Kaden Smolinski's third quarter fumble return touchdown changed the complexion of the game, and his fourth quarter pick 6 put it on ice.
Smolinski, a junior linebacker, produced a 39-yard scoop and score to give Lake Mills' football team the lead for good and added a late 48-yard touchdown as L-Cats won the 36th Annual Slider Bowl over host Lakeside Lutheran, 21-12 on Friday to open the season.
"This feels great," Smolinski said. "This is our town. It feels good to claim this game after we lost the last two seasons to Lakeside. Our seniors wanted this so bad, so it feels great I could help them get what they wanted."
Lakeside hung 53 points on Lake Mills en route to a 17-point win in last year's game, a result that was still fresh in the minds of many on the L-Cats' sideline.
"Our eye discipline was really good defensively," Lake Mills football coach Tyler Huber said. "Each of those guys had a responsibility on defense. They really bought into our coaching.
"We had an entire offseason and all summer to prepare for this game. Our kids did exactly what we asked them to do and played extremely hard. It's tough to play triple-option teams. Kids have a tendency to want to look in the backfield and other ways on defense, which you can't do."
The proceedings took a half to get ramped up, but when they did provided the electrifying theatre Crosstown games are known for.
Lake Mills junior defensive lineman Levi Stark pounced on a botched handoff fumble by Lakeside four plays into the game. The L-Cats, however, quickly went 3 and out.
Lakeside went on to chew up 7 minutes, 10 seconds of clock time on a 13-play, 74-yard march that senior quarterback Ben Krauklis capped by keeping it on a sneak play from the 1-yard line. Lake Mills senior defensive lineman Max Ruedebusch stuffed Krauklis on the ensuing two-point conversion attempt.
The L-Cats moved the chains several times through the air on their next series but got stymied at the Warrior 14-yard line. There, junior Brock Levake's field goal try was blocked and then returned to the 36 by Lakeside senior Kaycee Guzman.
The Warriors went 3 and out and Lake Mills took over at its own 31 with 3:48 left before halftime. Out of a timeout, junior wide receiver Gibson Quandt produced Lake Mills' first big play, a 34-yard catch and run.
The L-Cats maneuvered their way into the red zone with the clock ticking down. Senior wideout Alex Breaker caught a pass and got inside the 1-yard line, reaching the ball over the plane of the goal line but was ruled down short. Three plays later, sophomore quarterback Tyler Wollin was intercepted by senior defensive back Robert-John Darden on a pass near the boundary.
Lake Mills opened the second half with possession and quickly capitalized. Wollin dashed 14 yards on a 3rd and 3 play, then two plays later hit a streaking Dylan Brinkmann over the middle for a 47-yard touchdown. Levake's first of three successful extra points made it 7-6 with 8:52 left in the third.
"Wherever the free safety goes is where I don't throw," Wollin said of his read on the scoring pass. "The safety went with Max Ruedebusch on a seam to the other side. Dylan was wide open on the other seam."
On 3rd and 3 from their own 39, a Lakeside ball carrier was crunched in the backfield, with the football caroming backwards and eventually into the arms of Smolinski, who sprinted the other way for a house call.
"That was just being in the right place at the right time," Smolinski said. "It was a great play by our defensive lineman to knock that out. I give the d-line all the props for that play."
Lakeside, undeterred, countered in four plays. Senior running back Issiah Sampson bursted through a hole and turned on the jets en route to a 44-yard touchdown. Lakeside coughed up the ball on the two-point rush attempt and still trailed, 14-12.
Ruedebusch, a 6-foot-5 Yale University recruit, made a juggling 47-yard catch, breaking an arm tackle on his way to the red zone. Lake Mills stalled out from there, turning it over on downs when a 4th and 5 pass from the 7 to Ruedebusch in double coverage fell incomplete.
The Warriors were quickly in business to start the fourth quarter, as Guzman scampered 28 yards down the sideline on a speed option play. The Warriors moved the chains twice more to get near the red zone. Lake Mills then stood tall defensively, with Ruedebusch stymieing Krauklis for a loss of 3, Wollin stuffing Guzman on the edge and a swarm of defenders, led by junior defensive lineman Marshall Spaeth and senior defensive lineman Tommy Cassady, bringing down Guzman a yard short of the sticks on 4th and short.
One final opportunity loomed for Lakeside, which forced a Lake Mills punt with 2:35 remaining, to produce a late go-ahead score so customary in this matchup.
It wasn't to be. Smolinski jumped a first-down route at midfield, charging into the end zone with the game-sealing pick 6, a play he attributed to studious film study.
"I saw a trips formation," Smolinski said, donning a much oversized blue L-Cats cap postgame. "I'd watched film and I knew what they needed down and distance wise. I saw bubble eyes shot and knew it was my time to go. That's just what film study does."
The L-Cats' victory is the fifth in the past six Crosstown games by the visiting team, and a result Lake Mills hopes springboards them into big things.
"This win gives us motivation and will hopefully propel us in the right direction for the rest of the season," Smolinski said. "This one against Lakeside means more to us than anything."
"We've had this game circled since the schedule came out," Wollin added. "This game doesn't make or break our season, but in the long run it'll help us and we'll go into next week with more confidence."
Lake Mills' defense, facing a stout rushing attack and experienced offensive line, held its own and was pivotal in the outcome.
"We talked about our defense coming to play and winning because of our defense and our special teams," Huber said. "In years past, Lake Mills has always been about putting up points offensively.
"For me, if you want to have a stable football team, you have to be able to hang in there and go toe to toe with a team that's run dominant. That's what we did. Big credit to defensive coordinator Steve Navarro. We picked up three new defensive coaches and have eight total defensive guys on our staff this year. They put together an awesome game plan that our kids executed. We were flying around and making plays."
STAT PACK
Wollin, who admitted he's grown leaps and bounds in terms of reading the defense and knowing what to do pre snap in his second year as the starter, passed for 184 yards on 12 of 19 attempts. He added 11 carries for 62 yards.
Krauklis finished 6 of 9 throwing for 70 yards while Guzman tallied 102 rushing yards on 17 attempts and Sampson's nine rushes totaled 85 yards.
UP NEXT
Lake Mills hosts Marshall on Thursday while Lakeside travels to face Lake Country Lutheran next Friday.
LAKE MILLS 21, LAKESIDE 12
Lake Mills 0 0 14 7 -- 21
Lakeside 6 0 6 0 -- 12
First quarter
LL -- Krauklis 1 run (run failed), 37.8
Third quarter
LM -- Brinkmann 47 pass from Wollin (Levake kick), 8:52
LM -- Smolinski 39 fumble return (Levake kick), 7:13
LL -- Sampson 44 run (run failed), 4:58
Fourth quarter
LM -- Smolinski 48 interception return (Levake kick), 2:23
Team statistics -- Total plays: LM 44, LL 59; Total yards: LM 281, LL 300; Passing yards: LM 184, LL 70; Rushing yards: LM 97, LL 230; First downs: LM 11, LL 16; Fumbles lost: LM 0, LL 2; Interceptions thrown: LM 1, LL 1; Penalties-yards: LM 3-19, LL 6-30.
Individual statistics -- Passing (comp.-att.-yds-td-int) -- LM: Wollin 12-19-184-1-1, LL: Krauklis 6-9-70-0-1; Rushing (att.-yds) -- LM: Wollin 11-62; LL: Guzman 17-102, Sampson 9-85.
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