Cole Langer helps Edgerton roll past Brodhead/Juda in season opener

BRODHEAD, Wis.—Oh, how much can change in a year.

The Brodhead/Juda football team opened up last season under head coach Jim Matthys and ran all over Edgerton, putting up 348 yards on the ground as it rolled to a 46-7 victory.

In Friday night’s season opener, Matthys was up in the booth donning a radio broadcasting headset while Gus Wedig was prowling the sidelines as the Cardinals’ new head honcho.

And it was the Crimson Tide who dominated the trenches this time around, rushing for 189 yards on their way to a 20-6 victory over their former Rock Valley Conference rival at a mostly clear and seasonable Larsen Field.

“Definitely a lot to show that we were not physical enough,” said Wedig, who was hired in December following Matthys’ retirement after 16 non-consecutive seasons. “During the week, players didn’t grasp how elusive (Cole) Langer was as a quarterback. He's a slippery dude, and it's hard to match that in practice."

Langer led Edgerton’s ground attack as he ran for 86 yards on 19 carries. And his legs were the catalyst for the Crimson Tide’s second-half success.

On Edgerton’s post-halftime opening drive, the senior quarterback busted off an 11-yard run on third down to keep the possession rolling and one play later hit Zack Troeger on a screen pass. The junior sprinted down the sideline, beating out the Brodhead/Juda defenders and scoring on the 37-yard reception, putting the Crimson Tide up 13-6.

On the Crimson Tide’s next possession, Langer, who went 3-for-8 with 64 yards through the air, had a 17-yard run on third down that set up his 35-yard sprint to the end zone, a rush where the senior weaved through the Cardinals’ defense and broke through would-be-tacklers to increase Edgerton’s lead to 20-6 on the first play of the fourth quarter.

“He's obviously a great runner and a great athlete, so we knew he was going to pull it,” Brodhead/Juda senior tight end/linebacker David Masloske said. They were going to run keepers and run powers with him. A lot of it was about staying home on the backside. It was our game plan and (in the second half), we did not do a great job of that. And it really hurt us.”

Down two scores, the Cardinals were forced to punt on their ensuing possession, and junior Brody Riese helped flip the field with a booming 60-yard punt, forcing Edgerton to start from their own 9-yard line.

But the Crimson Tide’s rushers essentially sealed their win with an 11-play drive. While it ended with Brodhead/Juda sacking Langer on fourth down to turn the ball over on downs, the possession took up over five minutes of clock and featured 44 yards of rushing, 20 of those coming on a run by Langer while Troeger added a 20-yard catch and run.

“Our offensive line really stepped up,” Langer said. “They were taking away our passing game, so we just ran the ball. Our O-line had some struggles last year, and they really fixed it and turned it around this year. They're firing on all cylinders right now.”

Seth Precourt used his bruising running style to muscle his way to 48 yards on seven carries for Edgerton.

The Cardinals committed three penalties once they got the ball back, picking up just one first down and turning it over after quarterback Gabe Bockhop’s pass was incomplete on fourth down.

Edgerton fumbled a handoff exchange and Jayden Brown gave the Cardinals a longshot chance with his recovery, but Kyler Knauf intercepted Bockhop’s deep throw on the run and Edgeton kneeled the clock out.

“We need a lot more intensity next week,” Masloske said. “We got out worked, out conditioned. We're not in shape. We had a lot of guys cramping, not taking care of our bodies."

After a defensive first quarter that featured just four first downs and four punts, Bockhop found Grayson Arn, who ran for a 29-yard reception to put the Cardinals in Edgerton territory on the last play before the second. On fourth down from the 4-yard line, Masloske powered through the line for a touchdown. Bockhop’s two-point conversion run was unsuccessful putting Brodhead/Juda up 6-0.

Bockhop’s ensuing kickoff was out of bounds, and Edgerton had him rekick. It paid off as Eli Kittleson returned it 54 yards and Langer scored from 14-yards out three players later. Noah Kninals’ PAT put Edgerton ahead 7-6.

Special team miscues and penalties, which the Cardinals committed seven of, all may have been a part of early jitters.

“We were just a little too uptight because some of the kids expect too much of themselves,” Wedig said. “They want to make too big of a play. Instead, they got to realize the play is going to come to them. We just have to relax and let the game flow.”

The Cardinals moved the ball well on their final drive of the first half, moving the ball 60 yards with Masloke totalling 29 all-purpose yards. The tight end finished with 35 receiving yards and 14 rushing.

“If he's not cramping and he stays in the game, against any team he's a special weapon,” Wedig said. “We just have to make sure during the week we're taking care of our bodies because he's a special player.”

But three-straight runs were stuffed at the 10-yard line, and a pass to Riese went incomplete after the receiver slipped in the end zone.

“The line really started to work really well towards the end of the second quarter,” Wedig said. “But we ran into a lot of health issues with cramps. It's hard to really get momentum going when you're flipping pieces of the puzzle left and right. You can't really mesh with the same guys over and over.”

Edgerton limited the Cardinals to just 94 rushing yards, another victory on the line for the Crimson Tide, with Bockhop leading the way with 39 yards. Arn had 34 on nine carries.

After starting 11-for-13 with 115 passing yards in the first half, Bockhop finished going 14-for-25 with 150 yards. The Cardinals had success with quick screen and pitch passes, but Edgerton’s pressure made it hard for the QB to have enough time for an accurate deep shot.

Wedig added that staying hydrated will help the passing game, too, as several players from all positions went down throughout the second half with muscle spasms.

“Gabe has certain timings with a certain receiver, and all of a sudden the receiver gets a cramp,” he said. “Then we switch another receiver out. Overall we just have to execute better. During practice we need to get more reps with different receivers so that Gabe can understand timing with them better.”

Nolan Bump paced Brodhead/Juda with 30 receiving yards while Arn added 29, bringing the sophomore’s all-purpose yards to 63.

“His vision — he's really good at finding holes and cutting it up,” Masloske said. “A lot of the time I'm lead blocking for him. So, I'm telling him to cut up off me or read my block. He's really impressed and he's got a really good season coming up.”

The Cardinals will next travel to face Evansville on Friday at 7 p.m.

“We have to come out ready to play and be physical,” Masloske said. “The only way is up. We gotta keep working and getting better. This was a good reality check.”

• BOXSCORE:

EDGERTON 20, BRODHEAD/JUDA 6

Edg;0;7;6;7;--;20

B/J;0;6;0;0;--;6

B/J – Masloske, 4, run (run no good)

Edg – Langer, 14, run (Knilans kick)

Edg – Troeger, 37, pass from Langer (kick no good)

Edg – Langer, 34, run (Knilans kick)

TEAM STATS: First downs - E 12, B 12. Rushing - E 30-189, B 27-94. Passing - E 64, B 150. Passes - E 8-3-1, B 25-14-0. Fumbles - E 1-1, B 0-0. Punts - E 2-19.0, B 4-37.5. Penalties- E 2-20, B 7-35.

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS: Rushing - E, Langer 19-86, Precourt 7-48, Tobias 4-24. B, Bockhop 9-39, Arn 9-34, Masloske 6-14, Zimmerman 3-7. Passing - E, Langer 8-3-1, 64. B, Bockhop 25-14-0, 150. Receiving - E, Troeger 2-57, Fox 1-7. B, Lobeck 2-31, Bump 4-30, Arn 1-29, Masloske 3-28, Riese 3-25.