Menomonie vs Chippewa Falls Game Recap
I have been out of the cold for a few hours now and I still haven’t quite thawed all the way out yet. This was easily the coldest game of the year, so far. My fingers barely worked enough to…
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Continue ReadingI have been out of the cold for a few hours now and I still haven’t quite thawed all the way out yet. This was easily the coldest game of the year, so far. My fingers barely worked enough to live tweet the big plays and my phone’s battery went down so fast that I had to charge it up at halftime in my car. While I froze on the sideline though, the action on the field was hot. When you take a quick glance at the 24-6 Menomonie victory you probably don’t expect it to be a very competitive game, but that’s what it was. If it wasn’t for a few missed assignments this could of easily been a one possession game throughout the matchup. Let’s take a look at how the night played out from start to finish.
The opening drive went the same way that most of this game ended up going. Chippewa Falls received the opening kickoff and was pass heavy out of the gate. However, during the first quarter as a team they couldn’t find their rhythm. Especially on offense. After their punt, Menomonie took over and wasted very little time before and during each play. Menomonie came out ready to establish the run and they wanted to do it with counters/ misdirection and power. They also used quite a bit of Wildcat to start the game. While undersized, the Menomonie offensive line worked well as a unit and won with speed. Menomonie finished off that opening drive with a dive up the middle to take an early 7-0 lead.
After the kickoff Chippewa took the field on offense again. Chippewa’s offensive line has some impressive looking athletes on it. They are big, yet play with really nice body control as they work to set up blocks, or pull, or pass block. Unfortunately, on this second drive of the game they again couldn’t find their rhythm. Will Ockler Will Ockler 5'11" | 195 lbs | LB Menomonie | 2021 State WI started making his presence known on this drive as he got pressure on the QB on third down that led to an incompletion and another punt. Once Menomonie got back on the field it was more of what we saw drive one. Pounding the rock. They did it predominantly with Will Ockler Will Ockler 5'11" | 195 lbs | LB Menomonie | 2021 State WI at FB and DeVauntaye Parker DeVauntaye Parker 6'1" | 200 lbs | DB Menomonie | 2021 State WI at RB. Parker picked up some chunk plays on this drive and really showed off his speed to the outside and surprising power. After working their way down to the goal line Ockler took the dive up the middle, lowered his shoulders, and drove into the endzone for the 14-0 lead. It seemed like Menomonie was rolling, but it turns out they actually wouldn’t score again while on offense.
Shortly after the second TD drive by Menomonie the first quarter came to an end and the defensive battle started. It was impressive to see the switch flip. Especially for Chippewa Falls. After the two opening drives they looked like they might have been outmatched, but they were far from that. For nearly the rest of the second quarter the defenses went back and forth. Menomonie continued to not give Chippewa any room to breathe or get into a rhythm and Chippewa started showing great pursuit to the football and defenders filling well against the run game. As the quarter wore on Menomonie started to go to the air more and more. That is where the Chippewa defense really shined. Across the board the defensive backs played lockdown defense. Even when they were late to the catch they would deliver hits that perfectly separated receivers from the ball. As the second quarter started to wind down Menomonie was able to piece together one decent drive that got them just inside the redzone with under 3 minutes to play. Chippewa’s defense eventually held right there though and forced a field goal attempt that they connected on to push the lead to 17-0.
At this point there was 2:50 left in the half, so I figured that Chippewa would come out and try to drive down the field for a score before the half ended. We were in for way more back and forth excitement than that. It was on this drive that Chippewa Falls showed that they were starting to find a rhythm on offense with the pass game. Unfortunately, the drive eventually stalled and Chippewa was forced to punt. This is where do it all FB/LB Will Ockler Will Ockler 5'11" | 195 lbs | LB Menomonie | 2021 State WI stepped up. He flew through the punt protection and made the block setting up the Menomonie offense in prime territory to score before the half ended. The Chippewa defense responded with a not so fast moment of their own as they forced a fumble and recovered it. After that turnover the Chippewa Falls offense again got back into their passing game rhythm as they moved down the field with under a minute to play in the half. Just as it looked like Chippewa was going to make a big play down the sideline Menomonie DB Domenic Stellino came up with the timely interception to kill another promising looking Chippewa drive. So in the end, what looked like a typical two minute drive before the half ended up being a roller coaster ride of back to back to back turnovers and no points being scored. So, we entered halftime with a score of Menomonie 17- Chippewa Falls 0.
Once I was able to get a little bit more charge in my cell phone I returned to the sideline for the second half. It was just in time too because on the opening kickoff of the second half RB/DB DeVauntaye Parker DeVauntaye Parker 6'1" | 200 lbs | DB Menomonie | 2021 State WI took a reverse and then raced his way down the sideline winning with both his straight line speed and his elusiveness. Just like that it seemed the game was blown wide open with Menomonie up 24-0 with a whole half of football left to play. Chippewa Falls refused to play like it was over. I love to see a team that has no quit in them. They play until the final whistle and go all out every snap. It showed up in the final result too as the second half scoring ended up being Menomonie 7- Chippewa Falls 6.
However, for the rest of the third quarter it was all defense. Will Ockler Will Ockler 5'11" | 195 lbs | LB Menomonie | 2021 State WI ended a drive with a 4th down sack at one point in the quarter and there were several punts from both side. Between the punts for Chippewa they had a few players really start to have a solid game. As their play improved so did the passing game because both played receiver tonight for them. The first was Judah Dunham. He was the clear #2 option all night for Chippewa’s QB. The other was Isaac Frenette. Frenette was one of the most impressive players on the field tonight. He was the go to target and he consistently came down with contested catches. However, even with these receivers starting to break out Chippewa couldn’t quite get into scoring position as Menomonie’s defense, especially their pass defense, continued to step up at just the perfect time drive after drive.
The biggest swing of momentum of the night for Chippewa finally came at the very end of the third quarter. They faced a 4th down and instead of punting again they ran a fake and picked up a big chunk of yardage as the quarter expired. The Cardinals from Chippewa Falls carried that momentum into the start of the 4th quarter as the offense finally was able to finish a drive with a TD. Frenette stepped up and hauled in a beautifully thrown 25 yard pass as he created separation with maybe a slight push off just before the catch, but that is what good receivers do. They know how to get away with that type of stuff and that is what Isaac did to bring the score to Menomonie 24- Chippewa Falls 6 after a failed two point conversion.
After the kickoff, Chippewa continued to have the momentum. On third down Owen Krista broke through the line and sacked the QB forcing a punt with 9:34 remaining in the game giving Chippewa a chance to cut into the lead again. Except with just under 7 minutes to play Menomonie regained the momentum and control of the game when Gavin Exner dropped into coverage from his LB position perfectly into the passing lane and picked off the ball. No points came from that turnover and again Chippewa got the ball back. On this drive the Menomonie defense stepped up again as they forced a turnover on downs with just under two minutes to play. After a few run plays by Menomonie to nearly kill the clock they punted it back to Chippewa. Chippewa, having no chance of winning, wasn’t done. On the second to last play of the game Isaac Frenette made the craziest catch I’ve seen this year. In the middle of double coverage he somehow tipped the ball high into the air, got past the defenders, caught the ball, and picked up about 10 more yards before finally being brought down. Chippewa never quit. Their team fought until the end when Menomonie sacked the QB on the next play and time ran out.
As you can see the final score was misleading of how the game actually went. If you take away the special teams points you are left with a 14- 6 game. This just goes to show you that when you face a team as talented as Menomonie you can’t make a mistake like losing contain on kickoff coverage or not filling your gap against the run early in the game. The good teams capitalize on those mistakes and it was the difference in this game. Both of these teams have the talent to end with records that they should be proud of. Tonight was a dog fight filled with exciting plays and big momentum swings. I was happy to be able to attend and as I sit here, 1500 words of typing later, I think I may finally be completely thawed out from the 30 degree temperatures. Good luck to both teams the rest of the season!