Fall Creek, Augusta prep football make their way to the playoffs in different ways

There are many roads which lead to the WIAA Prep Football Playoffs.

And the Augusta and Fall Creek high school football teams each took a different path to reach it, as reflected in their seeding in the same Division 6 tournament bracket.

Those playoffs begin this Friday, Oct. 22 at 7 p.m. with unbeaten and second seeded Augusta taking on No. 7 seed Grantsburg while No. 8 seed Fall Creek (5-5 overall) is at No. 1 Durand

Fall Creek officially clinched its playoff berth last week when its rival Osseo-Fairchild had to forfeit due to a lack of varsity players due to a COVID-19 outbreak in the school. It gave FC four Cloverbelt Conference wins to earn the automatic bid to the postseason even if two of the wins came as the result of COVID-19 (Stanley-Boyd and Osseo-Fairchild). FC head coach Tyler Mickelson said his team is well aware the roller coaster and crazy nature of the regular season for the Crickets. Big wins sandwiched besides hard losses like those to Eau Claire Regis or Mondovi.

"It’s a challenge. We can only control so much," Mickelson said. "We went into Neillsville and Elk Mound knowing they were must-win games. We had great weeks of practice and we played well. When things get turned upside down on our players, they do what they always do, work. I’ve never been around a group of kids that work like this. Situation, weather, time of day…nothing seems to bother them. They want to get better and they want to win."

But perhaps crazy seasons aren't such a bad idea for a team made up of some quirky elements. The Crickets have one of the best passing games in the air led by the Cloverbelt's top quarterback Eli Laube and his corps of receivers and backs in Cameron Martzke, Leo Hagberg, Ben Kelly and Soren Johnson. Yet they also have the fewest rushing yards in the league. They have the most girls' playing on any team in the region with Kylie and Emma Novak-Bougie. They also have a long-snapper in a sling in Ethan Wright who came back to play football again despite the serious injuries he received in an auto accident and surgeries to repair them. The unique nature of the team has drawn quite a lot of media attention.

"We have a fantastic, inclusive culture on this team," Mickelson said. "I feel like our players want to show up. They want to practice. They want to lift. They do it for each other. When you’re playing for somebody other than yourself, you create an environment people want to be part of. That’s where we are. Ethan, Kylie and Emma are Crickets. We all are. I’m glad the area gets to see it."

At least Fall Creek fans got to see a game last week Friday, Oct. 15 at home when Iowa-Grant made the trek north to FC after it had its final game cancelled due to COVID-19 as well. The Crickets rallied from an 18-6 deficit in the second half to win 19-18. Laube threw for 115 yards, including a four-yard strike to Martzke in fourth quarter followed up quickly by a 47-yard fumble return for a score by Andrew Anderson. It was the second straight week FC returned a fumble for a touchdown. Hagberg caught three passes for 51 yards and a score and running back Bryce Kuula had one his best games of the season rushing for 60 yards on 14 carries and leading the team in tackles with 15.. Sophomore kicker Len Follinger's extra point after Anderson's TD was the margin of victory.

The Crickets will face an 8-1 Durand squad led by the Cloverbelt and region's top running back Simon Bauer, who has gained 2,149 yards and 31 touchdowns. FC knows Bauer well as he scored five TDs and rushed for over 300 yards against them in the Panthers' 38-20 win over FC a few weeks ago at Schultz Field in Fall Creek. But Laube nearly threw for 300 yards against Durand and the Crickets also led in the game 14-8 at halftime. As an eight-seed, the Panthers probably wished they would face someone else than an opponent which proved to be so pesky and a league opponent as well.

But regardless what happens Friday, Mickelson feels the Crickets have made great strides in rebuilding the program with this playoff berth regardless how it came about.

"Last season we were establishing our identity," Mickelson said. "During the off-season we established our work ethic and commitment. Now, our players are finally believing in themselves. The progress these players have made comes from the work they’ve put in. We can compete with any team in Division 6, and our players know it."

Augusta clinched an automatic playoff bid well ahead of Fall Creek but going 9-0 and winning the Dairyland Conference in 2021 made it more than official. And yet getting to the 9-0 point was harder than some might think according to head coach Derek Boldt.

"We had to deal with COVID-19 and missing players," Boldt said. "We've had injuries to key players like Jackson Laxson (injured his ankle during practice). And you have all the things a football team, or any team, for that matter, has to deal with internally and externally during the course of the season, Being unbeaten is not easy and I want the players to know and understand what they've accomplished to get to this point when last year they won just one game by forfeit, is very impressive and very special."

Boldt said he hopes that Laxson could possible return by the Level 2 contest if the Beavers can get past Grantsburg (7-4 overall). The Pirates gave top-ranked Unity all they could handle last week in a 26-20 loss and have establish a solid program over many years, producing college players like the Chenal brothers now playing for the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Grantsburg is led by junior quarterback Aaron Burkman who has completed over 50 percent of his passes for nearly1,300 yards and 13 TDs. His brother Aidan, a senior, leads the team in rushing with 354 yards and five touchdowns. The team's leading receiver is senior Zach Miller who has caught 33 passes for 663 yards and five TDs. Sophomore back Trenton Johnson has 249 yards receiving and two TDs.

Augusta, meanwhile, put the finishing touches on the perfect regular season with a 28-0 shutout of Eleva-Strum at home. The Beavers scored 22 points in the second quarter to establish control. The Cardinals played spirited on defense, forcing two fumbles on long AHS runs. But because they were recovered deep in their own territory, E-S was unable to do anything with them as they were stymied by Augusta's defense. Central had just one long drive the entire ballgame in the first quarter but it was stopped in the endzone as Levi White intercepted a fourth down pass. AHS held Eleva-Stum to just 123 yards total offense. Cardinal running backs Wyatt Miland and Ryan Julson both rushed for over 40 yards as the Cardinals completed their season 1-8 overall.

Augusta used a lot of counters, misdirections and other plays to get their speedy backs to the outside or open up space in the middle. The Beavers were able to rush for 254 yards led by Ben Dickinsen's 121 yards on 21 carries and s six-yard touchdown run. Quarterback Brennan King rushed for 57 yards on 10 carries and scored on a one-yard run, Marcus Livingston scored on a five-yard run, White rushed for 47 yards and King also threw a 30-yard TD pass to Tyler Brixsen just before halftime as a big morale boost for the Beavers to put themselves ahead by three scores instead of two. Hunter Breaker led Augusta in tackles with 18 total, solos and assists combined.

Boldt hopes Augusta can go on a playoff run that will exciting for the players and the program to experience.

"This year's senior class made the playoffs as sophomores, yet that didn't last long," Boldt said. "And for most of their time playing football at AHS they've had losing seasons. Now that they've gone 9-0, which a testament to how hard they've worked to get to that record, I hope we can stay in the playoffs in as long as we can for the players to experience how much fun it is for school and the whole community to get behind as they advance week to week. There's nothing quite like it."