The Regis Ramblers continued their historical winning ways, while Eau Claire Memorial mounted a strong first-half effort before eventually falling off in the second half to a former Conference rival.
Regis, looking strong for the most part from start to finish, easily handled Turtle Lake by a final score of 39-13 on the road Friday night. The Old Abes traveled to Hudson for their season opener and found themselves on the losing end of a 56-20 final.
Ramblers take care of business against LakersFirst up, let’s go to Turtle Lake, where Regis head football coach Bryant Brenner, starting his 17th season of leading the Ramblers, had his squad ready for action against the Lakers and first-year head coach Troy Wagner.
It was 8-7, Regis, after the first quarter of play, but following that it was all Ramblers, who scored 10 points in the second quarter, seven in the third and the final 14 in the fourth quarter to seal the victory and obviously the team’s first win of the season. Turtle Lake scored an additional touchdown in the third quarter, but by then the game was out of reach for the Lakers.
Brenner lauded the Lakers for several things they did well against his team, but was also extremely pleased with how his players responded in their season opener.
“Turtle Lake did a nice job of executing in their passing game. They also played really hard. Give their players and coaches credit,” Brenner told the Leader-Telegram Saturday morning following the road contest.
“We were really pleased with how our guys responded to adversity. Some examples include having no power and lights at the field, giving up a score in the first quarter, and turning the ball over on a fumble,” Brenner went on to say.
As with any team, they are a work in progress and Brnner said there is one key area he hopes — and expects his squad — to improve on during the next week.
“Execution. This is normal. Teams typically make big improvements from week one to two and we look forward to that,” Brenner said.
As for what specifically he will have the Ramblers focusing on in practice in preparation for Week Two against Bloomer, Brenner said that will be determined as the week progresses.
“We are still processing what needs improvement and what challenges Bloomer presents. We will need to do a better job of defending the deep pass as well as taking care of the football,” Brenner said.
Against the Lakers, Ramblers senior quarterback Owen Weisenberger was 5-11-72-0. Evrett Tait led the team in rushing, gaining 127 yards in 12 rushes and one touchdown. Regis was led in receiving yards by Ben Balts with 26.
As Brenner mentioned, next up for the Ramblers is another road trip, this time to Bloomer to take on the Blackhawks Friday evening. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
Hudson runs away from Memorial in second halfAs for the Old Abes, they kept it close and looked promising in the first half of play, as Hudson took only a 28-20 lead into the locker room.
The second half was an entirely different story, though, as Hudson scored 28 answered points in the third and fourth quarters to secure the 56-20 win over their former Big Rivers conference rival. Memorial football left the Big Rivers Conference at the end of the 2023 gridiron season and is now a member of the Wisconsin Valley Conference.
Complete statistics from the game were not provided to the Leader-Telegram by either school as of press time.
Speaking about his debut as Memorial’s head football coach, Tom Westcott told the Leader-Telegram Saturday night that he was honored to be leading the team and commended his players for the dedication they brought to the field Friday night.
“It was an honor to lead the Old Abes on Friday night. The boys played hard and I am extremely proud of our start. We are looking forward to being the best version of ourselves as we move forward — we’ve only scratched the surface,” Westcott said.
The new head coach added that he was especially pleased with how his team wore down a tough Hudson squad in the first half of play.
“We were able to get our athletes out in space and wear down the opposing defense in the first half of the game. We hope to keep up our tempo as we look forward to next week,” Westcott said, adding that Hudson is a well coached team that ran an offense and defense true to their identity. While the first half was a fist fight, we need to continue to play with intensity and belief all four quarters to finish what we started.”
Old Abes, Cardinals to be Leader-Telegram’s Game of the WeekMemorial will take on the Cardinals from Chippewa Falls in the Leader-Telegram Game of the Week. Kickoff Friday evening at Carson Park for the Old Abes’ season home opener, is set for 7 p.m. The Cardinals scored 36 straight to defeat SPASH, 36-21, Thursday at Dorais Field. ChI-Hi was down at one point to the Panthers, 14-0, but had narrowed the gap to seven points entering the second half. The Cardinals held SPASH to one touchdown in the second half to get the victory.
A preview of the Memorial/Chippewa Falls game will be found in Thursday’s print edition of the Leader-Telegram.
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