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MarshfieldAreaSports.com
ALTOONA – Jordan Buss and Wyatt Phillips each scored a pair of touchdowns to lead the Spencer/Marshfield Columbus Catholic football team to a much-needed 28-7 win over winless Altoona on Friday night at Altoona High School.
The victory for the Rockets inches them one win closer to a potential playoff berth. Spencer/Columbus (3-4, 3-3 Cloverbelt Conference) must win at home against Neillsville next week or at Colby in the final week to gain a .500 record in conference play and qualify for the WIAA playoffs. Teams that finish at .500 in conference play don’t automatically make the playoffs, but history shows a hefty majority of the teams do.
Altoona (0-7 overall and Cloverbelt) took the lead on a Zac Manney 2-yard touchdown run in the first quarter but the Rockets responded as Buss scored on a 1-yard run and Jared Boyle kicked the extra point to tie the game at 7-7.
The score remained tied until the third quarter when Phillips ran in from 14 yards out and the Rockets’ defense did the rest, shutting out the Railroaders after that first-quarter score.
Phillips added a 2-yard touchdown run and Buss had a 7-yard score in the fourth quarter to pad the Rockets’ lead.
Travis Pischel shook off an arm injury to rush for 113 yards on 20 carries, and Phillips added 63 more in the victory.
Spencer/Columbus held Altoona to 109 yards rushing and forced three turnovers, including an interception by Eathan Aden.
Rockets 28, Railroaders 7
Spencer/Columbus 7 0 7 14 – 28
Altoona 7 0 0 0 – 7
First quarter
A – Zac Manney 2 run (kick good).
S/C – Jordan Buss 1 run (Jared Boyle kick).
Third quarter
S/C – Wyatt Phillips 14 run (Boyle kick).
Fourth quarter
S/C – Phillips 2 run (Boyle kick).
S/C – Buss 7 run (Boyle kick).
TEAM STATISTICS
First downs: Spencer/Columbus 14, Altoona 8.
Rushing (att-yards): Spencer/Columbus 47-186, Altoona 27-109.
Passing (comp-att-yards-int): Spencer/Columbus 3-11-17-1, Altoona 8-19-77-1.
Penalties: Spencer/Columbus 2-10, Altoona 9-44.
Fumbles (total-lost): Spencer/Columbus 1-1, Altoona 2-2.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: S/C, Travis Pischel 20-113, Wyatt Phillips 14-63, Adam Skrzeczkoski 6-7, Jordan Buss 7-3. A, Shawn Gunderson 11-38, Zac Manney 12-31, Jake Eckardt 1-22, Nathan Kent 1-17, Zach Druckrey 1-3, Jeremy Sell 1-minus 2.
Passing: S/C, Buss 3-11-17-1. A, Eckardt 3-4-41-1, Manney 5-15-36-0.
Receiving: S/C, Hunter Reckner 2-16, Jared Boyle 1-1. A, Taylor Rathke 4-67, John Anderson 3-10, Kent 1-0.
Fumble recoveries (defense): S/C, Brandon Nikolai, Skrzeczkoski. A, Manney.
Punting: S/C, Luke Kromanaker 2-31.0 avg. A, Kent 3-22.7 avg., Sell 3-21.0 avg.
Interceptions: S/C, Eathan Aden. A, Kent.
Records: Spencer/Columbus 3-4, 3-3 Cloverbelt Conference; Altoona 0-7 overall and Cloverbelt Conference.