who described after the game ….

who described after the game how this crucial play unfolded.

“Our defense was in zone coverage and my brother, Dillon, actually tipped the ball and it fell into my arms,” Gavin Kirsch said.

The Wildcats forced the Tigers into punting the ball and Stratford junior Connor Weigel made a great special teams tackle at Edgar’s 21-yard line. Mattison Butt overthrew Brehm along Edgar’s sideline and Griesmer tackled an Edgar running back behind the line of scrimmage for a six-yard loss. Stratford senior defensive back Darin Heeg sacked Mattison Butt at the three-yard line, forcing Edgar into a fourth down and 29 yards to go with just over a minute left in the game. Mattison Butt’s long pass went through Ayden Weisenberger’s hands, and Stratford took possession of the ball and went into victory formation.

Barrett was pleased Stratford’s defense held Edgar to less than 100 yards in both rushing and passing. The Tigers tallied 133 rushing and 22 passing yards, compared to the Wildcats with 87 rushing and 33 passing yards.

Edgar committed four turnovers consisting of three interceptions and one fumble lost, while Stratford had three turnovers including two interceptions and one fumble lost. The Wildcats had four penalties for 34 yards, while the Tigers only had one penalty for 15 yards.

Dillon Kirsch led Stratford with 10 rushes for 57 yards, while Smart had 12 runs for 28 yards. Karter Butt paced Edgar with 12 carries for 43 yards.

Edgar still leads the all-time matchup against Stratford, 28-26, in the regular season and 34-28 overall including the playoffs. Edgar, 1-1, plays its first home game this Friday, Sept. 3, against Iola-Scandinavia while Stratford, 2-0, plays against Manawa at Tigers Stadium.

‘Jays win first 8-man game

Seniors Cooper Diedrich and Caleb Borchardt scored all of the Athens football team’s points in a 36-0 drubbing of Owen-Withee on Friday night. Athens won its season-opening 8-man football game on the road in the Rogue Conference.

Diedrich, who is Athens’ starting quarterback, ran the ball 11 times for 248 yards and four touchdowns. Borchardt, the team’s fullback, rushed 14 times for 75 yards and one touchdown.

Athens, 1-0, plays its first home 8-man football game this Friday, Sept. 3, against Flambeau.

Raiders fall to Orioles

Marathon’s football team scored the game’s first points against Stanley-Boyd on Matt Annis’ three-yard touchdown plunge, but it was all Stanley-Boyd from that point forward. Jaden Koeller did kick the successful extra point following Annis’ touchdown. The Red Raiders suffered a 35-7 road loss to the Orioles last weekend.

Matt Annis had a solid overall game with 37 rushes for 133 yards and one touchdown, along with four pass receptions for 38 yards from quarterback Ben Robbins. Nick Sommers led Marathon’s defense with seven total tackles, six of which were solo tackles. Rudy Rhyner sacked Stanley-Boyd’s quarterback for a three-yard loss.

Marathon, 0-2, plays its first home game of the season this Friday, Sept. 3, against undefeated Abbotsford in the teams’ Marawood Conference opener.