This story is sponsored by: Wisconsin Homes of Marshfield
By Steve Pilz
For MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – To say the Stratford Tigers are on a roll would be an understatement.
After taking apart Cumberland 54-0 last week in their playoff opener, the Tigers crushed Cadott 42-0 in a WIAA Division 6 Level 2 football playoff game Friday night at Heiting Community Stadium in Marshfield, where the Tigers played their home games this season as their field in Stratford field gets a face-lift.
In what may have been an “uh-oh” moment for Stratford opponents of late, it is no secret anymore. Stratford can pass.
Not only did their lefty quarterback Braeden Schueller throw four touchdown passes, he also ran for one. When he dropped back to punt, he pulled a fake and ran for 39 yards to lead his team in rushing with 52 yards on six carries. His aerial stats were 8-for-16 with no interceptions and an eye-popping 247 yards.
Defensively, the Tigers held the Hornets to just 55 yards in earning their second-straight postseason shutout.
“There’s always things you can clean up,” said Stratford coach Jason Tubbs, “but I thought our defense played amazing. We kept them to 50-some yards. Our biggest thing we feel is that this is the first time in a long time that we can pass and run. It hasn’t been like that since probably our 2019 team. We don’t necessarily have those big horses that are going to D-1 schools.”
Stratford set the tone for the rest of the game early on, forcing Cadott to punt after three plays and going on a 13-play drive culminating in an 8-yard scoring strike from Schueller to Ashton Wrensch to make it 7-0.
After a six-play Hornets’ drive that picked up 16 yards, the Tigers scored on the first play of the second quarter on an 86-yard pitch and catch from Schueller to Gavin Leonhardt.
Later in the quarter, Schueller plowed in from the one to make it 21-0 at intermission.
The second half proved more of the same with the big plays by the Tigers.
Leonhardt nabbed a punt out of the air at the Cadott 47 and deposited it in the end zone with 8:32 left in the third quarter. Less than four minutes later, Schueller reared back and launched a 45-yarder that landed in Wrench’s hands. He hauled it in the rest of the way for a 76-yard TD.
Schueller and Wrensch capped their big day with 6:14 to go with the clock winding down with a 35-point lead on a 10-yard TD pass to wrap up the scoring.
“If teams want to take Keohler (running back Koehler Kilty, 1,200 plus yards on the ground this season) away, then we’re going to throw the ball and Braeden has done that in the last three or four games. Our coaches’ game-plan is to see what’s there and whatever the defense gives us, we’re going to take advantage of it.”
The Tigers (8-2-1), the No. 2 seed in their Division 6 bracket, will travel to No. 1 seed Grantsburg (9-2) in Level 3 next Friday, Nov. 4. Grantsburg beat Unity 35-21 on Friday.
Tigers 42, Hornets 0
Cadott 0 0 0 0 – 0
Stratford 7 14 14 7 – 42
First Quarter
S – Ashton Wrensch 8 from Braeden Schueller (Evan Danielson kick), 4:18.
Second Quarter
S – Gavin Leonhardt 86 pass from Schueller (Danielson kick), 11:39.
S – Schueller 1 run (Danielson kick), 0:28.
Third Quarter
S – Leonhardt 47 punt return (Danielson kick), 8:32.
S – Wrensch 76 pass from Schueller (Danielson kick), 4:53.
Fourth Quarter
S – Wrensch 10 from Schueller (Mason Miller kick), 6:14.
Team Statistics
First downs: Cadott 3; Stratford 12.
Rushing (att.-yards): C 25-51; S 30-113.
Passing (comp-att-yards-int): C 3-9-4-1; S 8-16-247-0.
Total yards: C 55; S 360.
Fumbles (total-lost): C 0-0; S 0-0.
Penalties (no.-yards): C 4-40; S 0-0.
Individual Statistics
Rushing: C, Tristan Drier 5-19, Nick Fasbender 8-15, Tegan Ritter 3-15, Conner Roth 2-10. S, Schueller 6-52, Kohler Kilty 14-35, Conner Weigel 2-27, Leonhardt 3-4.
Passing: C, Drier 3-7-4-1. S, Schueller 8-16-247-0.
Receiving: C, Easton Goodman 2-1, Roth 1-3. S, Wrensch 4-99, Danielson 2-45, Leonhardt 1-86, Weigel 1-17.
Records: Cadott 7-4; Stratford 8-2-1.