News flash: Edgar can be scored on but not beaten
Stop the presses. Marathon actually showed someone can score on Edgar this season.
Quarterback Donavon Free connected with Carter Hanke on a 16-yard scoring strike with just under three minutes left in the first quarter on Friday night.
The touchdown snapped an insane streak of 297 scoreless minutes and nearly 25 quarters Edgar's stingy defense had denied teams from reaching the end zone.
Edgar coach Jerry Sinz took the first points surrendered by his defense in stride.
"The first touchdown we made a mistake in our coverage … the second one, Stoffel just made a great play,” Sinz told USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin's Tim Johnson. "Those kinds of things will happen."
The touchdown pass from Free to Hanke also marked the first time the Wildcats trailed this season.
The Marathon quarterback also hooked up with Nathan Stoffel on an 80-yard touchdown pass that saw Stoffel break about four tackles.
There was little solace in being the first team to score against Edgar for the Raiders, who watched Karson Butt run roughshod over them most of the game.
Butt rushed for 162 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns.He also threw for another score and the Wildcats kept their perfect record intact if not the scoreless streak with a comfortable 35-12 win.
Edgar ended a modest two-game regular-season losing streak against the Raiders.
“We talked all week about how we had to get this one tonight and take the throne back,” Butt said. “We faced a little adversity there but we managed to pull through.
A Marawood showdown with fierce rival Stratford (6-1) looms for the Wildcats on Oct. 13.
Defense states its case
A pair of Central Wisconsin Conference-Small title hopefuls demonstrated Edgar isn't the only area team to boast a shut-down defense.
Pittsville and Wild Rose, ranked seventh in the Small Division in the latest Associated Press poll, put on quite a defensive exhibition in their showdown for the CWC-Small title.
Defending champion Wild Rose held the Panthers to a measly 92 yards of total offense, including just eight yards in the second half in a 7-6 squeaker Friday night.
The outcome left the Wildcats (7-0) as the lone unbeaten left in the conference.
"I think we showed we can play a good tough physical defensive game," Pittsville coach Mark Denniston said. "I wasn't sure if it would be low scoring or if both teams would score a little more, but we certainly figured it would be a close game."
The Panthers turned in an equally dominant defensive performance as Wild Rose could muster just 225 yards of total offense.
Five times the Wildcats took possession of the football in Pittsville territory in the second half. Each time the Panthers' defense was up to the challenge and kept Wild Rose off the scoreboard.
A reality check
Wittenberg-Birnamwood and Pacelli ranked near the top of the list of the feel good stories through the first five weeks.
Both programs got off to 4-1 starts, and in the case of the Chargers, it was five wins in the first six games. Then came the heart of their Central Wisconsin Conference-Large schedules.
The Cardinals are in the midst of a murderers' row stretch of games. First came a 47-14 setback at the hands of ninth-ranked Iola-Scandinavia followed by a 59-14 loss to No. 5 Amherst. A date with Bonduel (6-1) awaits this week.
W-B had won three straight games before running into Bonduel Friday night. The result was a 62-14 loss to the Bears to leave the Chargers at 5-2 on the season. Manawa is up next.
Finding the going tough
Pittsville senior Riley Wayerski came into Friday's matchup with Wild Rose ranked among the top 15 in the state in rushing with 1,098 yards through six games. He also accounted for 14 touchdowns on the ground.
However, the shifty ballcarrier for the Panthers found room tough to find in the battle of unbeatens.
Wayerski was limited to a paltry 43 yards on 22 carries and failed to reach the end zone in the Panthers' first loss this season.
Scott A. Williams can be reached at 715-345-2282, or by email at ssswilliam@stevenspoint.gannett.com. Find him on Twitter as @SPJScottWill