By Greg Bates
Correspondent
GREEN BAY – Glance at the records for both the Ashwaubenon and Green Bay Preble football teams – 2-4 – and the final game of the season was seemingly meaningless.
However, the game meant a lot for the seniors on each side.
Capping off a career with a “W” would be huge in this pandemic-altered season.
Ashwaubenon scored three – two in the fourth quarter – to pull away from Preble and earn a 21-3 victory Friday, May 7, at Gauthier Family Stadium.
Senior running back Connor Ramage stole the show for Ashwaubenon.
In his final high school game, Ramage ran for a pair of touchdowns and more than 100 yards.
“Most people call it a meaningless game, but it meant everything to us,” Ramage said. “Most people don’t get to finish their last game on a win – that changes the whole aspect of it. We’re still crying, but we have this joy in us we know we went out on a win.”
Ramage is one of 18 seniors on the roster.
“This one felt different,” Ramage said. “Most people don’t know going into the last game, this is it, and we came in serious.”
Ashwaubenon head coach Brian Ryczkowski said he was happy to end the season on a win after losing the first three games this year.
“To go into next year on a two-game win streak after the meat grinder we started the season with on our schedule – I don’t know if people understand how many people we had quarantined or how many injuries we have, you can’t use those as excuses,” Ryczkowski said. “But the next guy got an opportunity and we preached, “Be ready,” and it was fun tonight to end on a win.”
Preble head coach Dustin Gresen knows his team had plenty of shots to get the lead in a close game.
“We didn’t execute the basics,” Gresen said. “We haven’t played sound football all year from an execution standpoint and assignments, so that showed tonight. That’s the reason we weren’t able to do some things offensively and defensively.”
Ashwaubenon (3-4) pieced together its best drive of the opening half, capping a 75-yard possession, with a 10-yard touchdown run from Ramage.
Micky Kiernan was good on the extra point to make it a 7-0 game with 5:52 remaining in the opening half.
In the first drive of the second half for Preble (2-5), the team worked its way down to the Ashwaubenon 10 before it stalled.
Bennett Vine nailed a 27-yard field goal, and it was 7-3 with 7:30 on the clock in the third.
Preble had a shot to take the lead, but it had a punt on its next possession.
“I saw the same thing I saw all season – adversity strikes with quarantined kids, your injuries, and they had to bounce back,” Ryczkowski said. “We’re not going to score every drive, but I thought our defense played lights out. Those coaches do a great job in preparation. The guys battled.”
On the first play of the fourth quarter, junior running back Andrew Pludeman broke through the middle of the Preble defense and found his way to the end zone from 33 yards out.
Ramage put an exclamation point on the victory with a 25-yard touchdown scamper with 4:11 left in the game.
Kiernan hit his third point-after attempt and it was 21-3.
“I had a big run and then I was like, I’ve got to punch this one in,” said Ramage. “We’ve got to take the air out of them. That was our whole thing going into this game – we’ve just got to take the air away from them. When that happened, you felt relieved. It was just calm after that.”
Ryczkowski had nothing but praise for his running back.
“It was special he had the last one there,” Ryczkowski said. “I wouldn’t have had it any other way. He’s special. He’s a tough out. I have to tell the refs before the game to make sure he’s down because sometimes he’s not. He’s fun to watch. I’ve never seen anything quite like him.”
Ryczkowski said he was happy to see the seniors lead the way to victory.
“The seniors picked the theme, “Rise as One,” trying to take the program from the level they got it at to the next level, leaving it better than they found it,” he said. “I think they did, the way they treat each other. We wanted to try to go into next year with a win because that helps build momentum. We started the season off with a loss, but to end with a win, that usually feels good going into the next year.”
Gresen said he’s hoping to build off a team that has some solid underclassmen returning next season.
“We got some younger guys some experience and showed them what varsity football was all about at the tail end of the season,” he said. “We’ve had great effort by everyone at all levels toward the end of the season, so we’re going to build off that effort.”