By Murray Gleffe
Correspondent
SHAWANO — Gage Timm threw for 213 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another as Shawano defeated Seymour 46-14 in a WIAA Division 2 Level 2 playoff game Nov. 19 at Shawano High School.
The Hawks outgained the Thunder in total yardage, 388-271.
Seymour’s Carson Molle rushed for 83 yards and one touchdown, and Peyton VanDeHei completed 12-of-26 passes for 120 yards and one touchdown.
The Thunder were flagged nine times for 87 yards.
“We don’t have a big margin of error playing a team like Shawano,” said Matt Molle, Seymour head coach. “You can’t make mistakes like that.”
After a quick three-and-out by Shawano, the Thunder were again haunted by a special team’s blunder after the punt was bobbled and dropped inside their own 30-yard line.
The Hawks took advantage of the miscue with a mix of runs by Timm and running back Kaleb Lowney.
Timm eventually scored on a 2-yard plunge.
After the 2-point conversion, Shawano held an early 8-0 lead.
Another series of penalties stalled Seymour’s next drive.
The Hawks then used a steady diet on the ground, going 95 yards in 10 plays, capped off by a 5-yard touchdown run by Lowney.
The 2-point conversion was good, giving Shawano a 16-0 lead with 5:59 left until halftime.
The Hawks got the ball back a couple of minutes later after the Thunder failed to move the ball again.
This time, Timm opened up the offense and threw a nice ball to Elliott Lowney on a go-route down the right sideline for 70 yards.
The touchdown and 2-point conversion gave Shawano a 24-0 lead before halftime, but Seymour didn’t go away quietly.
VanDeHei efficiently moved the Thunder in their two-minute offense 80 yards in 11 plays.
With 1.5 seconds left on the game clock, Tyler Lesatz was the recipient of a 5-yard touchdown completion to cut the lead to 24-6 at the break after the point-after attempt failed.
“Once we got out of our way, we had a nice drive end with the catch in the back of the end zone,” Molle said. “It was a great end to the half.”
Timm was at it again to start the second half.
This time, he got a bit of good fortune when his pass hit off Seymour defender Daniel Krull’s shoulder pads and into the waning arms of Elliott Lowney for a 64-yard touchdown reception.
The 2-point conversion attempt failed to keep the margin at 30-6.
Seymour fought back with a balanced rushing/passing attack to make it 30-14.
Carson Molle scored from the one with 2:34 left in the third quarter, and Krull caught the 2-point conversion.
It would be Seymour’s final points of the season, as the Hawks added a long touchdown run and a pick-six to account for the final points.
“We were one of a few area teams that made it nine games,” said Matt Molle, reflecting on the season cut short because of COVID-19. “The guys committed hard and bought into what we needed to do to get on the football field.”
Box score
Seymour: 0, 6, 8, 0 — 14
Shawano: 8, 16, 6, 16 — 46