By Murray Gleffe
Correspondent
GREEN BAY – The Green Bay East football team committed eight turnovers but still defeated Green Bay West 16-6 at West High School Sept. 21.
The 114th meeting between the teams saw West commit eight turnovers as well.
The Red Devils (1-4 overall, 1-4 Bay Conference) have now defeated the Wildcats 20 of the past 22 games.
“The nerves were there, but I was pleased with how well our defense played,” said East head coach Shaun Behrend. “Our offense put them in tough situations, but guys like Christian Toonen and Brendan Kilpatrick stood out and made some big plays.”
The Red Devils had 249 yards of total offense to the Wildcats’ 76.
East took the opening drive of the game 51 yards in five plays capped by quarterback Riley Jensen finding Alex Aoki in the end zone from 13 yards for a 7-0 lead.
On the flip side, the Wildcats (0-5, 0-4) punted twice and threw an interception in the first quarter while mustering only 10 yards of total offense.
With the Red Devils holding a seven-point lead to start the second quarter, Toonen recovered a fumble after West quarterback Jack Hemery lost the ball on a big hit.
Two plays later, Jensen found freshman receiver Talen Leuthoudom in the back of the end zone for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead.
“I didn’t think I was going to catch it at first,” said Leuthoudom. “I’m not going to lie – I stuck my hands up there and made the grab.”
Near the end of the first half, the teams exchanged turnovers in droves.
With a minute to go before halftime, East tacked on a safety for a 16-0 lead at the break.
The second half saw four punts, nine turnovers and a lone touchdown.
The Wildcats capitalized on a muffed punt by the Red Devils at the 5-yard line.
West fullback Jalen Brown crashed through the line on the next play to trim East’s lead to 16-6.
“For me, football has to be fun,” said West head coach John Saharsky. “Last year, this same group went through a 70-0 loss to East, and we have the same kids back. I couldn’t be more proud of the emotion and fight they showed today.”
Down the stretch, both teams had scoring opportunities inside each other’s red-zone, but each drive ended with a miscue.
“We talked to the seniors about this – keeping the winning streak alive,” added Behrend. “My neighbor Lee still talks about this game and what a special moment this Green Bay high school game is. To get a win and to do it on the road this year was special.”
West has lost 33 consecutive games dating back to the 2015 season.
Editor’s note: Look for a photo gallery of game to be posted soon.
Box score
Green Bay East: 7, 9, 0, 0—16
Green Bay West: 0, 0, 6, 0—6