Fort Atkinson’s football team lost to Monona Grove 42-7 on Senior Night at Jones Dairy Farm Stadium in Badger Large play on Friday.
The Silver Eagles (7-2, 5-2 in conference) struck first, with Jace Thomsen scoring on a 4-yard run.
Monona Grove’s next drive ended when Fort senior defensive back Dalton Leetzow intercepted Thomsen in the end zone.
“MG threw up a pass down the middle that Dalton made a great play on,” Fort Atkinson football coach Nick Nelson said. “That was a big momentum swing to start the game. Dalton high-pointed the ball, went up with the receiver and came down with it.”
After the touchback, Fort produced the equalizing score on a 63-yard strike from senior quarterback Rocco Foelker to senior wide receiver Braeden Hoth.
“MG was playing man to man and Hoth felt like he could get a step on his guy,” Nelson said. “Rocco put enough air on it for Braeden to run under it. The defender tried to trip up Braeden, who kept his balance and is tough to beat in a foot race.”
The Silver Eagles scored 35 unanswered points to close the first half ahead 42-7.
Tremayne Habeck contributed scoring runs of 16, six, 19 and 31 yards, respectively, and finished with 171 rushing yards on 17 attempts. Thomsen’s nine rushes totaled 60 yards.
“MG’s size up front is tough to match,” Nelson said. “They have big bodies. We tried to beat it with a little more speed on the field. We tried to slant and make sure we were able to pursue to the ball. Habeck is a patient runner who can kick it into high gear when he hits the hole, which always presents a challenge.”
MG, which won the turnover battle 3-1, had 296 rushing yards on 37 attempts, good for eight yards per tote.
“I wish we could have executed a little more with some of the fundamentals, like protecting the football,” Nelson said. “When the ball hits you in the hands, you have to catch it. When you’re running between the tackles, you have to make sure it’s high and tight. We have to make sure we’re blocking through the whistle. A lot of those little things were difficult.”
The Blackhawks, who finished the season 1-8 overall and 0-7 in league games, bid goodbye to a 20-plus player class of 2025.
“I’m really proud of these guys, who were presented with a lot of challenges and adversity in their careers,” Nelson said. “There’s no quitters in that group. We battled until the fourth quarter every week. Their ability to come in with a positive mindset every single Monday and flush whatever happened the week before is the most impressive quality those guys had.
“My postgame message on Friday centered around how when life presents you with challenges and adversity that surrounding yourself with good people who can find positives even when things don’t seem to be going perfectly is going to carry you further in life than your record playing high school football.
“I’m proud of what we did and proud of the things we accomplished with this group. They were awesome to be around. Their legacy is going to be remembered in Fort for a long time. There were a lot of teaching lessons to the grades below them.
“We knew two years ago or so that we’d be going into the Badger Large. That was too much of a challenge for some kids, but not too much for these guys. I’m proud of the way these guys responded, stuck together and put everything they could into it. When you put max effort into something, you can walk away proud no matter what.”
MONONA GROVE 42, FORT ATKINSON 7
Monona Grove 14 28 0 0 — 42
Fort Atkinson 7 0 0 0 — 7
First quarter
MG — Thomsen 4 (Haffele kick)
FA — Hoth 63 pass from Foelker (Ketterhagen kick)
MG — Habeck 16 run (Haffele kick)
Second quarter
MG — Habeck 6 run (Haffele kick)
MG — McConnell 40 interception return (Haffele kick)
MG — Habeck 19 run (Haffele kick)
MG — Habeck 31 (Haffele kick)
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