This story is sponsored by: Victory Apparel
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – With the defending WIAA Division 3 state champions Rice Lake coming to town for a Big Rivers-Wisconsin Valley Conference crossover game on Friday night, the Marshfield football team had to be on top of its game.
The Warriors, behind a big offensive line and a crushing, mis-direction rushing attack, were just too tough to handle for the Tigers.
Rice Lake scored touchdowns on its first three drives and cruised to a 39-7 win Friday at Heiting Community Stadium at Marshfield High School. The crossover counts as the conference opener for both teams.
The Warriors (3-0, 1-0 Big Rivers Conference) racked up 512 total yards, including 432 on 50 rushing carries.
Quarterback Jakob Kunz ran 15 times for 209 yards and fullback Lucas Peters added 172 yards on 20 carries for Rice Lake.
The Warriors drove 80 yards on nine-straight running plays and Peters ran in from 32 yards out to put them on top 8-0 following a two-point run.
After a three-and-out by Marshfield (0-3, 0-1 Wisconsin Valley Conference), Rice Lake ran off the final 6:21 of the first quarter clock and scored on the third play of the second quarter on a 15-yard run by Kunz.
Following Marshfield’s second three-and-out, the Warriors only had to go 27 yards after a 15-yard punt return and Connor Durand ran in from the 10. Another two-point conversion put Rice Lake up 22-0 before Marshfield had even got a first down.
The Tigers responded with a promising drive, but it stalled at the 8. The teams exchanged interceptions before the Warriors put together another big drive.
Rice Lake drove 87 yards from its own 7 to the Marshfield 6 and Will Johnson booted a 23-yard field goal on the final play of the half, giving the Warriors a 25-0 lead at the break.
Marshfield’s lone success on offense came on the opening possession of the second half when Lukas Halan connected with Brooks Hinson for a 58-yard touchdown pass, cutting Rice Lake’s lead to 25-7.
The Warriors responded with two-straight scoring drives. Kunz hit Durand for a 33-yard touchdown pass and then ran in from 30 yards out on the final play of the third quarter to finish the scoring in the game.
Halan, a sophomore making his first start in place of senior Chase Robinson, ended up with 132 yards passing, 120 to Hinson on five catches.
Marshfield will play a WVC game at Eau Claire Memorial (0-3, 0-1 WVC) next Friday at 7 p.m. The game will be streamed live at zaleskisports.com. Click here to view the Wisconsin Valley Conference football standings
Warriors 39, Tigers 7
Rice Lake 8 17 14 0 – 39
Marshfield 0 0 7 0 – 7
First Quarter
RL – Lucas Peters 32 run (Connor Durand run), 8:11.
Second Quarter
RL – Jacob Kunz 15 run (run failed), 11:08.
RL – Durand 10 run (Peters run), 8:19.
RL – Will Johnson 23 field goal, 0:00.
Third Quarter
M – Brooks Hinson 58 pass from Lukas Halan (Keegan Fredrick kick), 10:30.
RL – Durand 33 pass from Kunz (pass failed), 6:17.
RL – Kunz 30 run (Aaron Hoffman run), 0:00.
Team Statistics
First downs: RL 19; M 7.
Rushing (att-yards): RL 55-432; M 20-54.
Passing (comp-att-yards-int): RL 5-9-80-1; M 6-16-132-2.
Total yards: RL 512; M 186.
Penalties (no.-yards): RL 11-92; M 5-45.
Fumbles (total-lost): RL 1-0; M 3-0.
Punting (no.-avg.): RL none; M 3-34.3.
Individual Statistics
Rushing: RL, Jakob Kunz 15-209, Lucas Peters 20-172, Connor Durand 9-44, Vincent Weber 3-13, Tanner Koltunski 2-6, Xander Easton 1-6, Owen Storberg 1-4, Ben Kucko 1-2, Parker Dierks 1-1, Grant Pacholke 1-minus 1, Aaron Hoffman 1-minus 4. M, Grayden Rode 8-35, Lukas Halan 6-26, Josh Taylor 1-15, Haiden Carlson 3-8, Team 2-minus 30.
Passing: RL, Kunz 5-9-80-1. M, Halan 6-16-132-2.
Receiving: RL, Zach Orr 2-18, Durand 1-33, Koltunski 1-16, Evan Strand 1-9. M, Brooks Hinson 5-120, Jakob Sadowska 1-12.
Interceptions (defense): RL, Steven Lai, Strand. M, Hinson.
Records: Rice Lake 3-0, 1-0 Big Rivers Conference; Marshfield 0-3, 0-1 Wisconsin Valley Conference.