Wausau West holds off Hortonville in Valley Football Association game for first win of the season
WAUSAU – The fourth quarter had not been kind to the Warriors so far coming into Week 4 of the prep football season.
Wausau West had a pair of gut-punch losses decided late in games over the first three weeks and came into Friday still looking for its first win.
The Warriors found themselves in another late-pressure situation against Hortonville but this time made the plays in the end for a 28-14 win in a Valley Football Association matchup at Thom Field.
Mitch Michalske rushed for 114 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to lead the Warriors (1-3) His second score, a 5-yard run, came with just over two minutes left in regulation and capped a 14-play drive after the Polar Bears had closed to within six points.
Mason Malone then intercepted Hortonville quarterback Kyle Allen with 51 seconds left to close out the win and cap a notable night for the senior on both sides of the ball. Malone also had a forced fumble and a touchdown catch, and highlighted a West defense which forced three turnovers.
"That was a huge win for us. We really needed it," Malone said
But was it a must-wiin for the Warriors.
"They're all big and we can't change any of the ones that came before this," West coach Jason Foster said. "Each week we try to get better and fix the things that didn't go well. Last week a lot of things didn't go well (in a 47-14 loss to Appleton West). We prepared and had a great week of practice and these kids earned (the win)."
Chandler Guyette and Kole Ellenbecker had touchdowns for the Polar Bears (2-2). Ellenbecker's 2-yard score brought Hortonville to within 20-14 with just under eight minutes left in the fourth quarter.
The Warriors then went 83 yards for an insurance score. West quarterback Chandler Fochs rushed four times for 40 yards, including a 13-yard run to the Polar Bears 5 to set up Michalske’s touchdowns.
West scored on its opening drive of the game — which covered 77 yards and took 16 plays. Sam Sippel scored on a 4-yard run to give the Warriors the early lead.
"We felt like we've had first drives like that all year, but we never have had a last drive like we had tonight," Foster said. "We started and ended the game the same way and we've been working on that for weeks."
The Polar Bears tied the game on the opening play of the second quarter as Guyette caught a 21-yard pass in the front corner of the end zone on fourth-and-goal. The score came three plays after an apparent 10-yard touchdown grab by Josh Giese was wiped out by an offensive interference call.
West took a 14-7 lead at the break as Malone made a driving grab on a pass from Chandler Fochs for a 28-yard score with 67 seconds left in the second quarter.
The Warriors then took a 20-7 with just under 10 minutes left – a 22-yard drive set up by a sack and forced fumble by Malone and the recovery by Justin Bonke.
Malone set up Michalske’s short touchdown run as he caught a 25-yard pass from Fochs on third-and-20
The score came on Michalske's 35th carry of the night.
"You can't say enough about Mitch Michalske. He comes out and runs hard whether there is great blocking and awesome holes .. or sometimes there isn't great blocking and he still turns the ball downfield," Foster said. "He came out in the second half and said, 'I'm going to finish this thing, give me the football.' That's exactly what he did."
Fochs passed for 134 yards. Brandon Clausen caught six passes for 79 yards.
"He is a senior leader. If he sees something he likes, he'll take it," Clausen said of Fochs. "That's exactly what he did on that last drive and he took control over it."
Hortonville 7 0 0 7 - 14
West 7 7 0 14- 28
First quarter
WW-Sam Sippel 4 run (Mark Raasch kick), 5:27.
Second quarter
H-Chandler Guyette 21 pass from Kyle Allen (Jake Bakich kick), 11:54.
WW-Mason Malone 28 pass from Chandler Fochs (Raasch kick), 1:10.
Fourth quarter
WW-Mitch Michalske 2 run (kick fail), 9:49.
H-Kole Ellenbecker 2 run (Bakich kick), 7:49.
WW-Michalske 5 run (David Bagby pass from Fochs), 2:10