Amherst keeps state title defense alive

AMHERST - Mark Lusic came into a semi-circle of Amherst football players assembled in the south end zone Friday night.

Amherst's football coach had one question for his players: "Are we finished yet?" he asked. The reply was a resounding, 'Nooo."

Defending Division 5 state champion Amherst gets to continue its title defense for at least one more week thanks in large part to a fast start in its second round showdown with Spencer/Columbus Catholic.

With the help of touchdowns on their first three possessions and senior quarterback Brandon Piotrowski accounting for three scores, the Falcons rolled up a 42-14 win over the Rockets in a rematch of the state championship game from a year ago.

Amherst (10-1) will host Winnebago Lutheran, a 10-7 winner over second-seeded Southern Door, in the third round at 7 p.m. Friday.

"We were surprised we were able to get up that much," Falcons senior lineman Nicholas Lea said. "We thought it would be a close battle, and it was a close battle, but we were able to bend them and bend them and break them finally.

"It was awesome. Awesome."

The Rockets (8-3) entered the rematch intent on ending Amherst's title defense.

Instead, Piotrowski connected with Marcus Glodowski on a 76-yard scoring strike on the second play from scrimmage to put the Falcons up 7-0 just 49 seconds into the contest.

Piotrowski, who went 8-for-13 through the air for 193 yards and a pair of touchdowns, would add a 3-yard scoring run and Glodowski found the end zone from a yard out to build a stunning 21-0 cushion with 1:29 left in the opening quarter.

Suddenly the Rockets had to reassess their upset plans.

"They jumped out on us and it rattled us a little bit," Spencer/CC coach Jason Gorst said. "We were able to battle back at times. You can't make as many mistakes as we made and hope to win a football game against that caliber of a team."

Despite losing three fumbles, including a crucial turnover deep in Falcons' territory early in the third quarter, Spencer/Columbus refused to give in.

A Jarred Mandel 33-yard touchdown pass to Noah Zastrow early in the second quarter had the tide slowly turning. The Rockets moved into scoring position again on its next drive, but turned the ball over on downs at the Amherst 26.

Three plays later Piotrowski hooked up with Josh Cisewski on a 79-yard backbreaking TD connection with 27 seconds left in the half. What had the makings of a one-score game just moments earlier suddenly found S/CC in dire straits.

"It's a game of momentum; it's a crazy game," Gorst said. "We had the momentum in our favor and a couple of unfortunate plays pretty near each other definitely swung it back in their favor.

"I was proud of our guys and the season we had. Congrats to Amherst. They're a very good football team. You don't have a whole lot of control over the path you take (in the playoffs). We did run into one of the best teams in the state in Round 2 which is unfortunate, but there is nothing you can do about that."

Zastrow finished his Rockets career with 137 yards rushing on 21 carries. Hunter Luepke added 65 yards rushing.

It marked just the second time all season — Stanley-Boyd being the other — that Spencer/Columbus Catholic was held to less than 28 points all season. The Rockets rolled up 314 yards of total offense, but when Amherst needed a stop it found a way to maintain a comfortable position throughout.

"That's a tremendous team and to hold them to 14 points is a great job by our defense. They bent but never broke," Lusic said. "We didn't give up the big play. That was the big thing. We gave yup a few long runs, but none that broke for 70 yards. A great job."

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

First Quarter

A - Marcus Glodowski 76 pass from Brandon Piotrowski (Carter Zblewski kick), 11:11

A - Piotrowski 2 run (Zblewski kick), 5:18

A - Glodowski 1 run (Zblewski kick), 1:26

Second Quarter

S/CC - Noah Zastrow 33 pass from Jarred Mandel (run failed), 8:57

A - Josh Cisewski 79 pass from Piotrowski (Zblewski kick), :27

Third Quarter

A - Devin Ostrowski 3 run (Zblewski kick), 2:11

Fourth Quarter

A - Ostrowski 12 run (Zblewski kick), 9:16

S/CC - Carson Hildebrandt 15 run (Hunter Luepke run), 7:24

Records: Amherst 10-1; Spencer/ Columbus Catholic 8-3.