This story is sponsored by: High Street Salon, Spa & Travel
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
AMHERST – Stratford knew it had to stop Amhest quarterback Marcus Glodowski in order to have a chance at an upset of the two-time defending Division 5 state champions. It just couldn’t.
Glodowski ran the Falcons’ read-option offense to perfection, rushing for 267 yards and five touchdowns as Amherst beat up Stratford 52-15 in a WIAA Division 5 Level 3 football playoff Friday night at Amherst High School.
Amherst (11-1) moves on to a Division 5 state semifinal against Grantsburg (12-0) next Friday, Nov. 10, at a site to be announced. Lake Country Lutheran and Cedar Grove-Belgium will play in the other semifinal, with the winners meeting in the D-5 state championship game Nov. 16 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison.
Stratford ends its season with a 9-3 record and suffered its fourth playoff loss in the past six seasons to the Falcons.
“They’re a great team and they proved why they are two-time state champs,” Stratford coach Jason Tubbs said. “That quarterback is as good as advertised.”
Stratford somewhat controlled Glodowski on the Falcons’ first drive, as they drove 60 yards in eight plays, limiting him to 38 yards on five carries. The drive ended with a 1-yard touchdown run by Bryce Holderman.
From there, Glodowski had his way with the Stratford defense, time after time running in open space after holding the Tigers off with a long fake, setting up the Amherst offensive line to do its work.
Glodowski had an 80-yard TD run later in the first quarter, and had a 41-yard scoring run on the first play of the second quarter to put the Falcons up 21-0.
After Stratford recovered a muffed punt, Teddy Redman took a reverse handoff and scampered 20 yards for a Tigers’ score.
However, Stratford just couldn’t find a way to stop Glodowski. The senior quarterback capped a 66-yard drive with a 35-yard touchdown run on Amherst’s next drive, then after forcing a Stratford punt, the Falcons went 68 yards in nine plays, ending on a 27-yard TD run by Glodowski with just 9 seconds to go before halftime, giving Amherst a 34-7 lead.
Glodowski had a 23-yard touchdown run and Aidan Elwood scored from the 2 to make it 46-7 after three quarters.
“It’s tough to bottle him (Glodowski) because they spread you out so well and he’s pretty good,” Tubbs said. “It’s tough to game plan and tough to prepare for someone with that type of speed and burst.”
Stratford earned its final touchdown in the first minute of the fourth quarter as Chandler Schmidt threw a 60-yard touchdown pass to Dilan Dehlinger. Amherst finished off the scoring following an interception deep in Tigers’ territory on a 1-yard run by Kadin Conradt.
Stratford was held to 224 total yards, while allowing 415 yards, all on the ground, to the Falcons.
“We took a team that lost a lot of seniors from last year to a group that got to Level 3,” Tubbs said. “We’re a young team. We have, I think, a bright future with our sophomores and juniors.”
Falcons 52, Tigers 15
Stratford 0 7 0 8 – 15
Amherst 14 20 12 6 – 52
First Quarter
A – Bryce Holderman 1 run (Carter Zblewski kick), 5:37.
A – Marcus Glodowski 80 run (Zblewski kick), 1:47.
Second Quarter
A – Glodowski 41 run (Zblewski kick), 11:48.
S – Teddy Redman 20 run (Reed Curtis kick), 9:00.
A – Glodowski 35 run (kick missed), 5:46.
A – Glodwoski 27 run (Zblewski kick), 0:09.
Third Quarter
A – Glodowski 23 run (pass failed), 6:25.
A – Aidan Elwood 2 run (run failed), 0:16.
Fourth Quarter
S – Dilan Dehlinger 60 pass from Chandler Schmidt (Vaughn Breit pass from Mark Handrick), 11:07.
A – Kadin Conradt 1 run (run failed), 4:17.
Team Statistics
First downs: Stratford 7; Amherst 11.
Rushing (att-yards): S 28-103; A 39-415.
Passing (comp-att-yards-int): S 2-12-121-1; A 0-3-0-0.
Total yards: S 224; A 415.
Penalties (no.-yards): S 2-15; A 3-25.
Fumbles (total-lost): S 2-1; A 1-1.
Punting (no.-avg.): S 6-26.8; A 2-41.0.
Individual Statistics
Rushing: S, Kade Ehrike 6-28, Jordan Becker 7-27, Teddy Redman 3-24, Justin Schoenherr 1-13, Dilan Dehlinger 3-8, Chase Flink 1-7, Mathew Chapel 1-1, Matt Handrick 2-0, Mark Handrick 4-minus 5. A, Marcus Glodowski 14-267, Bryce Holderman 17-103, Aidan Elwood 7-28, Colton Groholski 1-10, Bryan Groshek 3-2, Carmelo Aleman 1-2, Kadin Conradt 1-1.
Passing: S, Mark Handrick 5-8-51-0, Chandler Schmidt 2-2-70-0, Max Schwabe 0-2-0-1. A, Glodowski 0-3-0-0.
Receiving: S, Ehrike 2-34, Dehlinger 1-60, Schoenherr 1-10, A.J. Schoenfuss 1-7, Vaughn Breit 1-6, Becker 1-4. A, none.
Fumble recoveries (defense): S, Becker. A, Tyler Stanchik.
Interceptions (defense): A, Cyle Zblewski.
Punting: S, Connor Multerer 6-28.8. A, Glodowski 2-41.0.
Records: Stratford 9-3; Amherst 11-1.