson gave the Wildcats a 7-0 lead when he dove into the endzone on a three- yard touchdown run with five minutes remaining in the first quarter. After multiple stops by the Wildcats’ defense, River Falls got the ball back with two minutes left in the first half.

The Wildcats continued to feed Severson and Kohel until Hudson stacked the box. That left one-on-one coverage on the outside against senior wide receiver Jordan Karras, who quickly made the Raiders defense pay.

With less than a minute remaining in the first half, junior quarterback Jacob Range unleashed a strike downfield which Karras hauled in for a 50-yard pitch and catch down to the Hudson seven-yard line. Severson capped off the drive three plays later with a four-yard touchdown run to give the Wildcats a 13-0 lead going into the halftime intermission. Hudson refused to fold, as the Raiders came out of halftime and put together a two-minute, 65-yard scoring drive that culminated in a one-yard touchdown run by junior Justin Robey to make it 13-7, still in favor of the Wildcats.

Four minutes later it was again Severson scoring, this time on a 12-yard touchdown run to make it 19-7 for River Falls. Hudson responded early in the fourth quarter with a rushing TD and an extra point to bring the game within five points, 19-14, with under 10 minutes to play.

The offensive dominance at the line of scrimmage and with Severson and Kohel coming out of the backfield proved to be too much. The Wildcats put the game away with a touchdown late in the fourth quarter to secure the 27-14 victory and reclaim the Little Brown Jug for the first time in two years.

“Games like this are huge for the kids and the community, and getting that payoff for the kids, it was so hard. It’s huge,” River Falls head coach Ryan Scherz said after the game. “We’re going to get off the ball and be the most physical team in Wisconsin, and I think that takes a toll in the third and fourth quarter (on the opponents).”

Although River Falls jumped out to that 13-0 lead, Hudson regularly punched back and twice responded with scoring drives shortly after River Falls found the endzone. Scherz spoke about that battle and how his kids responded to that adversity.

“We talk about how to respond to adversity all the time,” Scherz said. “You never play a football game where bad things don’t happen to you, so how are you going to respond? Our kids get it and they always punch back.”

Running the football, controlling the clock and playing stout defense have become the identity of this 2022 Wildcats team. Senior Bennett Klecker, who was a backup tight end last year, transitioned to guard on the offensive line and is now a starter helping River Falls win at the line of scrimmage.

“It starts with the offensive line. Even a kid like Bennett Klecker who was a backup tight end last year and he’s playing guard now,” Scherz said. “We find guys that love football and want to play and put them on the offensive line. If we have good athletes that have been in the weight room, then we’re going to be OK. That’s a huge payoff for Bennett

(Klecker) to be on the field for that tonight.” That River Falls offensive line led the way for the aforementioned Severson to have a career day, which included more than 200 rushing yards and four total touchdowns and nearly 40 carries on the ground. He spoke about this as the best game of his career.

“This is the #1 game of my career,” Severson said after the game. “This is my first year playing legit varsity so for this game to happen this way, it’s definitely the best game of my career.”

Severson was quick to give praise to the offensive line blocking in front of him. He spoke about what those guys do for him every Friday night.

“Those guys are incredible,” Severson said. “I can take 35 or 40 carries because I’m not getting beat up as much. I’m getting hit by defensive backs, which doesn’t take as big of a toll as getting hit by linebackers and defensive line because my line does their job creating those holes for me.”

While Severson tallied the career night against Hudson, Kohel also had eight carries for 40 yards. Kohel saw the most reps when Severson needed a break or had to come out for a play. He spoke about having that one-two punch with Kohel.

“I love Gavin (Kohel) so much,” Severson said. “We’ve known each other for so long and we still have that bond like when we were little kids. When he goes in I know what he’s going to do. We celebrate with each other no matter who’s in the game. The best thing is that we have a great relationship and we’re already supporting each other.”

River Falls improves to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in Big Rivers Conference games with the 27-14 victory over Hudson. The aforementioned Range, who started the season in a quarterback position battle with senior Dylan Brathol, has seen nearly all of the snaps in the last two games.

“Jacob (Range) made some huge plays,” Scherz said. “Even on that pick, I don’t think our tight end saw it. He’s doing a phenomenal job and that throw at the end of the first half was huge. He’s really taken off.” While Scherz didn’t outright say that the position battle is over, it appears that Range will be the full-time starter moving forward, based on those comments and Range playing nearly every snap for the first two games of the BRC schedule.

Up next for River Falls is a game on the road against Eau Claire Memorial on Friday, Sept. 16. That game is slated to begin at 7 p.m.

River Falls junior running back Jonah Severson dives to cross the plane and score his third touchdown of the game in the third quarter against Hudson. Severson’s 200 rushing yards and four touchdowns helped River Falls reclaim the Little Brown Jug for the first time in two years.Photo by Reagan Hoverman

River Falls head coach Ryan Scherz holds the Little Brown Jug while he speaks to his team after defeating Hudson 27-14 in the annual rivalry game on Friday, Sept. 9. Photo by Reagan Hoverman

River Falls junior quarterback Jacob Range gets under center behind the Wildcats’ offensive line during the game against Hudson. Head coach Ryan Scherz and star running back Jonah Severson had nothing but praise for how the offensive line has performed this season. Photo by Reagan Hoverman