By Tori Wittenbrock
Associate Sports Editor
SUAMICO – Bay Port dominated in their first postseason game, clinching a 49-0 victory over Milwaukee Riverside in their WIAA Level 1 game on Friday, Oct. 20.
“Certainly we were a better ball club. We got a lot of guys on the field and, obviously, it’s fun to host a home playoff game for the community and for the players and the seniors,” said Bay Port Head Coach Gary Westerman. “Now we’ll have a bigger test ahead of us on Friday with a road trip to Marquette. I’m feeling confident that if we get a win there we will be back on our home field, so looking forward to that opportunity.”
The game started off with a bang when Bay Port’s Charles Lawson recovered a fumble from Milwaukee at the 25-yard line on the first drive of the game.
Starting quarterback for the night, Mikey Jones then lobbed the ball into the endzone for Blake Buchinger’s first touchdown of the night, taking a 7-0 lead — after placekicker Owen Bellisle’s extra point — less than two minutes into the game.
On Milwaukee’s next drive, Lawson teamed up with Jason Winkel for a quarterback sack at the 15 on third down, forcing them to punt.
Bay Port Running Back Tevyn Montgomery was then able to run the ball in for a 6-yard touchdown to bring the Pirates’ lead to 14-0 with eight minutes left in the first quarter.
Shortly after, Montgomery was able to block the punt for Milwaukee, which they were able to recover in their own endzone for a Bay Port safety, putting another two points on the board for a 16-0 lead.
On Bay Port’s next drive, Anthony LeFebre carried his team down the field until he was able to finish it off with an 11-yard touchdown run that brought the score to 23-0.
With just nine minutes left until the half, Lawson secured himself another quarterback sack, bringing Milwaukee down at the 39-yard line for a 10 yard loss after their best drive of the half.
With eight minutes until the half, Jones carried the ball 12 yards to pick up a first down for the team, which then allowed LeFebre to secure a 32-yard touchdown run for another six points. Belislle’s missed point-after attempt kept the score at 29-0.
LeFebre tacked on another 8-yard touchdown run with 3:21 on the clock, having the Bay Port Pirates leading 36-0 going into the second half.
After a slower start to the second half with a decent Milwaukee Riverside possession, Bay Port found themselves in position to test their offense with the ball on the 29-yard line at fourth and five yards to go for the first down. However, a completion to Zachary Schtey brought them a first down and dragged them up to the 15.
Brady Moon dove into the endzone for another Bay Port touchdown shortly after with 6:23 left in the third quarter. After Bellisle’s kick pinged off the upright, the score remained 42-0.
As they neared the end of the game, the Pirates made one final dash towards the end zone, bringing them up from the 22 to the 3-yard line. Anthony Lor found a gap in Milwaukee’s defense and was able to launch himself over the goal line to bring the Pirates to a 49-0 victory at home.
Westerman said that he is still looking to focus on a few aspects of the game going forward as the team prepares to go deeper into playoffs.
“I just think we need to continue to bounce some of our guys back from injury, be balanced on offense and not allow big plays on defense,” said Westerman.
On Friday, Oct. 27, Bay Port (#3) will face the #2 seed, Marquette, who also won their first playoff game 49-0, against Sheboygan North.