Rockets improve to 5-1

By Paul Lecker

Sports Reporter

CADOTT — Cadott struck first, but the Spencer/Columbus football team quickly imposed its well against the Hornets.

Spencer/Columbus ripped off 51-straight points and rolled to a 51-24 victory in a Cloverbelt Conference game Friday night at Cadott High School.

Coy Bowe hauled in a 71-yard touchdown pass from Michael Emery 2:59 into the game to put the Hornets (2-4 overall and Cloverbelt Conference) on top 8-0 following a two-point conversion.

Hunter Luepke ripped off a 62-yard run less than one minute later, added a 13-yard touchdown run 45 seconds after that, and Jarred Mandel threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Lukas Ellefson to put the Rockets (5-1 overall and Cloverbelt Conference) up 22-8 after one quarter.

Evan Dieringer kicked a 25-yard field goal, Luepke scored from 1 yard out, and Nate Karau returned an interception for a touchdown in the second quarter as the Rockets built a 37-8 lead by halftime.

“Credit to Cadott for a hard-fought game,” Spencer/Columbus coach Jason Gorst said. “They are an up-and-coming program that is on the verge of upsetting somebody. Their kids are playing hard, they are well-coached, and they have things going in the right direction.”

“Nate Karau had a great game on both sides of the ball,” Gorst said. “He was a game changer tonight. Hunter had great vision and cut well.”

Luepke added an 84-yard touchdown run, and Carson Hildbrandt scampered in from 42 yards away to finish the scoring for Spencer/Columbus in the third quarter.

Luepke finished the game with an astounding 249 yards rushing on just 11 carries.

Cadott scored twice in the fourth quarter.

Spencer/Columbus plays at Eau Claire Regis on Thursday, Sept. 28. The game, at Carson Park, begins at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on WDLB-AM 1450 and wdlbwosq.com. Regis edged Colby in overtime on Friday, improving to 5-1 overall and 4-1 in the Cloverbelt.

(Hub City Times Sports Reporter Paul Lecker is also the publisher of MarshfieldAreaSports.com.)

Rockets 51, Hornets 24

Spencer/Columbus 22 15 14 0 – 51

Cadott 8 0 0 16 – 24

First Quarter

C – Coy Bowe 71 pass from Michael Emery (Emery run), 9:01.
SC – Hunter Luepke 62 run (Luepke run), 8:11.
SC – Luepke 13 run (Evan Dieringer kick), 7:06.
SC – Lukas Ellefson 15 pass from Jarred Mandel (Dieringer kick), 3:08.

Second Quarter

SC – Dieringer 25 field goal, 12:00.
SC – Luepke 1 run (kick missed), 3:22.
SC – Nate Karau interception returned for touchdown (kick blocked), 1:44.

Third Quarter

SC – Luepke 84 run (Dieringer kick), 11:39.
SC – Carson Hildebrandt 42 run (Dieringer kick), 8:40.
C – Bailey Gillett 27 run (Kolton Dupey pass from Emery), 7:28.
C – Mitchell Hazard 37 pass from Bowe (Brady Carrell run), 1:14.

Team Statistics

First downs: Spencer/Columbus 16; Cadott 21.

Rushing (att-yards): SC 29-349; C 40-167.

Passing (comp-att-yards-int): SC 5-10-98-0; C 9-21-239-3.

Total yards: SC 447; C 406.

Penalties (no.-yards): SC 4-50; C 8-70.

Fumbles (total-lost): SC none; C 1-1.

Punting (no.-avg.): SC 2-36.0; C none.

Individual Statistics

Rushing: SC, Hunter Luepke 11-249, Carson Hildebrandt 5-63, Jacob Miller 4-16, Zach Wheeler-Savoy 2-15, Andres Rodriguez 1-6, Colton Schillinger 1-3, Hayden Bauman 1-minus 3. C, Brady Carrell 6-55, Bailey Gillett 8-36, Nelson Wahl 2-18, Michael Emery 12-17, Kolton Dupey 4-17, Bennett Bowe 4-11, No. 15 (no name reported) 2-7, Coy Bowe 1-3, Brady Spaeth 1-3.

Passing: SC, Jarred Mandel 5-10-98-0. C, Emery 8-20-202-3, C. Bowe 1-1-37-0.

Receiving: SC, Miller 2-15, Ethan Meece 1-57, Lukas Ellefson 1-15, Bauman 1-11. C, C. Bowe 2-80, Mitchell Hazard 2-48, Dupey 2-27, Donovan Walters 1-44, Gillett 1-30, B. Bowe 1-10.

Interceptions (defense): SC, Nate Karau, Ellefson, Wheeler-Savoy.

Punting: SC, Co. Schillinger 1-37.0, Austin Bacon 1-35.0.

Records: Spencer/Columbus 5-1 overall and Cloverbelt Conference; Cadott 2-4 overall and Cloverbelt Conference.