SPOONER – Fired-up fans from both schools packed the stands Friday night, Aug. 23, in Spooner as the Rails hosted the Elk Mound Mounders in the opening game of the 2024 high school football season.
Coach Josh Fizel had his boys ready to play, and the young Rails gave it their all before falling 16-14 on a last-second heartbreaker.
Following a scoreless first quarter, the Rails fell behind 8-0 on an 8-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Logan Jerome to Kamron Diermeier, followed by a 2-point conversion from Jerome to Rownan Soul-Stewart.
Spooner moved the ball well and had a couple opportunities but was unable to get a score in the first half. The third quarter also was a scoreless battle.
With 4:16 left in the game, Elk Mound scored on a 6-yard toss from Jerome to Soul-Stewart. A successful 2-point pass from Logan to Diermeier made the score 16-0.
With 2:06 remaining in the game, Spooner finally got in the end zone as Rails quarterback Jaxson Fizel uncorked a 45-yard touchdown strike to receiver Owen Dernovsek. Runner Mason Sobralski cut the Mounder lead to 16-8 with a successful 2-point conversion.
The Rails kept fighting, and with 0:23 left in the clock, A.J. Anderson burst into the end zone on a 2-yard run to make it 16-14. The comeback was dashed, however, as the 2-point conversion try was unsuccessful, making the final score 16-14.
Stats
Rushing, Jaxson Fizel ran 16 times for 96 yards. Sobralski was 8-30 yards, and Owen Dernovsek was 6-27 yards.
Passing, Jaxson Fizel completed 5-9 for 102 yards and 1 touchdown. Dernovsek led the receivers with 1 catch for 44 yards and 1 touchdown.
On defense, Sobralski led the tacklers with 10.5 tackles.
“Friday was a tough loss,” said Coach Fizel. “In many ways, we did enough to win, and in some, we made too many small mistakes that were separating factors in a game of inches. Our team demonstrated tremendous resiliency in the 4th quarter to give ourselves a chance.
“Credit Elk Mound; they made a play when the opportunity was there. Take nothing away from our kids; we learned a lot about their hearts on Friday. If we can build from the last 12 minutes of the game, I like the type of team we can become.”
Coach Fizel commented on both the defensive and offensive sides of the ball for Spooner.
“Defensively, I thought we played pretty well. We did not give up the big play. We tackled pretty well for a week 1 game. We were unable to get a couple critical 3rd/4th down stops and we'll continue to get better. I am pleased with where we are defensively.
“Offensively, we weren’t able to get into a consistent rhythm throughout the first few quarters. I am confident we will continue to improve and make strides to be a solid offense in the coming weeks. The little details will be our focus. Consistency on offense always takes a little more time, but our players have the right attitude and want to improve.”
Northland Pines
This week, the Rails travel to Eagle River to face Northland Pines.
“We don’t know a lot about Northland Pines other than seeing their week 1 game,” said Coach Fizel. “They have a tailback who has some of the best speed we’ll see all year. We will have to do a great job of containing him and not allowing him to break the big play.
“They will be much bigger than Elk Mound, so it will present challenges for us with their size. Our pad level will have to improve. It will be a long road trip to Eagle River, so our team will have to be ready to play and handle the trip appropriately for us to have a chance on Friday night.”
HON scores
In other Heart O’ North Conference scored, it was Chetek/Weyerhaeuser 27, Cumberland 20; Somerset 44, Bloomer 0; Prescott 42, Northwestern 8; Barron 27, Cameron 16; and Lakeland 24, Hayward 3.
Games Friday, Aug. 30, will be Spooner at Northland Pines, Lakeland at Ashland, Rhinelander at Hayward, Turtle Lake at Barron, Ladysmith at Cumberland, St. Croix Falls at Grantsburg and Regis at Bloomer.
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