FOND DU LAC - The preseason Division 5 No. 5-ranked St. Mary's Springs Ledgers lived up to their football program's reputation as a well-oiled machine, churning out yet another season-opening victory with a 35-12 win over No. 6-ranked Lake Country Lutheran at Fruth Field.
Despite allowing a touchdown to LCL on the game's opening drive, the Lightning missed the extra point and then failed to score again until just under a minute and a half to go in the contest. However, their 6-0 lead remained sound enough to last the entire opening quarter.
"At the beginning of the game they really came after us," said legendary Springs coach Bob Hyland - taking the sideline for his 54th and final opening night.
"Their quarterback (Jackson Menzel) settled in but then really didn't do anything else the rest of the game. We've got a lot of inexperience out there, and our thing is you've got to get these kids with some experience ready to go. Our whole defensive backfield is new. We can't play (senior quarterback) Ben Anderson back there much and so we had four new starters. We have three juniors on the offensive line starting their first game. I thought once they settled down, we controlled the line of scrimmage. I'm very pleased; I don't think we'll see a quarterback better than him all year."
Although the Ledgers were shutout in the first quarter, Springs wasted no further time putting points on the board by entering the end zone on the first play of the second quarter - a rushing touchdown from senior wide receiver Brody Hyland - and the extra point tacked on gave the Ledgers the advantage the rest of the way.
"We had some big plays from a bunch of guys," Anderson said. "We didn't get the start we wanted; they scored quick, but we answered well. We marched down the field, scored a good touchdown, and after that we rode that wave. I'm definitely proud of my team, we've just got to ride this into next week."
Anderson collected a pair of rushing touchdowns, himself, and connected with Hyland on a long passing touchdown while junior running back Will Stellmacher also found paydirt for his first score of the new year.
"Ben Anderson had a great game," Coach Hyland said. "He kept us in it on third down situations early in the first half. We've got to have that from our quarterback; we can't run the ball every play. I thought we got better as the game went on and, really, (overall did) pretty good."
Springs won the turnover battle thanks to two interceptions from senior linebacker Tayte Schoofs and another from junior defensive back Ben Baker, with sophomore Joey Coon also scooping up a fumble recovery for the Ledgers defense.
"Off the first drive, we really bounced back well, and our defense really clicked then," Schoofs said. "The one-handed (interception) I really felt like OBJ (Odell Beckham Jr. of the Miami Dolphins) in that moment. I'm just really proud of the work I put in in the offseason to put me in that position."
All in all, Coach Hyland gave his stamp of approval for the boys' effort in Week 1.
"It was a great way to start the season," Hyland said. "We didn't have a turnover; we had a lot of miscues, of course, but that was one of the key things - turnovers and defense. They settled down when they needed to, and Tayte Schoofs had a fantastic game with two interceptions. We did a lot of things well; overall, a great performance from our kids. There's things we have to correct, but I'm happy with it."
To contact Lance LeQue, email him at LLeQue@gannett.com , or follow him on Instagram and X, formerly known as Twitter, @LanceLeQue .
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This article originally appeared on Fond du Lac Reporter: St. Mary's Springs football rolls to Week 1 victory over Lake Country Lutheran
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