Falcons soar into Level Four
By Ross Pattermann
The Abbotsford Falcons are on the cusp of history. Just one game separates them from a first ever trip to the WIAA D-6 state title game. Standing in their way this coming Friday is a team that they are all to familiar with - the Regis Ramblers.
Regis stopped the Falcons in 2016, taking a narrow 22-14 victory en route to the state title. It’s a theme all too common for the Falcons, as the past three seasons has seen Abby lose to the eventual state champion, Bangor in 2017 and Iola-Scandinavia last year. But a third trip in the last four years to the Level 4 playoff game has Abby eager for more, and ready to silence the noise coming from outside the program.
If Abby is to set a date with Camp Randall in Madison next week, it will need to maintain a run game that has been absolutely merciless and relentless in 2019.
That ground game was in devastating form last Friday as the Falcons amassed 550 yards of total offense, with 540 of that yardage came from the rushing attack, with last week’s victims the ninth ranked Coleman Cougars.
Senior Dalton Feddick was the engine that powered the Falcon’s high octane offense. The rangy and speedy signal caller had his best night ever, rushing for a career high 354 yards on 29 carries and two TDs as he became the second Falcon in as many seasons to eclipse 2,000 yards rushing.
He wasn’t the only one doing the damage, as sophomore tailback Ty Falteisek went over 1,000 yards for the year on Friday, and junior Cade Faber is knocking on the door of that feat, sitting pretty at 967 yards rushing.
Faber punched in two touchdowns and galloped to 87 yards on 14 carries last week, while Falteisek added another 74 yards on the ground and one TD off of 15 carries, as the trio has become something of a three headed monster that no team has yet been able to stop.
Feddick got the party started early for the Falcons, busting out of the gates on a 55-yard carry that left a slew of Cougars trailing in his dust. A successful two point conversion made it 8-0 in the opening minutes of the game.
The Cougars came into the game with their own powerful ground game, featuring four athletes that have over 400 yards rushing apiece. The Cougars are also used to defying expectations, knocking off Bonduel on the road 40-0 and then stopping seventh ranked Manawa on the road 46-28.
But the Falcons are a different caliber of team, and their offense was matched by their defense, with Abby forcing the Cougars to turn the ball over on downs at the goal line during Coleman’s first possession.
It was part of a night where the Falcons held the Coleman offense in check for almost all four quarters as their run game controlled the time of possession. The Falcons would finish with 71 plays to just 37 for Coleman, and Abby stopped the Cougars on both fourth down attempts.
Feddick picked up where he left off, gashing the Cougars for another big play, scoring from 41-yards out. The two point conversion was stopped, but after one quarter, it was all Abby, with the Falcons leading 14-0.
The Falcons continued to find pay-dirt in the second quarter with sophomore Mason Wellman toting the ball through a thicket of Cougar defenders for an 11yard scoring run that made it 20-0.
The Cougars stopped the two point conversion attempt, and finally got on the board with an explosive play of their own, with Coleman QB Cayden Bintz connecting with Payton Nelson for a 50yard catch and run that made it 20-6.
From there, Abby stopped the two point attempt, as well as the Cougars pass attack, allowing just one more completion for six yards. Both teams traded turnovers in the first half, ending potential scoring drives, and Abby went into the break with a 20-6 edge. It didn’t stay that way for long.
Special teams continues to be a thorn in Abby’s side this season, and the Falcons gave up another big play, with Coleman’s Zack Cops taking the opening kick-off of the second half 70 yards to the house to pull the Cougars to within one possession at 20-12.
With the Cougars threatening to tie the
ABBY FB Colby/Abby
The co-op had three swimmers in the 100-yard freestyle. Stange placed 17th overall in 59.09, senior Sierra Ramker bettered her seeded time by nearly two seconds, finishing 26th in 1:03.38 and sophomore Lexi White was 30th in 1:04.19.
Colby/Abby saw three swimmers race in the 500yard freestyle. Filtzkowski had the highest individual placement of the meet for the co-op, knocking off 12 seconds from her seeded time of 6:18.29, to finish 13th in a time of 6:06.01.
Hediger also competed in the 500-yard freestyle, and finished just behind Filtzkowski, taking 14th in 6:12.66, three seconds better than her seeded time. Freshman Ivee Conley rounded things out, taking 26th in 7:22.80.
The 200-yard freestyle relay saw Colby/Abby take tenth, with the team of Weber, Hediger, White and Stange finishing in a time of 1:50.11.
Three members of the co-op took part in the 100yard backstroke. Klement cracked the top 20, taking 19th overall with her time of 1:10.68, over eight second better than her seeded time of 1:18.72.
Sophomore Zanza Haemer was 26th with her time of 1:14.97 and Kussrow placed 27th in 1:15.03.
Voss represented the co-op in the 11th event of the day, placing 16th in the 100-yard breaststroke with her time of 1:21.35.
In the final event of the sectional meet, the 400yard freestyle relay, the team of Weber, Hediger, White and Stange finished in tenth place, with their time of 4:03.47.
With the completion of the meet, five seniors saw their swimming careers come to a close, as Bobbie Lee, Sahanna Kussrow, Erin Voss, Elizabeth Stange and Sierra Ramker competed in their final meet.
“Although it is always bittersweet for the seniors, the rest of the team really was able to see how well they did, and it’s nice to see the excitement for next year,” Tesmer said after the sectional meet. “The seniors have worked hard and should be very proud of themselves in how they have matured and improved as swimmers and divers.”
