By Murray Gleffe, Sports Correspondent
The Ashwaubenon Jaguar football team showed resiliency in the final quarter before succumbing to the Tritons 17-14 in overtime at Ted Fritsch Field. Alex Stanko scored two touchdowns (one on the ground, and the other through the air) for the Jaguars. Defensively, Kevin Liu had 9 tackles and Cam Wheeler 4 for the Jaguars.
The Jaguars and Tritons both played the field position game for the first three drives of the contest. Then with the Tritons facing a 3rd and 18 from their own 18, QB Wes Glime hit RB Michael Gregoire on a crossing pattern that eventually went for 82 yards and a Triton TD with 2:38 left in the opening quarter. The Jaguars next drive stalled after only four plays, and they were faced with punting for their third straight series.
In the 2nd quarter, the Tritons put together an 8-play drive that passed midfield and into Jaguar territory. However, the Jaguars Riley Siudzinski made a spectacular interception at the 8-yard line to preserve the one touchdown deficit for the Jaguars. On the ensuing series, Jaguar receivers Will Adair and Parker Murphy got into the action by hauling in 10 and 35-yard completions to set the Jaguars up on the Triton half of the field. The drive stalled, however, and the Jaguars were forced to…you got it, punt for the 5th time in the 1st half. Notre Dame capitalized on the final drive before halftime. With the Tritons pinned deep on their half, Wes Glime threw a ball that looked to be past WR Jack Allen. Out of nowhere, Allen hauled in a one handed catch and galloped 52 yards down to the Jaguar 30. Four plays later, Tritons TB Michael Gregoire finished the drive off with a 10-yard touchdown run that put the Tritons up 14-0 with only seconds remaining till intermission.
Despite trailing 14-0 at half, the Jaguars remained positive knowing that their front seven were playing good against the Triton skill positions. After the Tritons received the 2nd half kickoff and went nowhere, the Jaguars took over at their own 22. They went on a 16 play, 7-minute drive that resulted in no points after QB Anthony Guarascio’s pass was broken up at the Triton 1-yard line on 4th and 16. The next two drives for the Jaguars resulted in a fumble, and a pick near the Triton goal line. After all of the heartache and pain from the previous three drives, the Jaguars stayed strong willed and focused as a team and it finally paid off on none other than the last two drives of the game in regulation.
With the score still 14-0, the Jaguars received the ball back with 7:42 left on the clock in the 4th quarter. Jaguar receiver Griffin Baierl started the festivities off with a 9-yard snag over the middle. Ben DeLaurelle added an 11 yard catch towards the sideline, and Will Adair a 28-yard grab where he got hit from both sides and still managed to make the catch! It set up Alex Stanko’s plunge from 2 yards out with 3:56 remaining to get the Jaguars on the big scoreboard. The PAT was no good so the score showed the Tritons leading 14-6.
The Jaguar defensive linemen and linebackers stepped up huge on the Tritons next drive. They knew they had to hold the Tritons to give the offense one final push to tie the game. That they did! After the Tritons punted the ball away, the Jaguars started their final drive on their own 20. They found pay dirt (80 yards) on three completions. The first was to Parker Murphy for 42 yards. The second was to Will Adair for 23, and the final was a screen pass to Alex Stanko who rumbled in for the touchdown from 15 yards out. The score read Notre Dame 14, Ashwaubenon 12. The two-point attempt awaited. Jaguars QB Anthony Guarascio got flushed to his right, and then scrambled and heaved a ball into the right part of the endzone that Ben DeLaurelle somehow corralled to tie the game! The comeback was complete (14-14) for the Jaguars-at least in regulation.
In overtime, the Jaguars received the ball first and missed on a 32-yard field goal. After the Jaguars held the Tritons to no yards on their first overtime possession, Triton FG kicker Andrew Gruesen came in and belted a 42-yard FG (game-winner) for the Triton 17-14 victory. The Jaguars fall to 0-2 on the season and will travel to DePere on August 31st.