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Football Alumni Round-up: November 13th

11/13/2019, 2:00pm CST
By Colton Wilson

Many high school football standouts in Wisconsin go on to big things at the college level and in the pros, and this is our spot to recognize those athletes each week and help you keep up with what is going down on some of your favorite players from the past. If you have alumni news, please send it to Colton Wilson by 10 p.m. on Tuesdays.

Alumni Update

Well, it appears autumn weather is a thing of the past as snow has draped the state in a blanket of white. With the forecast expected to stay in the 30-45 degree range, a thaw doesn’t appear to be on the horizon. Some may call it basketball weather. In the state of Wisconsin, it just means the second half of the Packer season has started.

Two teams that won’t see snowfall in their home arenas matched up in NFL action this past week as the Oakland Raiders beat the Los Angeles Chargers 26-24. Kenosha Bradford’s Melvin Gordon did his thing, racking up 108 rushing yards and a score. However, this was a game that featured two of the Wisconsin Badger’s great fullbacks. Alec Ingold of Bay Port has been a battering ram all year, lead blocking for the eighth ranked rushing attack of the Oakland Raiders. Pewaukee’s Derek Watt doesn’t get as many lead blocking opportunities as the Chargers play a more spread offense. However, Derek has been absolutely incredible on special teams. He tallied five tackles in the game Sunday.

As mentioned both Derek and Alec went to the University of Wisconsin, what some may call Fullback U. On Wisconsin’s current roster may be another pair of fullbacks in line to make the professional ranks in due time. Mason Stokke of Menomonie and John Chenal of Grantsburg have been pivotal to the Badger run game behind perennial All-American Jonathan Taylor. This past weekend against a very good Iowa defense, Stokke, Chenal, and the offensive line opened rushing lanes left as right to the tune of 250 rushing yards by Taylor in a 24-22 win.

In mentioning of moving the trenches, Minnesota State-Mankato did just that behind an offensive line that features three former Wisconsin high school alums. Hunter Toppel of DeForest and Jared Gossen and Evan Heim, both from De Pere, helped Nate Gunn rush for 254 yards and six scores as Mankato downed Sioux Falls 42-39.

In other Northern Sun play, Chris Garrett continues to be an absolute wrecking ball in opponent’s backfields for Concordia-St. Paul. The Wisconsin Lutheran grad racked up six tackles, three sacks and a forced fumble in a 24-14 win over Southwest Minnesota State. Chris was named the Northern Sun Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season. He set the D2 record for forced fumbles in a career with 15 and leads the country in sacks per game at 1.4.

Lastly in Northern Sun Conference action, Minnesota Duluth dominated the University of Mary 59-7. On the offensive side of things, John-Ross Linscheid of Highland and Dane Lew of Elk Mound both hauled in their first career touchdown receptions, while Dain Hudson of Waukesha West and Armani Carmickle each added one as well. Defensively Joe Kordus of Menasha and Bryce Harder of Chippewa Falls combined for 14 tackles, six tackles for loss, and four sacks.

In speaking of firsts, Noah Harvey registered his first start for the Michigan State Spartans this past weekend in a tough 37-34 loss to Illinois. Harvey, an Arrowhead alum, played with reckless abandon as he had a team high nine tackles including two and a half for loss. Noah added one and a half sacks and two pass break ups.

With only one week of WIAC action left now, the cream is beginning to rise to the top. With both UW-Whitewater and UW-Oshkosh winning, it sets up a final week showdown to determine the top dog in the standings.

UW-Whitewater is currently undefeated after a 37-17 victory over UW-Stout. Max Meylor of Mount Horeb got reps at quarterback for the Warhawks, complete 11 of 18 passes for 167 yards and two scores, adding another score on the ground. Sparta’s Ryan Wisniewski caught 11 passes for 151 yards and two scores while Niko Lemke of Westosha Central added two sacks defensively.

UW-Oshkosh downed UW-River Falls 41-20 to keep them one game behind Whitewater. Kobe Berghammer of Cumberland and Peter Maccudden of Waukesha West combined for over 250 rushing yards and four touchdowns. Defensively, Connor Zirpel of Kimberly returned an interception 43 yards for a score while Kollyn Beyer of Mount Horeb had two interceptions and a team high eight tackles. Kollyn was named the WIAC Defensive Player of the Week.

UW-La Crosse handed UW-Oshkosh its only loss in conference play this season and has had many offensive outbursts throughout the year. However in a 42-7 throttling of UW-Eau Claire, the defense stepped up. Joey Bolda (Sussex Hamilton), Peter Kissling (Oregon), Rusty Murphy (Cudahy), Zach Pierce (West Salem), Anthony Schuman (Beaver Dam), and Zach Abitz (Appleton North) combined for 14 tackles for loss and six sacks. Elijah Alt of River Valley blocked a punt on specials teams for the Eagles. Alt was named the WIAC Special Teams Player of the Week.

Despite playing quarterback, Cormac Madigan has done most of his damage with his legs for Ripon College. This past weekend in a 47-20 win over Lawrence University, Cormac, a Laconia grad, rushed 27 times for 259 yards and three touchdowns. He currently leads the Midwest Conference in rushing with 917 yards. Defensively Cameron Gruenwald of Iola-Scandinavia had two interceptions to bring his total to five on the year.

Mitchell Adrian has been having an absolutely stellar sophomore season at Saint Scholastica University. The Altoona alum recorded a school record 15 catches for 103 yards and two scores in their 47-29 win over Minnesota Morris. His record-setting performance garnered him Upper Midwest Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors. On the year, Mitchell has 99 catches, which leads all of Division 3 football.

It was mentioned a few weeks back how much of a tear T.J. Watt had been on for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Here we are two weeks later and nothing has changed. Watt, formerly of Pewaukee High School, had two more sacks as the Steelers downed the Los Angeles Rams 17-12. T.J. added a forced fumble and two more quarterback hits. He’s had a sack in six straight games and his 9.5 on the year ranks him fifth in all of the NFL. He leads all of the NFL in quarterback hits with 22, while sitting in the top five in both forced fumbles, and tackles for loss.


The Athlete of the Week is sponsored by PlayInTheDells.com. It highlights the players that have "made a splash" in the world of high school sports each week. If you have a nominee for Athlete of the Week please send it to Colton Wilson

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