This story is sponsored by Total Electric
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – The circumstances may have changed the day prior, but the battle between Amherst and Stratford in their regular-season finales on Friday was as expected.
Amherst quarterback Matthew Glodowski had touchdown runs of 30 and 72 yards, and connected with Jake Derezinski for a 31-yard score in the fourth quarter to lift the Falcons to a 28-21 win over Stratford on Friday night at Heiting Community Stadium at Marshfield High School.
The game was the season finale for Amherst, which will not be advancing to the postseason after the WIAA ruled it had to forfeit five conference wins for use of an ineligible player. What would have been an undefeated conference championship season, turned into disappointment for the Falcons, but they came out fighting anyway.
As a result, Stratford ties Wittenberg-Birnamwood for the CWC Large title, the Tigers’ first since the reformation of the football only conference in 2020. Stratford, ranked eighth in this week’s Wissports.net Division 6 state coaches poll, saw its six-game winning streak snapped and finishes the regular season 6-2-1 overall and 6-1 in the conference.
Stratford took to the air on its second possession of the game as Braeden Schueller hit Payton Glenn for eight yards and then connected on back-to-back throws to Ashton Wrensch covering 26 and 23 yards, the second of which went for the game’s first touchdown and the Tigers led 7-0.
Following a quick three-and-out, Conner Weigel broke free from the line uncovered, caught a short pass from Schueller, and raced 54 yards for another score to bump Stratford’s lead to 14-0.
Amherst responded, putting together an impressive 16-play, 80-yard drive that chewed up all by 16 seconds of the final 9:22 of the half. A successful fake punt helped the Falcons continue the drive and Glodowski capped it with a 1-yard touchdown run on fourth down to cut Stratford’s lead in half heading into the break.
Following a scoreless third quarter, the fourth was full of the fireworks one would expect from these two powerhouses.
Glodowski raced 30 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter to tie the game at 14-14.
After Stratford’s ensuing drive stalled, Gunnar Wierzba blocked Schueller’s punt and Amherst took over at the Tigers’ 32. Two plays later, Glodowski hit Derezinski for a 31-yard bomb down the middle of the field for a touchdown. The extra point was missed and Amherst lead 20-14 with 6:37 remaining.
Stratford came right back, going 65 yards in just five plays. A 44-yard pass from Schueller to Gavin Leonhadt brought the ball to the Amherst 19 and two players later Koehler Kilty rolled in from the 12. Evan Danielson made the extra point and the Tigers led 21-20 with 5:01 to go.
Amherst didn’t need long to take its first lead of the game. Following the kickoff, Glodowski raced up the middle on a quarterback keeper and went untouched for a 72-yard touchdown. A two-point conversion gave the Falcons a 28-21 lead.
Stratford put together a series of big plays to make it interesting.
Schueller hit Leonhardt for a 26-yard pass on fourth-and-16 to continue the drive, then connected with Danielson for 19 yards to bring the ball down to the 7 in the final minute.
After Kilty reached the 1 on second down, Stratford stopped the clock with an incomplete pass. With seven seconds to go, Weigel was stuffed at the line, sealing the win for Amherst.
The WIAA will announce playoff brackets on Saturday morning with a special reveal show on Bally Sports Wisconsin beginning at 10 a.m.
Click here to view the Central Wisconsin Conference Large Division standings.
Falcons 28, Tigers 21
Amherst 0 7 0 21 – 28
Stratford 7 7 0 7 – 21
First Quarter
S – Ashton Wrensch 23 pass from Braeden Schueller (Evan Danielson kick), 0:16.
Second Quarter
S – Conner Weigel 54 pass from Schueller (Danielson kick), 9:22.
A – Matthew Glodowski 1 run (Drew Lewallen kick), 0:16.
Fourth Quarter
A – Glodowski 30 run (Lewallen kick), 11:53.
A – Jake Derezinski 31 pass from Glodowski (kick missed), 6:37.
S – Koehler Kilty 12 run (Danielson kick), 5:01.
A – Glodowski 72 run (Derezinski pass from Glodowski), 4:41.
Team Statistics
First downs: Amherst 11; Stratford 11.
Rushing (att-yards): A 30-193; S 33-92.
Passing (comp-att-yards-int): A 9-12-113-0; S 11-21-246-0.
Total yards: A 306; S 339.
Penalties (no.-yards): A 5-30; S 6-63.
Fumbles (total-lost): A 0-0; S 0-0.
Punting (no.-avg.): A 3-46.0; S 4-29.3.
Individual Statistics
Rushing: A, Matthew Glodowski 22-176, Michael Benjamin 1-12, Nasiah Holland 5-5, Westin Allen 1-0, Jake Derezinski 1-0. S, Koehler Kilty 16-56, Conner Weigel 7-24, Gavin Leonhardt 3-10, Cole Tichy 1-8, Payton Glenn 1-1, Braeden Schueller 5-minus 7.
Passing: A, Glodowski 9-12-113-0. S, Schueller 11-21-246-0.
Receiving: A, Derezinski 4-66, Aidan Jastromski 3-27, Benjamin 1-13, Allen 1-7. S, Ashton Wrensch 3-73, Glenn 3-26, Leonhardt 2-70, Weigel 1-54, Evan Danielson 1-19, Kilty 1-5.
Records: Amherst 2-7, 2-5 Central Wisconsin Conference Large Division; Stratford 6-2-1, 6-1 Central Wisconsin Conference Large Division.