W-WG, Edgerton, H-BC/E advance in Section 3, 9-man playoffs

WESTBROOK — Rushing the football 59 times for 321 yards, Westbrook-Walnut Grove won its eighth consecutive game and advanced to the Section 3 9-man semifinals with a convincing 34-0 victory over Wheaton Tuesday night.

The victory by the third-seeded Chargers (8-1) pits them against perennial rival Edgerton (8-1) in a Saturday afternoon game — 3 p.m. at Edgerton.

The Flying Dutchmen defeated W-WG in the season-opener 26-18 at Edgerton Aug. 28.

Holding a 7-0 halftime lead, the Chargers dominated the second half and ended Wheaton’s two-year reign as section champions.

The pre-season section favorite and sixth-seeded Warriors finish the campaign with a 5-4 record.

Josh Merrick, who rushed 29 times for 170 yards, scored three Charger touchdowns, including an 11-yard burst in the first quarter.

After Merrick capped a W-WG drive in the third quarter with a 6-yard touchdown run, the Chargers came up with a defensive stand, stopping the Warriors on a fourth-and-2 from the W-WG 20-yard line.

Operating with a short field to open the fourth quarter, the Chargers scored again as Mason Comnick (16 carries, 80 yards) capped the drive with a 1-yard TD.

Derek Eichner passed to Jace Jarmer for the two-point conversion, giving W-WG a 21-0 lead.

Later, Merrick crossed the goal line for the third time with a 1-yard burst and Steven Pfarr booted his second extra-point kick of the game, increasing the Charger advantage to 28-0.

W-WG’s Aaron Theisen then intercepted a Warrior pass and made a nice return, ending Wheaton’s last threat.

Kyle West completed W-WG’s scoring with a 9-yard touchdown run, capping a sustained Charger drive.

Eichner came up with 15 tackles to lead W-WG’s defense — which held Wheaton to 123 yards rushing on 42 carries and allowed just 18 yards passing on two of 10 completions.

Justin Knakmuhs contributed 13 tackles for the Chargers, while Michael Jarmer (two sacks, fumble recovery) and Weston Dibble each had 10 tackles.

Wheaton 0 0 0 0 — 0

W-WG 7 0 6 21 — 34

Edgerton 51, Hancock 7

EDGERTON — Marty Van Peursem scored three times and ran for 102 yards as Edgerton defeated Hancock Tuesday night.

Van Peursem had a 4-yard touchdown run to open the game, and after a 59-yard touchdown pass from Alex Heard (3-for-11 passing, 65 yards) to Pat Kleinjan, Van Peursem scored on a pair of 2-yard runs.

Chace Hulstein, who had 173 yards on 14 carries, scored on a 35-yard run, and Kleinjan raced to paydirt on a 33-yard dash as Edgerton opened up a large lead late in the game.

Brady Timmer (six rushes, 44 yards) scored on a 3-yard run as the Flying Dutchmen cruised to a 51-7 victory.

Kleinjan, who had 62 yards receiving, had eight tackles, while Van Peursem had seven tackles for an Edgerton defense that allowed 180 total yards.

Hulstein had five tackles and a pair of sacks.

Edgerton, which had 468 total yards (384 rushing, 84 passing) will host W-WG Saturday.

Hancock 0 0 0 7 — 7

Edgerton 24 14 13 0 — 51

H-BC/E 33, C-A/H-N 8

HILLS — Kale Leuthold ran for 127 yards and had 16 tackles to lead Hills-Beaver Creek/Ellsworth to a victory against Chokio-Alberta/Herman-Norcross in the opening round of the Section 3 9-man football playoffs Tuesday night.

H-BC/E (7-2) will advance to face top-seeded Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley at 3 p.m. Saturday.

Leuthold scored a pair of touchdowns, including a 26-yard run in the second quarter, and a 12-yard scamper in the third quarter.

Casey Van Middendorp scored two touchdowns (18 yards and 1 yard) while rushing for 76 yards on 15 carries.

Cody Penning had a 75-yard interception return for a touchdown as the other Patriots score.

Chris Luze completed five passes for 31 yards for a H-BC/E team that accumulated 324 total yards (293 rushing, 31 passing).

C-A/H-N had 193 yards rushing and was 0-for-7 passing.

Colton Bass had 13 tackles defensively for the Patriots, while Penning had a fumble recovery and a quarterback sack to go along with his interception.

C-A/H-N 0 8 0 0 — 8

H-BC/E 8 6 6 13 — 33

Tags: westbrook-walnut grove, sports, edgerton, hillsbeavercreekellsworth, football