Hornets win in first round thriller, 34-30

The Colby Hornets’ Brody Viegut scored a go-ahead touchdown with just 48 seconds left on the clock and Braiden Johnson came up with a clutch interception three plays later to seal the win in a 34-30 playoff thriller between the firstseeded Hornets and the eighth-seeded Durand-Arkansaw Panthers last Friday. The first round contest went right down to the wire, but Colby ultimately came out on top, overcoming a 14-point fourth quarter comeback attempt from the Panthers to move on to the second round of the WIAA playoffs.

“This was a very exciting football to be a part of and I give Durand a lot of credit; they had a great game plan on both sides of the ball,” head coach Jim Hagen said. “However, good players and teams find ways in the end to win a game and as a team, we did that tonight.”

Colby had been pushed to the brink of an early playoff exit after Durand-Arkansaw’s Brett Breidung found Ethan Hurlburt for a 70-yard touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter. The score put the visiting Panthers up by two with just 3:35 remaining in the game and left the Hornets in a must-score situation.

With their backs against the wall, Colby’s offense got to work. A solid kick return from Viegut had the Hornets start at their own 45-yard line, setting the home team up for a final drive in which they methodically picked apart the Panthers. While most of the damage was done on the ground, courtesy of runs from Viegut, Gavin Voss and Tayt Smith, Smith found Caden Kleparski on an out route for a key first down.

On the eighth play of the drive, Viegut took the ball around the left side of Colby’s line, sidestepping one Durand-Arkansaw defender before running through two more as he broke the plane of the end zone. The touchdown put the Hornets up 34-30, the answer that they needed to have in the wake of the visitors’ long score, but they were not out of the woods yet.

“We went on a drive late in the game to score the go ahead touchdown, but I was somewhat nervous because Durand still had time left on the clock to score,” Hagen said. “However, we came up big on their last drive, capping it off with a game clinching interception from Braiden Johnson.”

The interception, the only one thrown by Breidung all evening, came when the Hornets needed it most.

After the Panthers failed to complete their first two deep pass attempts of the drive, Breidung looked in the direction of running back Ryan Mason across the middle, trying to pick up a first down and keep the drive alive. Johnson broke inside of Mason and picked off the pass before it could reach its intended target, ending Durand-Arkansaw’s drive and securing the win for the Hornets.

It was a climactic finish to a contest filled with many such moments. Both teams were able to put points on the board, but did so in vastly different ways.

Colby moved the ball on the ground, accumulating 273 yards while running the ball 53 times in the contest. Meanwhile, Durand-Arkansaw had a different offensive approach. While the Hornets were able to hold the visitors to just 12 yards rushing, the Panthers had more than enough success through the air, picking up 340 yards via the passing game.

“Offensively, I thought we were efficient for the majority of the game, however defensively, we gave up way too many big pass plays that kept this game way too close,” Hagen said.

The Hornets had taken advantage of an early turnover by Durand-Arkansaw to get on the board first. After driving down into the red zone but failing to come away with points on the opening drive of the game, Colby quickly regained possession after Smith and Voss forced a fumble on the Panthers first play from scrimmage. Tanner Halopka recovered the loose ball at the nine-yard line and the Hornets quickly capitalized, scoring on the next play on a nine-yard run by Viegut.

Voss, Colby’s leading rusher with 126 yards on the ground, scored Colby’s second touchdown on a three-yard pitch play and Smith connected with Kleparski on a 19-yard pass with a minute left in the half for the Hornets’ third score of the half. A six-yard touchdown by Viegut that capped off the Hornets’ first drive of the third quarter and had given Colby a much needed cushion, but the Panthers refused to go away quietly. They had matched Colby’s first two touchdowns with scoring drives of their own and came back with 14 straight points after falling behind 28-16 in the second half. Two fourth quarter turnovers by the Hornets propelled that comeback effort, but Colby was able to weather the storm and come out with the victory.

In addition to Voss’ 126-yard, onetouchdown performance, Viegut added 77 yards on 11 carries and three touchdowns. Brennan Geiger had 53 yards on 12 touches and Smith recorded 15 yards on five carries. Smith was 7-for-9 passing for 49 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Kleparski was his top target, bringing in three catches for 44 yards.

On defense, Halopka and Kleparski both had six tackles and Smith and Luis Nava Rojas had four each.

With the win, the Hornets have set up a rematch with their second round opponent from last season, the Saint Croix Falls Saints. Last season, Colby went on the road and defeated the number one seeded Saints 28-0. This year, the roles are reversed, with fifth-seeded Saint Croix Falls looking to upset the firstseeded Hornets. The Saints were 5-4 during the regular season, losing their first four games but then winning their final five to get into the playoffs. They then defeated Neillsville/ Granton 20-6 in the first round of the playoffs.

The game will be held in Colby on Friday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m.