Catholic Memorial runs over Waukesha South
Waukesha — It isn't very often the Catholic Memorial football team is looking up at Waukesha South in the Classic 8 Conference standings.
So the Crusaders, ranked eighth in the area by the Journal Sentinel, went out and rushed for 378 yards in a 56-14 victory Friday night over the previously unbeaten Blackshirts at Carroll University.
"(South coach) Dave Rusch and the Blackshirts, they've done a wonderful job," Memorial coach Bill Young said. "They've earned all the hype that they've got, and our kids, we were ready to play really hard."
Reigning Division 3 state champion Memorial (4-1 overall, 2-1 Classic 8) had won its first three games by a combined score of 113-0 before suffering a 12-0 loss to conference foe and defending Division 1 state champ Arrowhead last week.
Other than winning, obviously, what did Young exactly want to see from his team following the loss to the Warhawks?
"We wanted to see this," Young said. "We just felt that physically we were bigger and could run the ball effectively, and we really were able to do a great job with that."
South (4-1, 2-1) entered the contest averaging 43 points per game and was hoping to continue its momentum from its first 4-0 start since 1998.
"In the last four weeks, (a deficit) was not something we were used to," Rusch said. "We know we're in the tough part of our schedule now. We have to beat one of the big guys, and this was one of them....We've got a hell of a schedule ahead of us. We still have a confident, hungry team, but they came out and just outplayed us."
Each of the first and second quarters provided a key to the outcome.
South already trailed, 7-0, after a 4-yard touchdown run by Memorial's John Clark when the Blackshirts decided to go for it on fourth down from their own 29-yard line.
They needed less than a 1 yard for the first down, but Memorial's Jake Shomin stopped Jordan Yatchak short of it after he caught a pass out of the backfield.
Four plays later, Memorial held a 14-0 lead on a 1-yard touchdown run by Alec Kocour with 1:55 left in the first.
"If we want to bump off a big team, we have to take risks and take chances," Rusch said. "So that's why we decided to do that. Because we wanted to try to get something going and get some energy going, and make a big play."
The other critical point of the game came in the second quarter.
After three three-and-outs, South managed a 15-play, 91-yard drive that was capped by an 18-yard touchdown pass from Cannon Cooley to Yatchak to trim Memorial's lead to 20-7 with 3:47 left in the half.
But any hope the Blackshirts had was quickly dashed when Kocour scampered for a 62-yard touchdown run and 28-7 lead just 84 seconds later.
"We wanted to show we belong near the top of the conference and had a great week of practice," Kocour said.