Mayville finds OT elusive
By DAN BAULCH - Assistant Sports Editor
ST. FRANCIS - The Mayville receiving corps almost had one more big play left in it.
Under heavy pressure on fourth-and-goal, Cardinal quarterback Matt Haass was able to find receiver Andrew Haass open in the back of the end zone in overtime.
But Andrew Haass bobbled the ball before stepping out of bounds, allowing host St. Francis to escape with a thrilling 42-35 victory in Division 4 Level 3 playoff action Saturday.
It was Haass' 24-yard touchdown reception with 1:24 to go in regulation that forced the extra session, but undoubtedly it will be the last play of the season that will stick in his head.
"I feel bad for Andrew," Mayville coach Steve Brickson said. "He'll have a rough couple of weeks, but he shouldn't. If it wasn't for his touchdown in the fourth quarter we wouldn't have even made it to overtime."
Few expected the Cardinals (8-4) to push the Mariners (11-1) as hard as they did. St. Francis had a large size advantage in the trenches, but Mayville used its penchant for the big play to stay toe-to-toe with the Mariners.
"This is a game that should have been played at Camp Randall," Brickson said in regard to the state title game. "Nobody gave us a chance against these guys but I don't think anybody will give them the kind of run we did today."
With Brodhead-Juda up next for the Mariners, St. Francis coach Doug Sarver isn't ready to declare his team state champions, however.
"Finally," Sarver said after the final play. "They had been making big plays all day and at the end we finally got one.
"Mayville is a very good team."
The Cardinals fought a step behind the Mariners most of the afternoon and finally tied the game at 21 after Eric Schwartzmiller's acrobatic 51-yard scoring reception with five seconds to go in the third quarter.
The senior had to reach behind his head for the high pass and corralled it after bobbling it once. He then broke a tackle in the middle of the field before winning a race to the end zone down the right sideline.
Just as quickly, however, the Mariners regained the lead.
Joey Thomas took the ensuing kickoff 94 yards to pay dirt to put St. Francis back up 28-21 as the third quarter ended.
"That was huge," Sarver said. "That rejuvenated us and lifted our spirits."
Mariner senior Jose Valdez (6-foot-6, 305 pounds) was inspired. He personally busted up the next three Cardinal plays to force a punt.
But Mike Spiegel muffed the Mayville punt and Jacob Weiss recovered to give the Cards the ball at the Mariner 30.
Mayville went in to score, sparked by a 26-yard pass reception by Schwartzmiller on fourth-and-11. Brett Muche plunged in from a yard out to knot the game at 28 with 6:26 to play.
Again, St. Francis had a quick answer.
On the Mariners' next play, Jason McClelland took a toss left for 56 yards down to the Mayville 15. A play later, McClelland ran in from 14 yards out for a 35-28 Mariner edge.
The Cards took the punch in stride and answered with another strong flurry of jabs, marching 65 yards on 12 plays to send the game into overtime with Andrew Haass' 24-yard grab.
The Mariners got the ball first in overtime and wasted little time. McClelland took the first handoff around right end for a 10-yard score to move St. Francis ahead 42-35.
The Cardinals took their chances next from the 10 and lost a yard on the first two plays. After losing six more on an option play, Mayville was faced with a fourth-and-goal from the 17.
The difficult odds of sending the game into another overtime grew longer when Matt Haass was pressured by Valdez, but he got up a rainbow pass to Andrew Haass. The St. Francis defender mis-timed his jump, and the ball fell in the hands of Andrew Haass.
Haass wasn't able to secure the ball while his feet were in bounds and the back judge ruled it incomplete as the Mariners celebrated a berth to the state semifinals.
"It's very difficult to lose a game like this," Brickson said. "It's hard to be happy right now, but we had a great season and I've never been around a group of guys like this that have the drive to win like these guys have.
"It just kind of stings right now."
Matt Haass finished the day 12-for-26 with 229 yards, two interceptions and three touchdowns. Schwartzmiller hauled in five passes for 113 yards and two scores while Andrew Haass grabbed four for 70 yards and a touchdown.
Outside of a couple big plays, Mayville kept McClelland relatively contained although he did finish with 161 yards on 21 carries with Thomas adding 65 yards on 15 handles. Sean Schuelke paced the Cards with 69 yards on the ground.
St. Francis 42, Mayville 35
Mayville 0 7 14 14 0 – 35
St. Francis 0 14 14 7 7 – 42
Scoring:
St. Francis - Kozey 1 run (Beaumont kick) 10:55
Mayville - Schwartzmiller 23 from M. Haass (Moyle kick) 6:15
St. Francis - Spiegel 41 from Franken (Beaumont kick) 4:39
St. Francis - Thomas 7 run (Beaumont kick) 5:30
Mayville- Muche 2 run (Moyle kick) 3:56
Mayville - Schwartzmiller 51 from M. Haass (Moyle kick) :05
St. Francis - Thomas 94 kickoff return (Beaumont kick) :00
Mayville - Muche 1 run (Moyle kick) 6:26
St. Francis - McClelland 14 run (Beaumont kick) 5:01
Mayville - A. Haass 24 from M. Haass (Moyle kick) 10:55
St. Francis - McClelland 10 run (Beaumont kick)
TEAM STATISTICS
First Downs: May 18, SF 12;
Rushing (Att-Yds): May 50-148, SF 38-208;
Passing yards: May 229, SF 58;
Passes (Comp-Att-Int): May 12-27-2, SF 2-7-0;
Fumbles-Lost: May 0-0, SF 0-0;
Penalties-yards: May 5-40, SF 8-83;
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: M - Schuelke 10-69, Vorlob 18-47; SF - McClelland 21-161, Thomas 15-65. Passing: M - M. Haass 12-26-2, 229; SF - Franken 2-7-0, 58. Receiving: M - Schwartzmiller 5-113, A. Haass 4-70; SF - Spiegl 2-58.
