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Wolfram field goal lifts Notre Dame over Kewaunee

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By Josh Staloch

Correspondent


GREEN BAY – An early 14-0 deficit couldn’t stop the Notre Dame Academy football from winning its first home game of the season Friday, April 9.

Aiden Wolfram booted a 41-yard field goal with 11 seconds remaining to give the Tritons a 22-20 victory over Kewaunee.

The win kept Notre Dame (3-0) undefeated on the season.

“It was tough – I was cramping in the third quarter,” said Wolfram. “This was my best kick. It feels great to get the win and keep our record undefeated.”

Kewaunee served notice it came to play on its first snap of the game.

Quarterback Mitchell Thompson connected with Alex Rohr for a 65-yard touchdown.

The Storm defense followed suit, making a mess out of Notre Dame’s first possession with an Anthony Jerabek interception along the Tritons’ sideline.

From there, Kewaunee hit paydirt with a gamble on fourth-and-one.

Jack Severin broke through the line and took it 59 yards to the end zone.

“They got on us early, but we stuck with the plan defensively,” said Notre Dame head coach Mike Rader. “It took a while for our offense to get moving. You’ve got to keep trying and keep pushing until the end of the game because you never know which play will make the difference.”

The Tritons got on the board in the second quarter with a methodic drive that started at the Kewaunee 35.

Braedon Curtin uncorked the first big run of the series with a 24-yard pickup before Will Zellner scored from five yards out to cut the deficit to 14-7 after the extra point.

A sack from Noah Jaeckels helped Notre Dame get the ball back later in the second quarter.

The home team made the most of the good field position by punching it in from the 18-yard line on a run from Zellner.

A blocked point-after try sent the teams into halftime with Kewaunee up 14-13.

Both teams went scoreless in the third, as the rain started to come down steadily, but the Tritons got a big play to begin the fourth quarter.

Their defense blocked a punt to set the offense up at Kewaunee’s 37.

Again, the Notre Dame offense made the most of the gift and picked the Kewaunee defense apart.

Zellner broke free on a first-down run for 23 yards and the go-ahead score (19-14).

The two-point conversion attempt failed.

The Storm came back with a drive of their own, though.

With Severin racking up bruising yards on the ground, Thompson was able to connect with Rohr for another score, making it 20-19 Kewaunee following another failed two-point attempt.

This set up a wild finish.

Notre Dame began its final drive of the game from its own 35 with about three minutes to play.

The Tritons used Zellner’s legs to move the ball downfield, finding success against the tired Storm defense.

Notre Dame had to use all of its timeouts to get into position.

When a third-and-three run failed to produce a new set of downs with time running out, the field goal unit rushed onto the field.

The snap was good and Wolfram connected perfectly, as the Kewaunee defenders were bearing down on him, putting the ball squarely through the uprights for the victory.

“I’ve never had a problem with Aiden kicking the ball,” Rader said. “He hasn’t had lots of opportunities to be in that position, but I know he wants to. He wants to be in the position to win the game. From where we’re at, that’s a position we’re going to be comfortable putting him in every time.”

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