LA CROSSE — As the sun disappeared, the Aquinas High School football team was left to practice under the lights of Carroll Field.
This is the Blugolds’ postseason home after school when preparing for the best opponents they will see all season.
Offensive coordinator Steve Kramer moved players around and sent them through the paces with plenty of sets and plays to push a Baldwin-Woodville defense Friday night at the Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex.
The top-seeded Blugolds (11-0) and second-seeded Blackhawks (11-0) will kick off at 7 p.m. in one of the more anticipated quarterfinal matchups. Baldwin-Woodville was in last year’s Division 4 championship game at Camp Randall Stadium, and Aquinas recently won three straight Division 5 championships before moving up and qualifying for the Division 4 semifinals last year.
One of the things coach Tom Lee wanted to stress with his team during practice was pace. Besides working on that, quarterback Ryan Johnson was throwing the ball all over the field. Aquinas coaches wanted to see their players moving.
“They play really fast, they are very talented, and this is going to be a fun game,” Lee said. “Lots of perimeter talent. They want to snap the ball before the down box is set, and the chains are still moving
“That’s how fast they are moving.”
One challenge with that is not only getting a defense lined up quick enough but having the right one on the field. Substituting will be tough, and having the wrong personnel on the field at the wrong time could happen.
“That’s going to be a challenge,” Lee said. “You don’t want to get caught.”
The Blackhawks average 263 rushing yards per game, and junior quarterback Joe Jensen has passed for 1,655 yards and 22 touchdowns against just two interceptions. Baldwin-Woodville averages 47 points per game and has outscored its two playoff opponents 118-39.
Senior Dane Veenendall is averaging 8.5 yards per carry and has 1,126 yards and 13 rushing touchdowns. Jensen has also rushed for 471 yards and 12 TDs.
Jensen’s top passing target is 6-foot-2, 175-pound senior Brody Everts, who averages 25.5 yards per catch and has 815 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns.
The Blugolds will need a solid defensive effort to give their offense a chance to stay in the game. While scoring consistently could be essential, getting a stop — or a couple of them — will go a long way toward success.
Aquinas, which is playing its third straight Middle Border Conference opponent after one-sided wins over Amery (39-0) and Osceola (49-7), has held five opponents to fewer than 10 points. The Blugolds have allowed 20 points in their past four games.
Defensive lineman Will Flottmeyer and linebackers Marcus Klar and Waylon Hargrove can all pressure Jensen in the backfield after combining for 16 sacks and 44 tackles for loss. Senior Tyson Martin also has 10 TFLs and 2.5 sacks.
“They are a 64-percent run team, so they want to run the ball,” Lee said of the Blackhawks. “We’ve been able to play that pretty well, but they are going to make plays.
“We can’t panic when that happens. We have to get some stops and possessions.”
Johnson has passed for 1,848 yards and 24 touchdowns on 70.9-percent passing. He has been intercepted just twice.
The Aquinas goal is likely to hit something big to senior Logan Becker (35 catches-585 yards-7 TDs) or Brady Lee (18-392-5) to create momentum and use a balanced run game that averages 142 yards per game and is led by Klar’s 326 yards and seven TDs to maintain drives and keep the Baldwin-Woodville offense off the field as much as possible.
