APPLETON – For the second straight season, the Fond du Lac Cardinals football team has started 0-3, leaving a tough road ahead of its goal to make the WIAA playoffs.
A 21-7 loss to Appleton North Thursday night also puts Fondy at 0-1 to begin conference play.
Things won't get any easier for the Cardinals, either, with the No. 1-ranked team in the state, Kimberly (2-0, 1-0 FVA), coming to town next week.
After not having thrown a football in at least a month, since the dog days of training camp, junior wideout/backup quarterback Caden Umentum stepped up admirably to replace sophomore starter Deandre Williamson Jr., who sat out Week 3 while in concussion protocol.
"Caden competed his tail off," said Fondy coach Sam Plucker. "He hadn't taken a quarterback rep in four or five weeks, and he came in and played his absolute tail off. I couldn't be prouder of him."
The Cardinals came out looking sharp, landing the first punch with a 24-yard touchdown connection from Umentum to tight end, and standout linebacker, Rhett Hlavacka, taking an early 7-0 lead. However, those would end up being the only points put on the board for Fondy.
North immediately responded with a Bobby Salm rushing touchdown on their first drive to even the score and both teams went into the half tied at 7 apiece.
The Cardinals' defense performed well, overall, forcing a pair of turnovers - an interception from Caden's twin brother, Peyton Umentum, late in the first half that halted the Lightning's momentum, and a fumble recovery from senior defensive back Sam Maury on a backwards lateral pass in the third quarter - but the limitations of a one-dimensional offense ultimately resulted in Fondy failing to capitalize on either opportunity.
North, on the other hand, took advantage of a muffed punt to close out the Cardinals' first possession in the third quarter, which gave the Lightning fantastic field position deep into Fondy territory and led to their second touchdown despite a controversial missed call on a fumble that went out of bounds in the end zone, which should have been ruled a touchback that would have given Fond du Lac the ball back.
Lightning senior safety Daniel Garrigan also intercepted Umentum twice in the fourth quarter, personally preventing any sort of late rally from happening. Then, a lateral pass from North senior quarterback Charlie Olson to senior running back Gavin Zielinski went for a final North touchdown putting the game virtually out of reach with merely half a quarter to go and only one timeout for the Cardinals, down two possessions.
The other bane for Fondy was the number of costly penalties, as an opportunity to score from the goal line towards the end of the first half was nerfed following a 5-yard setback. The Cardinals would settle for a chip shot field goal attempt, which was no good, getting zero points out of a 12-play, 11-minute drive that drained most of the clock in the second quarter.
Would've, could've, should've - but in the end it just wasn't Fondy's night. Nevertheless, Plucker said he's proud of the Cardinals' effort and knows that there's better things in store for the rest of the season.
"I'm proud of our team, they fought their tails off," Plucker said. "We're working to get better every week and that was a really good football team out there. I thought we competed and we're going to continue to work our tails off to be the best we can be."
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: Fond du Lac football falls on road to Appleton North; starts 0-3 for second straight season
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