TODD SOMMERFELDT
Coulee Sports Connection
Logan High School senior quarterback Bradley Check pieced together another huge game as the Rangers handed Waupaca a 42-38 loss in a WIAA Division 3 first-round playoff game at Swanson Field on Friday.
Check carried 36 times for 301 yards and three touchdowns while adding a touchdown pass as Logan (8-2) advanced to a second-round game at second-seeded Onalaska (7-3) next week.
Check had scoring runs of 4 and 33 yards in the first quarter and 13 yards in the second quarter as the Rangers rolled up 520 total yards in the game. He also completed a touchdown pass to Owen Check in the second quarter.
Check has rushed for 424 yards and six touchdowns in his last two games.
Onalaska 13, Merrill 8
ONALASKA – The second-seeded Hilltoppers (7-3) blocked two field goals and scored on a Cam Cornett touchdown run in the fourth quarter to beat the seventh-seeded Bluejays.
Cornett carried 21 times for 89 yards, and Broden Steiner caught a 46-yard touchdown pass from Ian Kowal near the end of the first half to break a scoreless tie. Merrill went ahead by a point with a touchdown and two-point conversion in the fourth quarter.
Kowal was 9 for 18 for 152 yards, and Steiner caught four of those passes for 87 yards. Cornett also had three catches for 57 yards.
DIVISION 4
Aquinas 14, Madison Edgewood 10
The top-seeded Blugolds (9-1) survived a scare at the Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex.
Senior Kyle White scored on an 8-yard run and followed with a conversion run in the third quarter to lift Aquinas in a game they trailed 10-6. The Blugolds advance to host fourth-seeded Lodi (7-3) next week.
White rushed for 128 yards, and senior quarterback Jacob Thornton completed a 4-yard touchdown pass to junior Logan Becker to get the Blugolds within 7-6 in the second quarter.
Thornton passed for 125 yards, and Becker had 46 receiving yards.
West Salem 30, Platteville 27
WEST SALEM – The third-seeded Panthers (9-1) escaped when Luke Noel kicked a tie-breaking field goal with 3:57 remaining.
Senior Luke Baginski rushed for 191 yards and a touchdown and caught a touchdown pass from Drew McConkey in a game the Hillmen led by double figures in the second half.
West Salem travels to second-seeded Columbus (10-0) for its second-round game next week.
McConkey completed 10 of 17 passes for 142 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 62 yards and a touchdown.
DIVISION 6
Onalaska Luther 43, Ladysmith 14
ONALASKA – The fourth-seeded Knights (8-2) had a 24-6 halftime lead and extended the advantage from there to qualify for a second game.
Senior Landon Bryant carried 16 times for 136 yards and three touchdowns as part of an offense that gained 416 total yards.
Senior quarterback Jackson Kendall completed 8 of 17 passes for 129 yards and a touchdown and seniors Elijah Potaracke and Jack Schmeling added 95 and 57 rushing yards, respectively, for the Knights.
Luther plays at top-seeded Eau Claire Regis (10-0) next week.
