The Battle for the Paddle – a rain soaked classic

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Milaca Wolves completely dominated the first half of the Battle for the Paddle rivalry game against the Princeton Tigers. Up 12-0 late in the first half, the Wolves were looking to make it a three-score game on the last play of the half. Quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='313130' first='Dylan' last='Greninger']</strong> tried to hit a slant on the goal line, but Princeton picked off the goal line pass to keep the Tigers within two scores.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>That interception – and the Tigers' defense playing much better in the second half - fueled a second half comeback. The Tigers tied the game at twelve and ultimately got the game into overtime. On the first play in the overtime period, Princeton running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='242404' first='Ben' last='Ostendorf']</strong> found a seam up the middle and scored one play into overtime, giving the Tigers their first lead of the game, 19-12.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With the Wolves needing to answer, a bad snap on second and goal forced the Wolves into a third and goal from the seventeen. One incomplete pass later, it was fourth and goal. In a driving rainstorm, neither team could complete a pass more than five yards past the line of scrimmage – until the game's last play. Scrambling to his right, Greninger threw a strike over the middle to <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='313133' first='Owen' last='Vanderplaats']</strong> for the touchdown. Improbably, the Pizza Bowl – won the last three times by Princeton – by a combined ten points – would come down to a two-point conversion.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Milaca running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='313132' first='Jack' last='Schoenborn']</strong> found room up the middle, and the undefeated Wolves had a walk-off victory on their home field.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":455120,"sizeSlug":"full","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/09/Milaca-team-scaled-crop-1153x758-1663995548.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-455120"/></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Wolves – ranked in the top ten in Class AAA – dominated the first half in nearly all phases. Schoenborn and Greninger were picking up yards in big chunks on the ground. They kept the ball for over six minutes on their first possession, which ended in a Schoenborn touchdown and an early 6-0 lead.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After a three and out, Milaca was on the move again. VanderPlaats caught a pass in the flat. He should have been stopped for a short gain, but he broke a tackle and picked up ten yards to keep the drive alive.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Milaca offensive line took over the drive from there. They were moving Tigers off the line of scrimmage like Princeton was the only team playing on a slick field. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='313128' first='Jaegar' last='Ash']</strong>, <strong>Wyatt Maurer</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='313134' first='Colbee' last='Zens']</strong>, <strong>Jack Hanson</strong>, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='313127' first='Logan' last='Ash']</strong> were opening big running lanes and sealing off the edges of the Tigers' defensive line and allowing the Wolves' runners all kinds of room to run. Schoenborn would score his second touchdown of the first quarter – giving the Wolves a 12-0 lead.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Princeton put together a solid drive to try to get back into the game, but the drive ultimately would stall and result in a bad snap on a field goal try – keeping the Tigers off the board.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Late in the first half, the Wolves continued to rely on the running game and nearly took a three-score lead until the interception on the goal line.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Princeton – especially on special teams, came to life after that. <strong>Cade Pidde</strong> took the second half kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown to cut the Milaca lead in half.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While neither offense could get much going in the increasingly harsh weather conditions, Princeton – although not putting up points, was starting to find some holes in the Wolves' defense. What they didn't do on the scoreboard, they did do with field position – keeping the Wolves' offense deep in its own territory. The field position and weather gift wrapped a golden opportunity for Princeton, ranked in the top ten in AAAA. A bad center and punter exchange deep in Wolves' territory gave the Tigers the ball inside the ten. Ostendorf would capitalize, and after his six yard touchdown run, the comeback was complete. The rain-soaked battle of top ten teams was tied at 12.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both teams would threaten late in regulation, but the sloppy conditions caught up to both offenses. Fumbles stopped what looked like good scoring opportunities on both sides – setting up the dramatic overtime.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The win moved Milaca to 4-0 and dropped Princeton to 3-1.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->