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Leah Ziolkowski
Correspondent

(Goodman-Armstrong Creek News) - They are big and they are many, and they are having the season of their lives. The St. Mary’s Springs Ledgers beat playoff opponents Manitowoc Roncalli and Brillion by a combined 61-6 and out scored them 41-0 in the first halves of play. Their defense had gone 106 minutes, 38 seconds without giving up a point. “We may give up yardage but we don’t break,” said Springs’ senior captain Bob Nelson.

The Northern Elite presented them with quite a challenge. Led by fullback Jordan Sexton, who averaged 7.6 yards per rush and will likely play football at the Division II collegiate level, averaged 44 points per game during the regular season and continued in the playoffs with a 44-26 win over Marathon and a 22-14 win over Howards Grove.

“They have one of the most deceptive offenses I’ve seen,” Springs coach Bob Hyland said of the Predators. Coach St. Dan Arnauld knew it would not be easy and would be a big upset, “I’ve coached enough games to know anything can happen. That’s why you play the games.” He knew that St. Mary’s would need to make at least three or four mistakes for the Predators to have a chance. The Springs threw one interception in a nearly flawless game. Jordan Sexton caught the pass deep in Predator territory and ran 49 yards before Andrew Janczy, still recovering from an ankle injury, followed a block by Taylor Ziolkowski and punched it in for six, handing the Ledgers their first score in a first half of play in playoff competition. “I saw 63 (Ziolkowski) bend one of our guys backward, and I thought, ‘Oh man, this is going to be tough,’” said Coach Bob Hyland, “I think that sort of ignited us.” “It seems like they were man-to-man. Mitch (quarterback Mitch Beau) said, ‘Run right by them,’ so he just put the ball up, and I ran under it,” said senior wide receiver Mike Prado. Sexton was injured late in the second quarter. “Jordan’s got a concussion,” St. Arnauld said. “We just don’t have enough athletes.” The Predator’s offense and defense are the same players, they don’t get a break and had to play the full game. The passing attack was too much for the Predators to defend. We may not be many, but northeastern Wisconsin showed them how tough our football players can be.

So the football season has come to an end for the Northern Elite Predators with a 43-6 loss to St. Mary’s Springs Ledgers in the WIAA Division 5 state quarterfinals in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. This was the first time Northern Elite has ever made it to the level 3 playoffs. The Predators were undefeated, 9-0 in the Northern Lakes Conference in the 2008 season and Northern Lakes conference champions for the fourth consecutive season.

This game also marked the end of an incredible 29 year coaching career of head coach Dan St. Arnauld. The end of the game meeting on the field started a flood of hand shakes, hugs and tears as senior players and coaches left the field for the last time. The sadness was short lived as coach St. Arnauld was scooped up onto the shoulders of some of his best senior players as they carried their coach off the field. Tears turned to cheers as coach left the field in classic “St. Arnauld Northern Elite style.” Thanks coach St. Arnauld for giving us such great memories and four years of the finest football in North Eastern Wisconsin.

Happy Birthday to:

Nov. 12 – John Polkowski, Stanley Frydrych, Susan Komp

Nov. 14 – Charles Komp

Nov. 15 – David Kowalkowski, Nicole Marnocha, Jeanie Thompson, Tony Kiszonas

Nov. 16 – Jim Knitt

Nov. 18 – Frances Leja

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