Hafferman helps Edgar past Assumption

EDGAR - Alec Hafferman was back on the field Friday about a month after he suffered what at first was diagnosed as a season-ending injury.

His return couldn’t have gone much better.

The Wildcats halfback and defensive back rushed for 100 yards and scored four touchdowns as Edgar beat Assumption 34-7 in a WIAA Division 7, Level 1 football game.

“He raises the level of play of all the other guys on the team just because he is so gosh darn enthusiastic and fired up,” Edgar coach Jerry Sinz said of Hafferman’s return. “Even if he didn’t make any plays, the other guys would play better just because he is there.”

Fourth-seeded Edgar improves to 7-3 overall and travels to top-seed Wild Rose for a Level 2 matchup next week. Ty Guden returned a fumble 49 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter for the Wildcats.

Assumption’s Zack Krings rushed for more than 90 yards and a touchdown as the fifth-seeded Royals finished with a 6-4 record.

Hafferman, a senior and the Wildcats’ leading rusher this fall, missed the last four weeks of the regular season after he suffered a dislocated elbow in a Marwood Conference matchup with Marathon.

He was initially cleared to play just defense this week, but had another medical appointment in Green Bay on Tuesday and was given the go-ahead to return to the offensive backfield as well.

“(After the injury initially) the doctor told me the chances of playing were not very high,” said Hafferman, who sported a black brace on his left arm. “He was saying four to six months (initially) when I was thinking four to six weeks. Hearing that was kind of heartbreaking.

“It’s the greatest feeling being back on the field with my brothers, and I do have a brother (Kaleb) on the field with me,” Hafferman said. “It’s just sweet being on the field with him and having this experience.”

Haffermann scored all three of Edgar’s touchdowns in the first half and also ran in a two-point conversion as the Wildcats led 20-7 at the break in the first matchup between the two programs since Week Four of the 2007 regular season.

Hafferman scored a short run on the Wildcats’ opening possession of the game and added two touchdowns in the final eight minutes of the half.

Edgar’s three scoring drives in the half took 20 plays and about 6 minutes, 6 seconds combined.

Assumption’s lone score in the first half lasted 17 plays and nine minutes. Zack Krings capped the long drive with a 1-yard run to give the Royals a 7-6 lead with 10:42 left in the half.

The Royals had a 11-play drive on their next possession, which ended on the Edgar 37 as quarterback Jacob Sullivan slipped down on a fourth-and-3 play.

Assumption ran 33 plays in the half, only one of which was a pass.

The Royals rushed for 120 yards in the first half behind its option attack, but crossed midfield only once in the second half. That drive ended with the fumble that Guden returned for a score.

“Coming into this week we knew we had to be a key-based defense, everything is that you have to keep your eyes on your key and don’t let anything else distract you,” Hafferman said. “(Assumption) has a great offense and a great team. They drove the ball down our throats that one possession. We learned the hard way from that, but I think we got better after (the score).”

Edgar passed on its first two plays of its opening possession and Wildcats quarterbacks Tyler Engel and Karson Butt combined to go 6-of-7 for 112 yards in the half. Shawn Bunkelman caught three passes for 71 yards, including a 29-yard catch and run to the Royals 15 on Edgar’s first snap.

“We knew they were going to be hard to run against because they are so big (on the defensive line),” Sinz said. “We watched them on film and when teams run straight at them, boy, you don’t get a whole lot. You have to spread them out and tire them out. That was pretty much the game plan — throw the ball around early, get outside early and maybe get the big guys tired.”

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

First quarter

E-Alec Hafferman 4 run (pass fail), 8:06.

Second quarter

A-Zack Krings 1 run (Joe Grundhoffer kick), 10:42.

E-Hafferman 6 run (Hafferman run), 8:04.

E-Hafferman 14 run (kick fail), 0:37’

Third quarter

E-Hafferman 4 run (kick fail), 4:53.

E-Ty Guden 49 fumble return (Hafferman run), 2:44.