BY RICH PALZEWIC
SPORTS EDITOR
PULASKI – The highly anticipated matchup between the Bay Port and Pulaski football teams turned one-sided.
The Pirates’ defense held the Red Raiders to 188 total yards of offense Sept. 14 en route to a 28-0 Fox River Classic Conference victory at Pulaski High School.
An estimated crown of 4,500 witnessed the game.
Junior running back Isaiah Gash rushed 33 times for 193 yards and two scores, while quarterback Jake Plummer added a pair of rushing touchdowns.
Bay Port (5-0 overall, 5-0 FRCC) beat Pulaski for the seventh straight season and bumped its conference winning streak to 23 games dating back to the 2015 season.
“Our defense played lights out, so I’m really happy for them,” said Bay Port head coach Gary Westerman. “Obviously to not give up a touchdown the whole night, but also to keep the big plays at a minimum.”
Dylan Hendricks, the reigning FRCC player of the year, came into the contest averaging 211 yards rushing per game for the Red Raiders, but the Pirates held him to a respectable 148 yards on 23 carries.
Bay Port kept control of the clock for an impressive 33 minutes, which led to 421 total yards. The Pirates ran a whopping 70 plays compared to 35 for Pulaski.
“Offensively, it was just ground and pound,” Westerman said. “Pulaski had a good scheme against us. That made us adjust, but hats off to our kids – they made some plays. We probably could have thrown the ball more, but we just wanted to keep that clock moving.”
Bay Port came out on the first drive of the game and went 65 yards in 13 plays to take a 7-0 lead. Plummer, who rushed 16 times for 60 yards, scored on a 5-yard run halfway through the quarter.
“That’s exactly what we wanted to do,” added Westerman. “We won the toss and took the ball.”
The Pirates would score again before intermission when Gash plunged in from the one with five minutes to go in the second quarter.
Plummer and Gash would each add a touchdown run in the third and fourth quarters respectively to end the scoring.
“My line practiced hard all week,” said Gash. “It really just showed on the field. I just wanted to run hard and hold on to the football. Our defense played a great game and that kept the offense on the field.”
Plummer was 11-13 passing for 122 yards, with 107 of those going to receiver Cody Lindquist.
Lindquist made a pair of fabulous catches, including a 33-yard reception where he went up and over a Pulaski defender to haul in a difficult ball.
Junior backup quarterback Andrew Thomas also completed a 32-yard pass and rushed five times for 16 yards.
Defensively, junior defensive back Logan Geissler had his second interception in as many weeks and Keyshawn Derritt recovered a fumble.
Bay Port will get another challenge Sept. 21 when they host Green Bay Notre Dame (4-1) at 7:00.
Box Score
Bay Port: 7, 7, 7, 7 – 28
Pulaski: 0, 0, 0, 0 – 0
De Pere bounces back: The Redbirds (3-2) thumped winless Sheboygan North (0-5) 60-13 to improve their postseason playoff hopes.
De Pere led 40-7 at halftime.
The Redbirds got good balance on offense in gaining 239 yards on the ground and 234 through the air.
Quarterback Landon Kirby was 8-15 passing for 163 yards and two touchdowns while running back Caelan Markusen rushed for 62 yards on 10 carries.
Markusen scored a pair of rushing touchdowns and Kirby added one.
Wide receiver Ben Callaway caught three balls for 108 yards.
Callaway and Max Minor each caught touchdown receptions.
Elijah Wright led the defense with six tackles.
De Pere will get another huge challenge when they travel to Pulaski Sept. 21 to take on the Red Raiders.
Box Score
Sheyboygan North: 0, 7, 0, 6 – 13
De Pere: 16, 24, 8, 12 – 60