By Dwayne Corry
August 31st, 2012
Wisconsin Rapids–The Valley Football Association South kicks off conference play tonight. No game in the conference holds more suspense than the Fond Du Lac Cardinals visiting the Wisconsin Rapids Red Raiders tonight at South Wood County Stadium (game time 7:00pm). The Cardinals have already matched their win total from last season beating Kaukauna 35-27 last Friday night. Cardinal QB Andy Mathews did not turn the ball over, and tailback George Mcenroe rushed for 152 yards and 3 touchdowns. Head Coach Michael Gnewuch has stated the team goal is “team first.” This is a good Cardinal squad.
“They are very improved. Their QB can play and spread the ball around. Our defense will be tested,” said Rapids’ head coach Tony Biolo.
Wisconsin Rapids lost to Wausau East 25-14 last Friday, and a lot of the questions surrounding the Red Raiders have yet to be answered. After a sloppy and sluggish first half, the offense picked up and kicked it into gear in the second half. If you look at the Raider offense, it was a tale of two half’s.
“Obviously our concern with Lincoln is their front line. They are big and physical, while we rely on speed up front.” said Fond Du Lac head coach Mike Gnewuch.
“We have to focus more on our job. We need to pick up the tempo early, and get off the line,” said Hayden Biegel.
Red Raider fans have to be patient. Rapids has only 3 position players back from last season. But after watching game film, you can see that the mistakes made are correctable. Most notably, missed tackles.
“We focused all week on our fundamentals. We tackled, and then tackled some more. I promise we will tackle better tonight,” said Josh Biba.
CWS expects a hard hitting game, a close game, and a game with many big plays. CWS gives a slight edge to the Red Raiders solely on the fact they will be playing at home, before their great fans.
Red Raider notes: Do not look now, but it appears Tony Biolo is playing a few skill players on both sides of the ball… Zach”Buzzy”Basuener looks poised to have an all conference season. He was everywhere last Friday night… Ryan Duxbury runs the ball well… CWS will be picking the first ever “Fan of the Game” tonight. Could that be you?
