West De Pere advances to state semifinals with dominant win over Union Grove

DE PERE – For the second consecutive season, the West De Pere football team is heading to the WIAA Division 2 state semifinals. 

With a resounding 42-14 victory over Union Grove in Level 3 action on Nov. 7 at West De Pere High School, the Phantoms will next take on Homestead in Neenah on Nov. 14 in a battle of 12-0 teams. 

The winner of the state semifinal game will advance to the state title game at 1 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 21, at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison. 

“We were amped up and had quite a few penalties early on,” West De Pere Coach Chris Greisen said. “We also had two turnovers [in the first half], but our guys didn’t flinch. A lot of credit goes to [running back] Ryan Lutz and our offensive line.”

West De Pere quarterback Patrick Greisen threw four touchdown passes on the evening – a pair to Braylon Stegall, one to Lutz and another to Judeah Kniskern. 

Lutz also added a spectacular 87-yard TD run late in the second quarter. 

The Phantoms’ other score came halfway through the third quarter when Trevor Butterfield blocked a punt before picking up the loose ball and scrambling 20 yards for a score. 

West De Pere took a 21-0 lead into halftime before Union Grove (10-2) scored on its opening possession of the second half. 

After the Phantoms went up 42-7 early in the fourth quarter, a running clock was instituted for the remainder of the game. 

“If a team tries to stop our passing game, our running game is also extremely strong, and vice versa,” Greisen said. “I have to give a lot of credit to our defense tonight – they played spectacular.”

Greisen said his team must play a complete game against Homestead if it wants to advance to the state final game. 

“They like to run the ball,” Greisen said of Homestead. “They have a lot of great athletes, and we have our job cut out for us.”