By Murray Gleffe
Correspondent
GREEN BAY—It’s no secret what the Pulaski offense is going to do 95 percent of the time.
It’s another chore to stop it.
The Red Raiders rushed for over 370 yards in defeating Green Bay Preble 31-0 at Gauthier Family Stadium Sept. 13.
“We’ve run this offense for some time now and guys needed to step up this year with [Dylan] Hendricks being gone,” said Jerad Marsh, Pulaski head coach. “I think we had eight or nine guys run the ball for us tonight. They all contributed.”
Ben Redlin led Pulaski (4-0 overall, 4-0 Fox River Classic Conference) with 204 yards rushing and three touchdowns.
Joe O’Leary added 63 yards and one rushing touchdown.
Red Raiders quarterback Nash Lemerond attempted only three passes on the night, completing one for 29 yards.
The Hornets (1-3, 1-3 FRCC) were held to 85 yards of total offense.
On a blustery evening at Preble High School, the Hornets took their second drive and marched down the field.
On third and one from the Pulaski 1-yard line, quarterback Ryan Buergi was sacked for a 2-yard loss.
On fourth and three, Preble appeared to score when Nick Renier hauled in a touchdown reception, but the Hornets were flagged for holding.
The subsequent 32-yard field goal rang off the left goal post.
Pulaski took full advantage, going 80 yards in 17 plays, which took 8 minutes off the clock.
Redlin notched the touchdown from 2 yards out to give the Red Raiders a 7-0 with 5:37 left until halftime.
“Our offensive line does a nice job in there connecting on the necessary blocks to open up the holes for us running backs,” said Redlin. “When Preble didn’t score, it gave us renewed energy.”
After a quick three and out by the Hornets and a short punt, Pulaski set up shop near midfield.
Seven plays later, Redlin scored his second touchdown of the game with a 1-yard plunge to put the Red Raiders up 14-0 at halftime.
It was all Pulaski in the second half.
The Red Raiders ran 20 plays to the Hornets 8 in the third quarter – hitting a 17-yard field goal and scoring on a 5-yard touchdown run by O’Leary to extend their lead to 24-0 with 1:49 left in the third quarter.
The Hornets recovered a fumble midway through the final quarter but were unable to put any points on the board.
It was the first time Preble was shut out at home since Green Bay East won 8-0 in 2014.
“The defense has been outstanding for us the duration of the season,” added Marsh. “The coaches have done a nice job turning them into a cohesive unit.”
Box score
Pulaski: 0, 14, 10, 7—31
Preble: 0, 0, 0, 0—0