TODD SOMMERFELDT
Coulee Sports Connection
WEST SALEM — Aquinas High School junior Waylon Hargrove was there for two big plays — on both sides of the line — his team needed with a chance at a Coulee Conference football championship on the line.
But, man, did that play between them help the Blugolds.
Hargrove caught a 33-yard touchdown pass from Jacob Thornton with 2 minutes, 5 seconds remaining, then broke up a third-down pass attempted by West Salem quarterback Drew McConkey on the final possession of their 20-18 victory at West Salem High School.
Hargrove cut inside the coverage and broke open on a post for the touchdown, then timed his hit on Luke Baginski perfectly to force a fourth down that wasn’t completed and made Aquinas (7-1, 6-0) the first team this season to beat the Panthers (7-1, 5-1).
“We saw them double-covering Logan (Becker) back there the whole game, and we saw that the back side was open (on a first-down snap after a Tyson Martin catch at the 33 with 2:11 left).
“We knew the one-on-one route would be good in that situation.”
Hargrove made the cut, put the defender on his right side and pulled down the pass from Thornton as the Blugolds came back from an 18-8 third-quarter deficit. Kyle White’s 2-yard touchdown run on the Blugolds’ first possession of the third quarter put his team in position to win at the end.
And what about this big play that was made after Hargrove’s go-ahead touchdown?
Enter Aquinas junior William Flottmeyer for that one.
West Salem, you see, started its final drive with a 9-yard pass from McConkey to Baginski, and that set up a second-and-1 snap from the Panthers’ 38-yard line. Flottmeyer then snuffed out that quick momentum by breaking across the right side of the line and finding an open spot to get to McConkey.
He tackled him for a 7-yard loss that forced a third-and-8 play instead of a third-and-short snap with 1:20 on the clock.
“In the first half, I didn’t feel like I was doing my job the way I should have,” Flottmeyer said. “I felt like something big could happen going into that play after working on moves all week with (teammates) Max Maliszewski and John Kearney.
“I just got in my stance, got ready and got a shot. My eyes lit up when I saw (McConkey), and I got him to the ground.”
The Blugolds’ winning drive covered 84 yards and lasted 13 plays. It also featured a lot of White, who rushed for 135 yards. He gained 53 yards on the drive that culminated with his 2-yard TD run and another 50 in the fourth quarter.
Thornton completed all three of his passes on the final drive, and they all produced first downs.
Baginski rushed for 140 yards and had 54 of his in the first quarter. He scored on a 10-yard run in the first quarter before Trevor Arentz scored from the 1 in the second quarter and McConkey completed a 29-yard scoring pass to Carter Pontius in the third.
Aquinas coach Tom Lee said the Flottmeyer sack was a very big play because it was a rare one that included lost yards for the Panthers.
“That one put them behind the sticks a little bit,” he said. “That can make all the difference in the world against a really good football team.”
The Panthers had beaten all of their opponents by at least 20 points this season, and that closest game — a 27-7 win over Tomah — was in Week 1. West Salem averaged 44.3 points in wins over Arcadia, Onalaska Luther and G-E-T heading into the first-place showdown.
“It was a good high school football game,” West Salem coach Ryan Olson said. “They are a very good football team, and it came down to the very end.
“Who knows? We might get to see them again in the playoffs.”
