ONALASKA — The Onalaska High School football team used an 86-yard touchdown pass from senior Ian Kowal to junior Brendan Chenault in the third quarter to pull away from Logan for an impactful 28-12 MVC victory on Friday night.
The Hilltoppers (4-2 overall, 2-2 conference) won their second game in a row and dropped the Rangers to 4-2 overall and 2-2 in the MVC behind huge performances by Kowal and Chenault as they took advantage of getting some players back in the lineup after injuries.
The outcome also created some separation at the top of the conference standings. Holmen (6-0, 4-0) and Central (4-2, 4-0) now have a two-game lead on the Hilltoppers, Rangers and Reedsburg (4-2, 2-2) with three weeks left in the regular season.
Chenault caught five passes for 155 yards and two touchdowns as Onalaska relied upon its passing game while its rushing attack was limited to 58 yards on 23 attempts. Junior running back Kaeson Stettler was one returning player, and he rushed for 33 yards on 17 carries.
While that wasn’t a lot, Stettler and senior Carson Zinnecker combined for 61 rushing yards and a touchdown — Zinnecker scored from 18 yards out in the fourth quarter — and that helped Kowal passed for 239 yards and three touchdowns while completing 13 of 23 passes.
Kowal pushed his season total to 14 touchdown passes, and the 86-yarder to Chenault gave Onalaska a 20-6 lead with 2 minutes, 22 seconds remaining in the third.
Senior Maxim Roberts rushed for 72 yards and a touchdown for Logan, which has lost two straight games after a 4-0 start. Sophomore Tommy Check was kept in check while carrying the ball, but he was effective through the air. Check rushed 24 times for 30 yards and completed 8 of 15 passes for 147 yards.
Andrew Stanton had five catches for 66 yards for Logan, and Tanner Siebert three for 60 and a touchdown for the Hilltoppers.
Holmen 42, Tomah 13
TOMAH — Senior running back Jack Barth carried 12 times for 179 yards and a pair of touchdowns for the Vikings (6-0, 4-0), who maintained their share of the MVC lead and beat the Timberwolves (1-5, 1-3) for the 13th time in a row.
Barth had a 15-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and another in the fourth as Holmen rushed for six touchdowns. Senior Eli Kane had a 23-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and a 4-yarder that gave the Vikings a 28-7 lead in the second quarter. Kane finished with 89 rushing yards.
Senior quarterback Colin Williams carried 9 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter and 4 yards for another in the third on his way to 74 of Holmen’s 415 rushing yards. Senior AJ Alesch also had 72 rushing yards on just six carries.
Holmen took the 28-7 lead into the second half and added to it as the Timberwolves lost their fourth straight game since a 19-8 win over Baraboo in Week 2.
West Salem 42, Onalaska Luther 0
ONALASKA — The Panthers (5-1, 4-0) scored 27 first-quarter points and won their fifth game in a row by posting their second consecutive shutout.
Junior quarterback Drew McConkey completed 8 of 13 passes for 103 yards and a touchdown and carried four times for 61 yards and two more scores for West Salem, which is tied with Aquinas (6-0, 4-0) for first place in the Coulee Conference.
Kayden Langrehr carried six times for 101 yards and a touchdown, and Lucas Fry 10 times for 100 yards and two touchdowns for West Salem, which handed the Knights (2-4, 2-2) their second loss in a row.
The Panthers held Luther to 12 total yards, and its rushing attack lost 28 yards. Junior linebacker Isaiah Laack intercepted a pass for the Panthers, and senior Bennett Fennigkoh recovered a fumble and recorded a sack.
