LA CROSSE — He was there to make sure the Aquinas High School football team had the perfect start to a game that drew attention from all over the state, and he checked back in every so often with a big play to make sure the momentum he created didn’t vanish.
Senior Waylon Hargrove was everywhere for the Blugolds on Friday night in a battle between state heavyweights at the Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex, and his 79-yard kickoff return for a touchdown set the tone in what became a 34-13 victory over Columbus.
Aquinas (2-0), which is ranked seventh in the Medium Division of the ESPN Wisconsin Media Poll, beat the second-ranked Cardinals (1-1) for the second time in a row and for the third time in the past three seasons with big plays and a swarming defense that made things very difficult for Columbus, which is 22-4 since the start of the 2023 season but 1-3 against Aquinas during that same span.
“It was a great play by everybody,” Hargrove said of the play, which starting with him catching the ball on the 21-yard line, cutting to his left and finding a sizeable hole to head up the field. “Everybody held their blocks and did what they were supposed to do.”
While the Cardinals did come back immediately with an 82-yard touchdown drive, Aquinas didn’t need long to find its defensive footing and turn what many expected to be a very competitive game into something much different.
The Blugolds recorded five takeaways — four interceptions and one huge fumble — and answered that early Columbus touchdown drive with 28 straight points.
An injury forced veteran Columbus quarterback Peyton Powers to the bench in the second quarter, and Aquinas pounced by converting three of the turnovers that came with Powers on the sideline into touchdowns.
Hargrove added to his big kickoff return with a fabulous catch that led to one of junior Isaac Miller’s three touchdowns and a couple of ferocious hits that led to negative yards on the defensive side of the ball.
The catch was part of a key swing toward the end of the first half. Aquinas held a 20-7 lead when backup quarterback Jordan Mobry — an impactful receiver when Powers is on the field — fumbled he ball, and Aquinas junior Brandon Pierce recovered it at the Columbus 31-yard line with 1 minute, 12 seconds left until halftime.
On third-and-6 from the 27, Hargrove ran an angled rout toward the pylon on the right side of the field.
“I was going up the field and put my arm up when I had one guy on me,” Hargrove said. “As (quarterback Ryan Johnson) threw it, I saw two more come in out of the corner of my eye, and he made the perfect throw.”
Johnson dropped the ball into Hargrove’s arms and only where he could get a hand on it as the trio of Cardinals defenders converged.
The play resulted in first-and-goal at the 1. Miller scored on fourth down, and Johnson completed a conversion pass to Hargrove for a 28-7 lead with 6 seconds left on the clock.
After charging down the field for its opening 82-yard touchdown drive, Columbus managed 26 yards on its next four possessions as the Blugolds pulled away.
“I know everyone looks at those big drives and goes, ‘Oh, my God,'” Aquinas coach Tom Lee said. “But our message to the guys is to just keep chopping wood. That’s hard to do all game long, so we’ll give them one, but as long as we aren’t giving up big plays. we’ll be OK.
“We’ll give up 20 5-yard plays, but we don’t want to give up five 20-yard plays.”
The fumble was the first turnover, and it was followed by four interceptions — all in the second half. Junior Calvin Bahr had the first, junior Henry Berns the second and sophomore Will Dickinson the last two.
Johnson completed 9 of 14 passes for 149 yards and a 21-yard touchdown pass to Miller in the third quarter. The Blugolds threw 11 completed passes, and they were caught by eight receivers.
Hargrove (34 yards), Tyson Martin (33 yards) and Jace Massa (27 yards) were the only receivers with two.
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