By Dwayne CorrySeptember 7, 2012
Wisconsin Rapids–The Lincoln Red Raiders evened their record up with a 35-28 victory at home versus Fond Du Lac last week. The Red Raiders(1-0/1-1) look to go 2-0 in conference with a victory over Oshkosh North while Oshkosh North(0-1/0-2) tries to even up their conference record.
For Lincoln, it is simple. The offensive line has to block.
“We stepped it up in the first half against Fond Du Lac. I was very happy with my improvement, and the o-lines improvement from week 1. But we did have a few drive killing penalties in the second half against Fond Du Lac and we have to clean that up,” said Hayden Biegel.
The Red Raiders are young and inexperienced, but they are learning as the season goes on. Last week’s game against Fond Du Lac was a great learning experience for them for two reasons. First off, when building a 27-7 lead at halftime, you must learn that their is still a half of football yet to play. You have to “play to win,” and it seemed the young Red Raiders were “playing not to lose.” Secondly, it gave this young team some confidence that when they are making the correct reads, and keeping their assignments, Red Raider football is winning football.
But do not over look Oshkosh North. While they have started the season 0-2, they have played well against two quality opponents losing to Appleton North 27-3, and Marshfield 26-13 . Head Coach Chris Kujawa has the program turned around, and this might just be the best Oshkosh North team in some time.
“They are greatly improved. This team has 11 games of experience going back to last season. Their kids are bigger, and faster than last season. They have two huge dominant defensive ends. #11 Cooper Radtke, and #44 Tyler Wilson are two of the best players in the conference. We are going to have to play solid on offense, solid on defense, and rely on our offensive line to control the tempo,” said Tony Biolo.
CWS sees another war in the VFA South. There are many factors to look at when deciding this game. Oshkosh’s home field advantage(one of the best in the conference). Oshkosh’s skill players. Oshkosh’s game experience. This will be a tough road game for the Red Raiders, and for Oshkosh North they need a win. CWS gives no advantage to either team.
Red Raider notes: The “Pink Game” will be held 9/21 at home against Menasha. More details next week. That is also the Big D’s birthday FYI… QB Jayson Wiernik returned to practice Thursday… DB Tyler Tesch is feeling better and hopes to get cleared to play tonight.
