Caledonia secures 2 seed for sections with dominant win over No. 9 ranked Pine Island

After a disappointing loss against Triton the week before, the Caledonia Area Warriors football team came out swinging against the AAA ninth-ranked Pine Island Panthers on Wednesday, Oct. 16 on Senior Night. The Warriors did not relent and won by a score of 40-0.

The Pine Island Panthers received the ball first, but from the start the Warriors were able to shut down the Panther offense time and time again during the game. Warriors struck at 5:22 in the 1st quarter on a 9-yard run by Ethan Stendel (No.12) to put themselves on the board. The next score occurred in the 2nd quarter at 11:09, again on a 13-yard run by Stendel to mark it 14-0 Warriors. The Warriors held huge energy throughout the game, and they held the Panthers to -3 yards in the first half.

The second half saw more energy and attack from the Warriors as their first score in the 2nd half came on a Pick-Six from Will Allen (No. 10) at 6:49 to make the score 21-0. The defenses reigned for the rest of the quarter, but the Warriors exploded in the 4th quarter. Ben Stemper (No. 24) intercepted the Panthers for another Pick-Six at 11:29, but with the extra point unsuccessful the score stood at 27-0.

Noah Schroeder (No. 1) strung together some impressive and tough runs to set up his 4-yard touchdown run at 6:50 to make it 34-0. Jacob Klug (No. 2) intercepted the Panthers quarterback for the 3rd interception of the game at 4:32, and finally, Hunter Frank (No. 26) scored the final touchdown of the night with a 9-yard run to make it 40-0 after a failed fake field goal attempt for the 2 point try.

Stendel was 9 for 17 with a 70.5 quarterback rating on the night with 97 yards on 13 tries and 2 touchdowns rushing. Schroeder and Frank both added touchdowns as well. Tristan Meyer (No. 14) led the receiving attack with 50 yards on 3 receptions to round out the offensive side. On the defensive side, Stemper and Tanner Ginther (No. 54) both had 6 tackles while Cooper Allen (No. 26) and Will Allen both had 5 tackles on defense as well. Stemper, Cooper Allen, and Max Schmitz all had one sack a piece.

The Warriors secured the No. 2 seed in the section tournament with the win against Pine Island and will face the winner of Lewiston-Altura and St. Charles on Saturday, Oct. 26 at home.