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Florence football: ‘Nice run, nice season’ for Bobcats

FLORENCE, Wis. — Florence’s first eight-player football season ended Friday night in a 70-42 state playoff game loss to the undefeated and top-seeded Luck Cardinals.

“Too many explosive plays that led to points, although if you ask the other team, they’d tell you the same thing,” said Florence Coach Kent Walstrom. “A lot of points put up by both teams, but the success they had in running their misdirection scheme was the difference in the ballgame. They deserve to be moving on.”

Luck scored twice to take a 14-0 advantage by the end of the first quarter. But Florence responded with Toby Wheeler and Kaden Schuls hooking up for touchdown (13 yards) and conversion passes.

“We had a super throw and catch from Toby to Joe (Walstrom) in the corner of the end zone for an apparent touchdown called out of bounds, and we could have unraveled right there, but we didn’t,” said Walstrom. “We kept our composure and the next thing you know, Kaden makes a big catch on a throw from Toby in the other corner for a TD. We had a big momentum surge there, but then we gave it right back.”

Luck scored on its next three possessions to take a 34-8 halftime lead.

“We’re playing on their home field and they have the big lead, and it was gut-check time,” said Walstrom. “To the players’ credit, they regrouped and made a game of it in the second half.

“I’m very proud of the way these young men finished out the season. They went down fighting and at the same time played clean, hard football. I asked the team before the game to empty out and leave no regrets, and they did that in spades.”

Florence’s Riley Hixon caught a deflected pass intended for Evan Beaster and raced 60 yards into the end zone for a second-half score.

After Luck pulled ahead 42-14, Schuls threw a 28-yard scoring pass to Walstrom.

Down 50-20 in the fourth quarter, Florence fought back with Schuls running 37 and nine yards for touchdowns. Wheeler had a two-point conversion to bring the Bobcats within 50-34. “Outstanding game from Kaden,” said Walstrom. “I game-planned to give him a lot of opportunities with the ball in his hands, and he really came through for us. He played a heck of a game.”

Luck’s next possession turned into another touchdown for a 56-34 edge. A quick Wheeler to Walstrom 39-yard TD pass closed the gap to 56-42 with just under three minutes left in the game.

“There’s a lot for us as a team and coaches to digest, finishing a promising season with a playoff loss,” said Walstrom. “Disappointing to lose, but we turned a corner as a team and became a winning football program again and were recognized as one of the top eight-man teams in the state.

“Our JV program had a successful season as well. I think that helps legitimize our decision to go to eight-man. Now, to keep moving forward next season when we rejoin the MONLPC (conference) we have to win the off-season, and that means hard work ahead. You can’t hide from that. The best teams are made up of players willing to make that happen.”

Quarterback Wheeler finished the game with nine completions on 17 attempts for 148 yards and two TDs with one interception. Schuls threw six times with three completions for two TDs and 108 passing yards. He led all receivers with five catches for 101 yards and a touchdown. Schuls’ rushing yards including quarterback scrambles totaled 93 yards on 14 attempts.

Walstrom contributed two receiving TDs on four catches for 89 yards. With 61 yards on 11 attempts, the senior running back finished the season with 1,031 rushing yards.

“Nice accomplishment for Joe and our O-line, to go over 1,000 yards in nine games, and he averaged less than 15 carries a game,” coach Walstrom said. “You throw in his catch ability out of the backfield as a receiver and that’s a lot of production we’re going to have to figure out how to replace next season.”

Florence has eight seniors on the roster.

“There’s plenty of senior production we’re going to have to replace throughout the team,” Walstrom said. “Players that want opportunities to replace those guys are going to have to earn it, and again, that starts in the off-season if they want to keep this success rolling. The common denominator in both our losses this season is that those teams had a strength advantage at most positions. We have to improve there.”

On the defensive side, Wheeler and Schuls led the Bobcats from their linebacker spots with 13 and 11 tackles, respectively. End Gary Liebergen had nine tackles, along with fellow seniors Hunter Browning (seven) and Evan Beaster (six).

“We’re going to be saying goodbye to a great group of seniors,” Walstrom said. “If you’ve ever played high school football, you understand the physical and mental grind and punishment you put yourself through over the course of a season to practice and play this game with your friends and teammates, but you’re appreciative of the camaraderie you develop that can last a lifetime.

“A 7-2 record is an accomplishment they can be very proud of. They had a nice run and a nice season.”

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