Aug. 21—MENOMONIE — It was a disheartening start for the Menomonie run defense. River Falls’ bell cow running back Cole Evavold found space between Mustangs right out of the gate, scampering for 23 yards on the game’s first offensive play.
But Menomonie stayed poised, made its adjustments, and made sure that was one of only a few positive plays for the visiting Wildcats Friday at Williams Stadium.
“We’ve been big on the next play mentality,” first-year Menomonie coach Mike Sinz said. “You can’t worry about what’s already happened. You have to move on. I thought our young men did a great job of that tonight.”
The Menomonie front seven was swarming by the final whistle, more often than not in perfect position to make a solid hit. And the offense put in work too, riding a stable of running backs and the quarterback-tight end connection of Reed Styer and Noah Feddersen in a 28-6 nonconference victory.
For Sinz, it’s win No. 1 at his alma mater.
“It’s pretty cool,” Sinz said. “I’ve coached on this field, I’ve coached against Menomonie on this field. Being from here, it’s pretty cool. You never know if this type of thing would ever happen and then it does. It’s just fun to be a part of. I’m happy here.”
Menomonie ended the game on a 22-0 run, turning the momentum heavily in their favor in two critical moments. After trading punts to start the second half with Menomonie up 14-6, the Mustangs pinned River Falls down at its 5-yard line thanks to timely tackles and a Wildcat penalty. That forced a punt out of the end zone that only made it as far as the River Falls 27, and five plays later Nick Haviland found pay dirt to give the Mustangs a two-score advantage.
“Field position, we talk about that all the time, about how important that is,” Sinz said. “That can just change a game and flip a game.”
Then, later in the third, River Falls appeared poised to cut the deficit back to one score once inside the Menomonie 10. But Brooks Brewer popped out the football at the 1-yard line, and David Smiskey recovered to keep the Wildcats at arm’s length.
“Brooks Brewer made a heck of a hit,” Sinz said. “He’s a ball-player, just a physical kid. It doesn’t shock me that he’s the one that caused it.”
Menomonie ended any hopes of a comeback with a stellar screen play with just under eight minutes remaining in the fourth. Styer hung in the pocket until the final second before getting off a pass to Feddersen, who followed his blockers 36 yards to the house.
“We’ve got a nice little combo with those two,” Sinz said. “They’ve played a lot of football together.”
Menomonie got 99 yards on the ground from Parker Schultz, including a 57-yard play, and 73 from Brewer. After rushing for 67 yards in the first half, Menomonie held Evavold to 11 in the second.
“We had to make a couple of adjustments inside,” Sinz said. “They were running a pretty tight power scheme and we were able to not over-pursue on it, stay home a little bit on defense. Our kids played so hard.”
River Falls had some chunk plays, including passes of 53, 39 and 30 yards. But the Wildcats struggled to string them together, and mental mistakes cost them.
“You don’t beat Menomonie in Menomonie and make as many mistakes as we did,” said River Falls coach Ryan Scherz, also in his first year. “Penalties, turnovers in the red zone, it doesn’t work.”
The squads entered the late stages of the second quarter tied at 6-6 after each scored a touchdown and missed an extra point. Menomonie opened the scoring midway through the first, getting a 6-yard Haviland run to cap off an 11-play opening drive. River Falls answered with a TD pass by Vito Massa to Ethan Campbell early in the second.
From there it was all Menomonie, who opened the Sinz era in style.
“River Falls is an outstanding program,” Sinz said. “They really over the past four, five years got things going with their program, with strength and conditioning. They’re confident. That’s a good team that we just beat. They’re going to have a really good season. They’re big and they’re physical and they’re very athletic.”
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Menomonie 28, River Falls 6
RF;0;6;0;0;— 6
Menom;6;8;7;7;— 28
First quarter
M: Nick Haviland 6 run (kick failed), 6:22.
Second quarter
RF: Ethan Campbell 17 pass from Vito Massa (kick failed).
M: Brooks Brewer 8 run (Reed Styer run), 8:25.
Third Quarter
M: Haviland 2 run (Treysen Witt kick), 4:24.
Fourth Quarter
M: Noah Feddersen 36 pass from Reed Styer (Witt kick), 7:49.
Team & Individual Statistics
RUSHING (att-yds): River Falls Cole Evavold 23-78, Gavin Kohel 6-27, Vito Massa 4-1, Jacob Otte 1-0. Menomonie: Brooks Brewer 10-73, Haviland 5-15, Parker Schultz 11-99, Jack Drout 8-38, Reed Styer 6-(-3).
PASSING (comp-att-int-yds): River Falls (10-22-1-202): Vito Massa 10-22-1-202. Menomonie (3-6-0-63): Styer 3-6-0-63.
RECEIVING (rec-yds): River Falls: Campbell 3-48, Evavold 2-7, Jordan Karras 2-44, Cade Myszewski 2-73, Nate Weick 1-30. Menomonie: Noah Feddersen 2-48, Schultz 1-15.