By Brian KalishSeptember 21, 2012
Oshkosh– Oshkosh North came into their match up against undefeated VFA South opponent SPASH with fire in their bellies and an upset on their minds. However, their homecoming game was rained on– literally and figuratively– as SPASH rolled up over 500 yards on offense, led by senior running back Zach Pozorski’s 181 yards and three touchdowns as the Panthers took control of the game in the second half and cruised to a 45-25 win at Titan Stadium on Friday night.
For much of the first half, the Spartans had Pozorski right where they wanted him: on the sideline. Pozorski didn’t play until well into the second quarter as the coaching staff opted to limit his carries as a precaution after he took a shot to the helmet against Fon du Lac last week.
Pozorski watched from the sideline as SPASH’s offense struggled in the early going. On the Panthers’ first series, quarterback Eric Zelhofer was picked off on a third and long pass attempt, which led to a 33 yard touchdown by Shane Hammerseng to give the Spartans a quick 7-0 lead.
The Spartans followed that up with Nate Neveau touchdown pass to Jordan Olesen later in the first quarter to put SPASH in a 13-0 hole.
“We’ve done a little bit of everything this season,” said SPASH head coach Pete McAdams. ”We’ve come out extremely aggressive and gangbusters to start a football game and then struggle a little bit in the second half… We did just the opposite tonight. We came out sloppy at the beginning of the game.”
With their backs against the wall, the Panthers responded. Waylon Rozmenoski, filling in at running back, broke off a 21 yard touchdown run to give SPASH life early in the second quarter.
SPASH’s defense then picked it up, stopping North on a fourth and two deep in the Panthers’ territory to give the ball back to their offense. Zelhofer hooked up with Nick Strigel on a 38 yard pass play that Strigel fumbled in the end zone. SPASH’s Mica Molski pounced on the loose ball for the score and, suddenly, SPASH had a 14-13 lead.
Hammerseng struck again on North’s next offensive series for a 78 yard touchdown reception to give the Spartans a 19-14 lead.
SPASH fought back. Joey Flowerette caught a Zelhofer pass for a 18 yard touchdown and, just like that, SPASH had retaken the lead, 21-19.
Then it was the Zach Pozorski show.
Pozorski entered the game and promptly ran for a 21 yard touchdown, giving SPASH a 27-19 lead going into halftime.
“It was pretty frustrating,” Pozorski said of having to sit out much of the first half. ”I had a mild concussion the last game, so coach was just taking it easy. He doesn’t want me to re-aggravate it and be out for the next couple of games. I’m just glad I got to play when I did.”
Unfortunately for North, Pozorski was just getting started. On SPASH’s second drive of the second half, Pozorski ripped off a 63 yard touchdown, followed by a one-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter that slammed the door shut on any possibility of a North comeback.
Pozorski’s 181 rushing yards were supplemented by 110 rushing yards by Zelhofer. Zelhofer rushed for one touchdown as well.
“Our goal coming in was to wear them out a little bit,” McAdams said. ”I believe that was starting to happen. We ran inside a lot today… They’ve got a few guys who play both sides of the football there and our goal is to be able to run away with it in the fourth quarter. I was proud of the way our kids responded and stepped up as the game went on.”
A definite bright spot for the Spartans was the play of Neveau, who passed for 222 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 137 yards and one touchdown.
“He’s a tremendous athlete,” said McAdams of Neveau. ”He’s got the three things you want in your quarterback. You want to have the athletic ability to have great feet, you want to have a great arm and a great head. He’s smart. He makes very few mistakes.”
With the win, SPASH improves to 5-0 on the season and keeps pace with Marshfield, who narrowly escaped defeat at the hands of Oshkosh West.
Stats
SPASH Football at Oshkosh North – Sept. 21, 2012
SPASH OshNorth
First Downs 16 16
Rushing 37-402 36-191
Passing 5-8-1 16-23-1
Passing Yards 102 222
Total Yards 504 413
Fumbles-Lost 2-0 3-1
Penalties-Yards 6-44 4-15
Punts-Avg. 3-34.3 2-30.0
Score by Quarters
1 2 3 4 Final
SPASH 0 27 6 12 – 45
Oshkosh North 13 6 6 0 – 25
Scoring Summary
ON – Shane Hammerseng 33 run (Turner Geisthardt kick)
ON – Jordan Olesen 1 pass from Nate Neveau (kick failed)
SP – Waylon Rozmenoski 21 run (Conner Ford kick)
SP – Mica Molski fumble recovery in end zone (Ford kick)
ON – Hammerseng 78 pass from Neveau (pass failed)
SP – Joey Flowerette 18 pass from Eric Zelhofer (Ford kick)
SP – Zach Pozorski 21 run (kick failed)
ON – Neveau 14 run (run failed)
SP – Pozorski 63 run (kick failed)
SP – Pozorski 1 run (run failed)
SP – Zelhofer 62 run (kick failed)
Individual Statistics
Rushing
SPASH – Mark Sebree 7-42, Eric Zelhofer 8-110, Joey Flowerette 2-19, Waylon Rozmenoski 6-50, Zach Pozorski 14-181.
Oshkosh North – Peter Lenz 7-12, Shane Hammerseng 3-35, Nate Neveau 19-137, Alex Hintze 2-(-5), Jared Dittmer 2-7, Kobe Schmitz 3-5.
Passing
SPASH – Eric Zelhofer 5-8-1-102.
Oshkosh North – Nate Neveau 16-23-1-222.
Receiving
SPASH – Mitch Fuller 2-28, Nick Strigel 1-36, Joey Flowerette 2-38.
Oshkosh North – Shane Hammerseng 6-121, Brian Elmer 4-31, Jordan Olesen 1-1, Phil Brechlin 2-53, Alex Hintze 2-10, Michael Becker 1-6.
