By Rich Palzewic
Contributing Writer
DE PERE – West De Pere quarterback Duke Shovald went over 5,000 career passing yards in the
Phantoms’ 21-13 Fox River Classic Conference (FRCC) victory over Pulaski on Sept. 15.
The senior Shovald threw for a touchdown and ran for another to help West De Pere (4-1
overall, 3-0 FRCC) win its third straight game.
“It’s nice, but numbers are numbers – we’re looking for wins,” Shovald said. “As of right now,
the number doesn’t mean much.”
On the opening drive of the game, barely a minute into the contest, running back Evan Ott
scampered 22 yards for the game’s first score.
One play earlier, Shovald hit wide receiver Langdon Nordgaard on a 43-yard pass play.
After Brandon Schaefer’s extra point, the Phantoms led 7-0 early.
Things stayed that way until late in the first half.
After a Pulaski (1-4, 1-2) fumble, West De Pere took over at the 47-yard line with about four
minutes remaining before halftime.
Nine plays later, Shovald ran in a score from 15 yards out to make it 14-0 after Schaefer’s extra
point.
“A lot of people might not know this, but Duke is a great runner, too,” West De Pere Coach
Chris Greisen said. “We don’t run him a lot – we’re strategic with it. That was a huge score right
before half. He always wants to run the ball, and he got his chance right before halftime.”
The Red Raiders marched down the field on the opening drive of the second half, but an
interception by Collin Jindra at the six-yard line thwarted the drive.
After a Phantoms punt, Pulaski went 72 yards in seven plays to draw within a score, 14-6, with
just more than two minutes left in the third quarter.
Miles Wippel’s point-after attempt was blocked.
On the next drive, Shovald hit Joseph Riesenberg on a 66-yard TD pass to bump the lead to 21-6
after the extra point.
“We were a little sloppy tonight with the ball, but when you play Pulaski, it’s always a slobber
knocker,” Greisen said. “They had a great game plan, but we made some adjustments. Duke
made some nice throws, but we weren’t quite as efficient on offense as we need to be.”
The Red Raiders made it a game late when Ethan Schmidt hit Jacob Heston on a two-yard TD
pass.
The Phantoms were able to run the clock out on their next drive to seal the game.
“It’s like any other team, you try to take away the opposition’s best plays and players, and
that’s what we tried to do (defensively),” Pulaski Coach Jerad Marsh said.
Despite the loss, Marsh said he was proud of his team.
“Ultimately, you’re judged by your wins and losses, but we showed some growth tonight,” he
said. “We have a relatively inexperienced team, but they were energetic on the sidelines and
we showed some urgency. Against Bay Port (Sept. 7), we put a good first half together, but I
thought tonight was as close to a four-quarter game as we’ve had – it was nice to see.”
West De Pere travels to De Pere on Sept. 22, while the Red Raiders travel to Ashwaubenon.
Shovald was 11-of-18 passing for 218 yards.
Nordgaard grabbed four balls for 85 yards receiving to lead the Phantoms.
Spencer Hakes gained 120 yards on the ground for Pulaski.