DE PERE – For the fourth consecutive season, the Battle of the Bridge trophy is going home with the West De Pere football team.
In a hard-fought Fox River Classic Conference-North (FRCC) battle against crosstown rival De Pere, the Phantoms pulled out a 35-17 victory over the Redbirds on Sept. 26 at De Pere High School.
Trailing 17-7 early in the second half, West De Pere (6-0 overall, 4-0 FRCC) rattled off 28 unanswered points to win going away.
“We needed a game like this,” West De Pere Coach Chris Greisen said. “It’s always a tough game against De Pere – you can throw out the records when these two teams play. In every other game we’ve played this season, we’ve had a running clock at some point in the game. To have our guys play all four quarters was good.”
After a scoreless first quarter full of punts from both teams, De Pere (3-3, 2-2) struck first on a 37-yard field goal from Mason Bratonia halfway through the second quarter to make it 3-0.
On West De Pere’s next drive, Ryan Lutz scampered in from five yards out for a 7-3 lead after Maverick Lor’s extra point.
The Redbirds struck back quickly when quarterback Holden Woodfill hit Sam Robb on a 12-yard TD pass with 31 seconds left in the first half.
De Pere got the ball back after an interception from Noah Vanderheyden, but a Bratonia 35-yard field goal attempt was blocked as time expired.
To start the third quarter, the Redbirds needed only three plays to hit paydirt again when Robb hauled in a 24-yard TD pass from Woodfill to increase the lead to 17-7 after Bratonia’s extra point.
That’s when the Phantoms went to work.
“Our guys didn’t panic,” Greisen said. “We made some adjustments at halftime and felt like we could get our rushing game going – and we did. The offensive line really started making a push after halftime. I think De Pere did a nice job in pass coverage but credit to Ryan for running hard and our offensive line.”
A Landon Kibbe TD catch from Patrick Greisen and Lutz’s second score of the night put West De Pere ahead 21-17 after the third quarter.
Kibbe and Lutz each scored another touchdown in the fourth quarter to close the scoring.
In Oct. 3 games, West De Pere plays at Ashwaubenon, while De Pere travels to Bay Port.
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