Oshkosh West vs Oshkosh North: Game Recap & Players of the Game

I began the altered Wisconsin Spring Season playoffs with a crosstown matchup between Oshkosh West and Oshkosh North last Friday night. Oshkosh North came in with a record of 4-1, while Oshkosh West came in at 3-2. I had high expectations for a back and forth matchup due to the higher stakes and with how close the schools are to each other. Continue reading to see exactly how the game played out, or you can jump to the bottom to see who were my Players of the Game. There were several strong individual performances to highlight that led to the outcome of the game! Let’s get it started with the recap! <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Game Recap</strong></span> Oshkosh North started the game on offense, but they weren’t able to find a rhythm early on. They were able to pick up some yards on the ground and with the short passing game, but after one first down the West defense dug in and forced the punt. On Oshkosh West’s first drive of the game they went to the ground game and found success. Their offensive line was able to generate a huge push as they moved the line of scrimmage several yards down the field on each of their first handful of plays. The drive ended with two huge plays. First, RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="31251" first="Riley" last="Taylor"]</strong> picked up a big chunk off left tackle. Then on the next play RB<strong> Roman Martell</strong> took the sweep around the right edge and weaved his way to the 44 yard TD and 7-0 lead. North came out on their second drive and found early success through the air on the arm of QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="118377" first="Peyton" last="Lyon"].</strong> All the momentum they started to build on the drive ended when West LB <strong>Zach Bancroft </strong>came up from his LB position and delivered a huge shot to force the fumble that West recovered. West used the same ground attack to move the ball as they did on the opening drive. This time it was powered mostly by RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="31251" first="Riley" last="Taylor"]</strong> as he picked up another pick chunk on a sweep left, and then he finished the drive with a run right up the middle from 3 yards out. The West defense finished the first quarter by showing off more of their speed over their strength. They pursued from sideline to sideline and didn’t allow North to find any space to make a play in as the first quarter ended. West didn’t waste any time as they started the second quarter with fireworks. QB <strong>David Kohl</strong> dropped back and found his TE wide open down the seam for the 46 yard score and the 21-0 lead. It was starting to get out of hand at this point. North needed to find a spark and get on the board on offense. North QB<strong> [player_tooltip player_id="118377" first="Peyton" last="Lyon"]</strong> took control on this dive and led his offense to their first score of the game. He attacked every level of the field as they worked their way into West territory. Lyon’s most clutch play came on the scoring play. He and the North offense faced a 4th &amp; 5. He dropped back, and found WR <strong>Drake Moxon</strong> deep down the field. Moxon showed off some impressive strength to power his way through two defenders, and into the endzone. After the failed 2 point attempt we sat at 21-6 halfway through the second quarter. Unfortunately for North, the momentum was quickly lost as West took the kickoff 71 yards for the score pushing the lead back to a three score game at 28-6. Lyon got North moving as he completed a huge third down to get the offense into West territory. They ended up having to punt the ball after not being able to find success after the completion. This was a repetitive issue all game. North would be able to find early success, but they couldn’t piece together several plays to drive down the field. RB<strong> Roman Martell </strong>got the West drive going early. He made a big run between the tackles, and into North territory. Then a <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="31251" first="Riley" last="Taylor"]</strong> swing route took them down near the redzone. Just a few plays after the reception, QB <strong>David Kohl</strong> scrambled out of the pocket, and ran down the sideline and in for the 7 yard TD. With 1:14 left in the half I expected the clock to be run out, but we weren’t done with the excitement. Lyon found his WR on the screen, but when he was tackled the ball was forced out. West’s defense was able to scoop it up and return it inside the North 20. Then the craziest play of the game took play. West ran the Fumblerooskie to absolute perfection. I couldn’t get the number of who was able to break contain off the left side, but the RB was able to score from 15 yards out giving us a 42-6 halftime score. Because of the 36 point lead this meant we had a running clock right away in the second half, which led to a very quick second half that wasn’t filled with the same amount of big plays as the first half. However, we did have excitement on the second play of the half when West QB <strong>David Kohl</strong> found a seam off right tackle and made his way to the endzone for the 35 yard score and the 49- 6 lead. On North’s next drive they once again were able to move the ball pretty easily until they got to around midfield. Then QB Lyon was heavily pressured, and he forced up a prayer that was picked off by the West defense at their own 25. North’s defense was able to step up this time and were able to stuff the QB sneak on 4th &amp; Inches and give their offense the ball on the West 33. The great field position couldn’t be capitalized on, though, as Lyon was once again under pressure outside the pocket, and threw up another pass that was picked off. After a few rush attempts the third quarter came to an end with Oshkosh West leading North 49-6. After the INT on their own 9, West wasn’t able to work their way towards any first down and was forced to punt. North came away with great field position at the West 38. Lyon found WR<strong> Drake Moxon</strong> on back to back completions that got the North offense down to the West 1. From there <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="118377" first="Peyton" last="Lyon"] </strong>took the QB sneak 1 yard for the score. The successful 2 point conversion put us at 49-14 late in the 4th. This is where both teams started rotating in their depth and younger players to get them some varsity action. North’s backup QB 2023 <strong>Hunter Carlson</strong> has demonstrated some solid athleticism as he created some big plays on the ground when North’s offense got back on the field. North’s second unit was able to end the game on a high note as WR <strong>Lyndon Henmerich- Hartman</strong> took the jet sweep around the left edge and in for the 4 yard score. The 2 point conversion put us at 49-22, and that is how the game ended after a kneel down by Oshkosh West. <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Players of the Game</strong></span> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="31251" first="Riley" last="Taylor"], 2022 RB- Oshkosh West</strong> <em>Stat Line: 13 Carries, 72 Rushing YDs, 1 Rushing TD, 2 Receptions, 41 Receiving YDs</em> Riley had a huge part in the outcome of this game. He used his vision and play speed to generate big play after big play setting his offense up in great positions to score. He even was able to punch one of those scores in himself from three yards out. Taylor also showed off a well rounded game as he was able to generate big plays in the passing game as well. Riley has been a big reason for the 4-2 season, and is a name to know in the 2022 recruiting class for the lower level schools. <strong>Roman Martell, 2022 RB- Oshkosh West</strong> <em>Stat Line: 3 Carries, 71 Rushing YDs, 1 Rushing TD, 2 Tackles</em> Martell had a huge impact with minimal touches. He only had 3 carries on offense, but was able to turn one of them into a 35+ yard TD run where he was able to break contain and outrun everyone down the sideline. He has a solid frame for the position at 6'2" 200 lbs and enough speed to create those big plays around the edge. He also proved to be a reliable blocker in the run game where he was able to open up consistent running lanes for Taylor and the rest of the Oshkosh West run game. Martell is also a two way player who showed up a couple times from the DE/OLB position. <strong>David Kohl, 2021 QB- Oshkosh West</strong> <em>Stat Line: 3/4, 95 Passing YDs, 1 Passing TD, 5 Carries, 54 Rushing YDs, 2 Rushing TDs</em> David made his largest impact on the ground. The 5'10" 165 lbs ATH had the speed to scramble and use designed runs to create impact plays. His vision to find running lanes, and burst to hit the hole quickly led to his big plays and TDs. As you can see, his passing wasn't utilized much, but it was effective when he did take to the air. If a D3 school is still looking for an athlete check him out. He could be a fit if he is uncommitted. I haven't been able to find any evidence that he committed somewhere. <strong>Zach Bancroft, 2022 LB- Oshkosh West</strong> <em>Stat Line: 6 Tackles, 1 Forced Fumble</em> Zach stepped up big early in the game, and made one of the plays that opened the flood gates leading to this dominating win. He was the LB who was able to fly downhill and deliver a huge shot on the ball carrier forcing the fumble that his team recovered. The 5'10" 200 lbs ILB played with that downhill attack all game long. He quickly slipped through gaps and made the tackle and was a very sound tackler. He should be a kid that starts getting D3 looks soon. I liked what I saw this past Friday. <strong>Max Pieterick, 2021 DB- Oshkosh West</strong> <em>Stat Line: 7 Tackles, 1 FF, 1 FR, 1 INT</em> Max had a great game and has had a great season overall. He leads the state in INTs by a large margin with 8 total. He added one of those this week when he was able to capitalize on North's QB getting pressured and heaving up a deep pass. The safety has solid range to get to the ball and elite size to go and get the ball over any receiver. I'm not positive on his exact size. I've seen him listed as tall as 6'6", though, and I don't think that is far off from the truth. Max also is an effective blocker from the TE position. <strong>Drake Moxon, WR 2023- Oshkosh North</strong> <em>Stat Line: 6 Receptions, 85 Receiving Yds, 1 Receiving TD</em> Drake was a bright spot for the Oshkosh North offense. The 6' 160 lbs WR proved to be a go to target who runs hard after the catch. On his touchdown, Drake did a good job of lowering the shoulder and going right through two defenders and into the endzone. His short area quickness and agility was on full display Friday as they targeted him on several middle screens where he had to pick through a very crowded area on his way to his strong stat line. Moxon is going to be a kid I will be keeping an eye on. He had a good game despite the overall struggles of the team. <strong>Caden McCartney, WR 2021- Oshkosh North</strong> <em>Stat Line: 4 Receptions, 49 Receiving Yds</em> Another bright spot for the North offense on Friday was Caden. The UW- La Crosse commit didn't have a lot of receptions, but each one showed a WR that was strong at the catch point and a player who was able to generate a good amount of space with his route running. Caden also showed no fear of going over the middle as he was able to pick up some big yards running across the middle. The 6'2" 180 lbs WR also looked the part of a college WR as he has a well filled out frame that was tough to bring down in the open field. I'm looking forward to seeing how he does at the next level.