SPORTS

Rapids beats SPASH in overtime for Ol' River Jug

Scott A. Williams
USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

STEVENS POINT -  Wisconsin Rapids wide receiver Austin Glinski and the rest of the 13-member senior class had never hoisted the Ol' River Jug in their high school careers.

So moments after fullback Isaac Pelot bulled his way into the end from 2 yards out for the game-winning touchdown in overtime Friday night, Glinski and several of his closest friends charged over to a training table behind the Stevens Point Area Senior high bench.

Sitting in solitude atop the table was the Ol' River Jug. Smiles beaming across about a half dozen Raiders players, Glinski grabbed the ceramic bottle and raced toward the rest of the Rapids players in the north end zone. In unison with the Jug raised high, the Raiders jubilantly celebrated.

Wisconsin Rapids will own the Jug for at least the next 365 days for the first time since 2011 after a thrilling 41-35 overtime triumph over SPASH at Community Stadium in what will go down as an all-time classic in the 70 years of the rivalry.

"I saw the line open up that hole (in overtime) and I was thinking to myself, 'This is for the Jug. This is for the team. This is for all the seniors,'" said Pelot, who finished with 138 hard-earned yards and a pair of scores. We are playing for the seniors right now. It's an amazing feeling right now."

Rapids can thank a lot of people for the Jug finding its way back to the trophy case at Lincoln High school.

Pelot was a workhorse on the ground. Senior quarterback Ben Olson put up a monster first half with 216 yards and three touchdowns. He also connected with Keegan Hewitt on a key third-down conversion in overtime to set up the winning TD.

Perhaps no unit deserves more credit, however, than the Raiders' defense. Unable to stop SPASH standout Gus Turner-Zick throughout the second half, the unit stiffended when it mattered most in overtime, forcing the Panthers to turn the ball over on downs.

"For it to go down to overtime is nothing less than we expected. We ended up doing what we needed to do," Rapids coach Tony Biolo said. "It's a huge win, obviously the SPASH-Rapids is a big win. This will be one of the most memorable games of my time."

Not only did the Raiders regain the Jug, but they also spoiled homecoming for SPASH, which entered the matchup unbeaten and in a tie for sixth among the Large School Enrollment rankings by The Associated Press.

After being thoroughly dominated for 23 minutes, the Panthers gained a brief glimmer of hope when Beau Rosenthal hooked up with Colton Kizewski for a 27-yard touchdown on the final play of the first half. It culminated a 72-yard drive in two plays and 16 seconds.

"At halftime, we were able to sit down and say, 'Look at this, do you believe you can win?' And we needed to remind them we believe in them," SPASH coach Pete McAdams said. "The thing we told them is we're going to have one of the best comebacks in high school history when we go out in the second half.

"Credit Wisconsin Rapids. They have a lot of weapons and they used those weapons tonight. We got beat. In that first half they took it to us."

McAdams nearly looked prophetic thanks to Turner-Zick who shredded the Raiders in the second half for 211 yards and a three touchdowns. His second trip to the end zone on a 56-yard scamper knotted the game at 28-28 late in the third quarter. He finished with 273 yards on the ground.

The only problem is the Panthers were unable to finish off the miraculous comeback. As a result, the Jug is heading West.

"The best thing about this is it's Game 6. There is some emotion out there, but there should be some emotion. The emotion the kids should have right now is disappointment and anger more than sadness," McAdams said.."You can't dig yourself out of a hole that big. Our heads were not there in that first half. That falls on us as a coaching staff."

Wisconsin Rapids looked like the ranked team in the opening half.

With Olson shredding the Panthers secondary for 216 yards through the air and three touchdowns, including scoring strikes of 20 and 77 yards to Austin Glinski, the Raiders must have already been eyeing the Jug.

Olson wound up with 294 yards passing and four touchdowns. Westfall grabbed eight passes for 119 yards, while Glinski hauled in four for 115. Each receiver found the end zone twice.

"We know our receivers can make plays, and we needed a really good game out of those guys this game and we got that from them," Biolo said. "It's amazing how fast a start we got off to.

"It's been a long while (since we had the Jug.)"

Scott A. Williams can be reached at 715-345-2282, or by email at ssswilliam@stevenspoint.gannett.com. Find him on Twitter as @SPJScottWill

Wisconsin Rapids’ Isaac Pelot receives an embrace after the overtime win between Stevens Point and Wisconsin Rapids at the rivalry Ol' River Jug game, September 23, 2016.
SPASH players collect themselves in the locker room before the game between Stevens Point and Wisconsin Rapids at the rivalry Ol' River Jug game, September 23, 2016.
SPASH players together in the locker room before the game between Stevens Point and Wisconsin Rapids at the rivalry Ol' River Jug game, September 23, 2016.
Rapids players embrace after their win in overtime between Stevens Point and Wisconsin Rapids at the rivalry Ol' River Jug game, September 23, 2016.
Wisconsin Rapids seniors hoist the jug after theit win in overtime after the game between Stevens Point and Wisconsin Rapids at the rivalry Ol' River Jug game, September 23, 2016.