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Huskies hold on for homecoming victory
OELWEIN — Oelwein High School homecoming queen Rachel Fox was far from the only person happy as the final seconds ticked off the clock at the end of Friday night’s homecoming game against Waukon. In fact, it is a safe bet that nearly everyone wearing purple and gold had a smile on their face as Oelwein held off Waukon’s fourth-quarter rally to take a 20-12 victory over the Indians.
Oelwein (2-5 overall, 2-3 in Class 3A, District 3) won the game by keeping major mistakes to a minimum. The Huskies did not turn the ball over and did not have a penalty marked against them while three Waukon turnovers led to all of Oelwein’s points.
“I thought we ran the offense pretty efficiently,” OHS coach Jim Yokas said. “We just were able to take advantage of some things that they were trying to do to us.”
Junior Matt Kastli stepped in for the injured Justin Ribble at fullback and gave Oelwein’s its largest individual rushing effort of the year with 150 yards on 17 carries.
“He is quick,” Yokas said of Kastli. “His speed is OK, but his quickness is his biggest asset, so it doesn’t surprise me.”
Kastli is the third Huskie to top 100 yards in a game this year, joining Paul Yokas (105 yards against Central Clinton) and Adam Bell (106 yards against Marion). Oelwein’s 193 rushing yard total was its highest since it ran for 273 yards against Independence.
Kastli also had a big game on defense, leading the Huskies with 14 tackles including six solos.
While Oelwein’s rushing game thrived, its passing game did not always hit on all cylinders. P. Yokas hit 6-of-14 passes for 129 yards and was frequently on the run as Waukon frequently blitzed up the middle. The junior signal caller was sacked four times and did not climb into positive rushing yards until the game’s final series.
“They did a good job of disguising some coverages and they did a good job of getting pressure up the middle on us,” Yokas said. “We were a little bit inconsistent.”
Defensively the Huskies made plays when they had to. Waukon punted the ball just twice and turned it over on downs once. The Indians lost leading rusher Brendan Leiran late in the first half to an injury and were forced to string plays together for successful drives. James Volbrecht led the Indians with 94 rushing yards while Leiran had 82 yards before going out injured.
THE FIRST HALF WAS all about opportunities for the Huskies. The teams traded punts on the first three possessions before Waukon went for it on fourth down and appeared to have the necessary yardage before the ball popped out. Outside linebacker Aaron Majerus jumped on the ball at the Waukon 45 and the Huskies were in business.
Two plays later Yokas threw deep to Josh Stewart who caught the ball in stride and out-ran the Indian secondary for the touchdown. Majerus’ point-after kick made it 7-0.
Leiran broke free in the Oelwein secondary on Waukon’s next possession, racing inside the Oelwein 25 before the ball came free as he was attempting to gain a few more yards. Stewart fell on the ball at the 22, setting up Oelwein’s longest scoring drive of the game.
After the Huskies recovered their own fumble on first down, Kastli burst them out of jail on second, taking a P. Yokas pitch on the lead option and racing 65 yards down the left sideline to the Indian 21.
“We have some plays where we have options on the play, and the long Kastli run was just a good read by our kids,” Coach Yokas said.
Three plays later Bell found the end zone on a pitch play and following the kick the Huskies led 14-0.
Oelwein had the ball again before it had a chance to catch its breath as Stewart intercepted a Waukon pass and returned it to the Indian 27. A snap over P. Yokas’ head led to a third-and-long situation where the Huskies dug into their bag of tricks for a play that proved crucial to the victory. P. Yokas threw a lateral to Ben Kerns, who threw deep down the right sideline to Bell, who made a sliding catch at the four. Two plays later Bell was in the end zone again, though the extra-point kick was blocked and OHS led 20-0.
Waukon responded with a 13-play, 71-yard drive that put it on the scoreboard with 1 minute, 27 seconds left. The Indian extra-point kick fell short and OHS still led 20-6.
Oelwein drove the ball down the field, with Yokas hitting Kerns on a pair of passes that brought the ball to the Indian 13 with less than five seconds showing on the clock. Kerns worked open again as the Huskies went for the touchdown, but the pass was off the mark and OHS held a 20-6 lead at halftime.
Oelwein had a couple of chances to add to its lead in the second half, only to see a third-down quarterback sack essentially end a drive at the Indian 18, and a key Waukon stop at its 22 end another with less than 10 minutes left.
“We ended up getting the lead, we had a few guys banged up and probably got a little conservative,” Yokas said. “We didn’t want to turn the ball over; we wanted to make them earn everything because we didn’t think that they necessarilly had big-play capability. So we just wanted to make sure that we didn’t give them anything that they could build off of.”
The Indians carried the momentum of their big stop to a drive that put them right back in the game. The nine-play drive covered 81 yards, with Mark Welsh finding the end zone with 5:35 left. Another failed extra-point kick left the OHS margin at 20-14.
Rather than attempt an onside kick, Waukon opted to kick deep — a decision it would soon regret as it would never see the football again. Oelwein chewed up the final minutes with a 12-play drive that saw it convert three third downs.
“We told the kids going out that we need first downs, and they responded,” Yokas said.
Yokas also gave kudos to a fan base that filled Husky Stadium.
“I really have to appreciate our fans,” he said. “Our stands were full, we had a great crowd and the kids appreciate that when kids come to games.”
Oelwein makes the long trip to Cresco Friday to play a Crestwood team that is squarely in the running for the district title. The Huskies must win to keep their dim postseason hopes alive. OHS wraps up its regular season the following Friday (Oct. 24) at home against New Hampton.
Waukon 0 6 0 6 — 12
Oelwein 7 13 0 0 — 20
Scoring Summary
First quarter
O — Josh Stewart 40 pass from Paul Yokas (Aaron Majerus kick); 7-0
Second quarter
O — Adam Bell 6 run (Majerus kick); 14-0
O — Bell 2 run (Kick blocked); 20-0
W — James Volbrecht 3 run (Kick failed); 6-20
Fourth quarter
W — Mark Welsh 4 run (Kick failed); 12-20
Team Totals Wau Oel
First downs 12 15
Rushes-yards 42-264 43-193
Pass yards 47 165
Comp-att-int 5-11-1 7-15-0
Total offense 311 358
Fumbles-lost 2-2 2-0
Punts-avg. 2-38.0 3-37.0
Penalties-yards 6-50 0-0
Individuals
Rushing — Waukon: James Volbrecht 15-94, 1 TD; Brendan Leiran 10-82; Michael Krambeer 6-51; Mark Welsh 7-29, 1 TD; Dylan Ness 3-8; Jared Laures 1-0. Oelwein: Matt Kastli 17-150; Adam Bell 10-18, 2 TDs; Josh Stewart 1-14; Paul Yokas 14-10; Kyle Fink 1-1.
Passing — Waukon: Krambeer 5-of-10 for 47 yards, 1 int.; Volbrecht 0-of-1. Oelwein: Yokas 6-of-14 for 129 yards, 1 TD; Ben Kerns 1-of-1 for 36 yards.
Receiving — Waukon: Doug Knutson 2-32; Kasey Fahey 1-19; Ness 1-(-2); Volbrecht 1-(-2). Oelwein: Bell 3-86; Stewart 2-40, 1 TD; Kerns 2-39.
Oelwein (2-5 overall, 2-3 in Class 3A, District 3) won the game by keeping major mistakes to a minimum. The Huskies did not turn the ball over and did not have a penalty marked against them while three Waukon turnovers led to all of Oelwein’s points.
“I thought we ran the offense pretty efficiently,” OHS coach Jim Yokas said. “We just were able to take advantage of some things that they were trying to do to us.”
Junior Matt Kastli stepped in for the injured Justin Ribble at fullback and gave Oelwein’s its largest individual rushing effort of the year with 150 yards on 17 carries.
“He is quick,” Yokas said of Kastli. “His speed is OK, but his quickness is his biggest asset, so it doesn’t surprise me.”
Kastli is the third Huskie to top 100 yards in a game this year, joining Paul Yokas (105 yards against Central Clinton) and Adam Bell (106 yards against Marion). Oelwein’s 193 rushing yard total was its highest since it ran for 273 yards against Independence.
Kastli also had a big game on defense, leading the Huskies with 14 tackles including six solos.
While Oelwein’s rushing game thrived, its passing game did not always hit on all cylinders. P. Yokas hit 6-of-14 passes for 129 yards and was frequently on the run as Waukon frequently blitzed up the middle. The junior signal caller was sacked four times and did not climb into positive rushing yards until the game’s final series.
“They did a good job of disguising some coverages and they did a good job of getting pressure up the middle on us,” Yokas said. “We were a little bit inconsistent.”
Defensively the Huskies made plays when they had to. Waukon punted the ball just twice and turned it over on downs once. The Indians lost leading rusher Brendan Leiran late in the first half to an injury and were forced to string plays together for successful drives. James Volbrecht led the Indians with 94 rushing yards while Leiran had 82 yards before going out injured.
THE FIRST HALF WAS all about opportunities for the Huskies. The teams traded punts on the first three possessions before Waukon went for it on fourth down and appeared to have the necessary yardage before the ball popped out. Outside linebacker Aaron Majerus jumped on the ball at the Waukon 45 and the Huskies were in business.
Two plays later Yokas threw deep to Josh Stewart who caught the ball in stride and out-ran the Indian secondary for the touchdown. Majerus’ point-after kick made it 7-0.
Leiran broke free in the Oelwein secondary on Waukon’s next possession, racing inside the Oelwein 25 before the ball came free as he was attempting to gain a few more yards. Stewart fell on the ball at the 22, setting up Oelwein’s longest scoring drive of the game.
After the Huskies recovered their own fumble on first down, Kastli burst them out of jail on second, taking a P. Yokas pitch on the lead option and racing 65 yards down the left sideline to the Indian 21.
“We have some plays where we have options on the play, and the long Kastli run was just a good read by our kids,” Coach Yokas said.
Three plays later Bell found the end zone on a pitch play and following the kick the Huskies led 14-0.
Oelwein had the ball again before it had a chance to catch its breath as Stewart intercepted a Waukon pass and returned it to the Indian 27. A snap over P. Yokas’ head led to a third-and-long situation where the Huskies dug into their bag of tricks for a play that proved crucial to the victory. P. Yokas threw a lateral to Ben Kerns, who threw deep down the right sideline to Bell, who made a sliding catch at the four. Two plays later Bell was in the end zone again, though the extra-point kick was blocked and OHS led 20-0.
Waukon responded with a 13-play, 71-yard drive that put it on the scoreboard with 1 minute, 27 seconds left. The Indian extra-point kick fell short and OHS still led 20-6.
Oelwein drove the ball down the field, with Yokas hitting Kerns on a pair of passes that brought the ball to the Indian 13 with less than five seconds showing on the clock. Kerns worked open again as the Huskies went for the touchdown, but the pass was off the mark and OHS held a 20-6 lead at halftime.
Oelwein had a couple of chances to add to its lead in the second half, only to see a third-down quarterback sack essentially end a drive at the Indian 18, and a key Waukon stop at its 22 end another with less than 10 minutes left.
“We ended up getting the lead, we had a few guys banged up and probably got a little conservative,” Yokas said. “We didn’t want to turn the ball over; we wanted to make them earn everything because we didn’t think that they necessarilly had big-play capability. So we just wanted to make sure that we didn’t give them anything that they could build off of.”
The Indians carried the momentum of their big stop to a drive that put them right back in the game. The nine-play drive covered 81 yards, with Mark Welsh finding the end zone with 5:35 left. Another failed extra-point kick left the OHS margin at 20-14.
Rather than attempt an onside kick, Waukon opted to kick deep — a decision it would soon regret as it would never see the football again. Oelwein chewed up the final minutes with a 12-play drive that saw it convert three third downs.
“We told the kids going out that we need first downs, and they responded,” Yokas said.
Yokas also gave kudos to a fan base that filled Husky Stadium.
“I really have to appreciate our fans,” he said. “Our stands were full, we had a great crowd and the kids appreciate that when kids come to games.”
Oelwein makes the long trip to Cresco Friday to play a Crestwood team that is squarely in the running for the district title. The Huskies must win to keep their dim postseason hopes alive. OHS wraps up its regular season the following Friday (Oct. 24) at home against New Hampton.
Waukon 0 6 0 6 — 12
Oelwein 7 13 0 0 — 20
Scoring Summary
First quarter
O — Josh Stewart 40 pass from Paul Yokas (Aaron Majerus kick); 7-0
Second quarter
O — Adam Bell 6 run (Majerus kick); 14-0
O — Bell 2 run (Kick blocked); 20-0
W — James Volbrecht 3 run (Kick failed); 6-20
Fourth quarter
W — Mark Welsh 4 run (Kick failed); 12-20
Team Totals Wau Oel
First downs 12 15
Rushes-yards 42-264 43-193
Pass yards 47 165
Comp-att-int 5-11-1 7-15-0
Total offense 311 358
Fumbles-lost 2-2 2-0
Punts-avg. 2-38.0 3-37.0
Penalties-yards 6-50 0-0
Individuals
Rushing — Waukon: James Volbrecht 15-94, 1 TD; Brendan Leiran 10-82; Michael Krambeer 6-51; Mark Welsh 7-29, 1 TD; Dylan Ness 3-8; Jared Laures 1-0. Oelwein: Matt Kastli 17-150; Adam Bell 10-18, 2 TDs; Josh Stewart 1-14; Paul Yokas 14-10; Kyle Fink 1-1.
Passing — Waukon: Krambeer 5-of-10 for 47 yards, 1 int.; Volbrecht 0-of-1. Oelwein: Yokas 6-of-14 for 129 yards, 1 TD; Ben Kerns 1-of-1 for 36 yards.
Receiving — Waukon: Doug Knutson 2-32; Kasey Fahey 1-19; Ness 1-(-2); Volbrecht 1-(-2). Oelwein: Bell 3-86; Stewart 2-40, 1 TD; Kerns 2-39.
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