SPORTS

West maintains possession of Wausau Log

Tim Johnson
USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
Wausau West’s Mitch Michalske heads downfield during the first half of the Log Game matchup with Wausau East Friday at Thom Field. Michalske rushed for 46 yards and a touchdown.

WAUSAU - The members of the Wausau West football team went through the postgame handshake line and then darted to the left corner of the north end zone of Thom Field.

The goal was to collect the spoil of their 34-6 victory over Wausau East.

The Wausau Log, the traveling trophy that defines the crosstown rivalry, will be housed on the West side of town for a fourth straight year.

“It feels good. There’s nothing like it really,” said West senior safety Payton Nelson, who had two interceptions in the game, one he returned for a touchdown in the first quarter. “There’s nothing like it really.”

West moved to 30-16-1 overall in the Log Game series and improved to 4-3 overall and 4-2 in the Valley Football Association-North Division. The Warriors clinched a .500 record in conference play and became eligible for the WIAA postseason.

RELATED:More than just Wausau Log on line Friday 

RELATED: D.C. Everest playoff eligible; SPASH bounces back

“I think we are really starting to figure out who we are as a group,” said Nelson of the Warriors, who started the season with back-to-back losses.

West intercepted East quarterback Alex Becker four times and forced six turnovers overall to record their fourth straight win in the series. A fifth interception early in the fourth quarter was wiped out by offsetting penalties on the play.

“You’ve got to give West credit, there’s no doubt about that. They made plays tonight,” Wausau East coach Tom Tourtillott said. “We just have to make sure that we have to secure the ball. I thought we did some things tonight that were nice, but you can’t give (West) a short field.”

Becker went 17-of-33 for 166 yards and a touchdown for the Lumberjacks, who dropped to 0-7 overall and 0-6 in conference play.

East recovered a pair of West fumbles in a sloppy Log Game overall.

“We weren’t super solid on either side of the ball at the start of the game and East had a good gameplan and did some things well,” West coach Jason Foster said. “But at the end of every drive (early) our defense seemed to make a really nice play. We don’t like to call them turnovers, we call them takeaways. That is exactly what they did tonight.”

West quarterback Trevor Cunningham threw a pair of touchdown passes, including a 13-yard strike to a leaping Tommy Borta along the backline early in the third quarter. The score came a play after Sullly Phillips intercepted a tipped pass.

Cunningham finished 11 of 15 for 161 yards. Borta had five receptions for 57 yards, while teammate Brady Fischer caught four passes for 62 yards and a score.

West senior Michael Neumueller kicked field goals of 27 and 34 yards.

Becker connected with Thomas Dunbar for 31 yards with just over three minutes left to end West’s shutout bid. Dunbar finished with eight receptions for 90 yards.

The Lumberjacks drove from their 35 to the West 24y, on the opening possession of the game. But on a second-and-11, West’s Ben Loveland made a diving interception on a short pass attempt halt the drive.

“They came out and were moving the ball on us and I think that interception Ben had trned the tide a little bit and got us to settle down,” Foster said.

East actually outgained West by a few yards in the first half. But the Lumberjacks had four turnovers in the first half, including three interceptions in the first quarter. Nelson had two of the interceptions, the first he returned 22 yards for the opening score.

“I guess a little bit of a running back is in me,” said Nelson, who last played the position in his sophomore season. “I cut back and found the hole and lowered my shoulder.”

West scored on three of its four possessions in the second quarter to take a 24-0 at the break. Michael Neumueller had a 27-yard field goal and the Warriors added a pair of touchdowns in the final five minutes of the half.

Mitch Michalske scored on a a 4-yard run with just over five minutes left in the second quarter. Michalske accounted for all 27 yards in the drive.

Cunningham then hit Brady Fischer for a 32-yard touchdown pass with 1:23 left in the half, with the senior wideout hauling in the ball toward the right corner of the end zone just before the backiine.

“We were better (offensively) in the second half, but certainly we weren’t able to do some of the things we planned on doing tonight,” Foster said. “We’ll watch film and get better. At the end of the day its the Log Game and you know it’s going to be competitive. It was (West’s) homecoming and that adds a little bit of wrinkle in there, too. The fact is that our kids battled through all those distractions, worked hard and came away with a big win. I’m very proud of them.”

Tim Johnson: 715-845-0731, or timothy.johnson@gannettwisconsin.com; on Twitter@timmyjo11

East

0

0

0

6

6

West

7

17

10

0

34

First quarter

WW-Payton Nelson 22 INT return (Michael Neumueller kick), 5:59

Second quarter

WW-Neumueller 27 FG, 8:17.

WW-Mitch Michalske 4 run (Neumueller kick), 5:07.

WW-Brady Fischer 32 pass from Trevor Cunningham (Neumueller kick), 1:23.

Third quarter

WW-Tommy Borta 13 pass from Cunningham (Neumueller kick), 9:01.

WW-Neumueller 34 FG, 1:35.

Fourth quarter

WE-Thomas Dunbar 31 pass from Alex Becker (kick fail), 3:21.

Tim Johnson: 715-845-0731, or timothy.johnson@gannettwisconsin.com; on Twitter@timmyjo11