Rough start for Sauk Prairie

On one hand, Sauk Prairie’s football team was thrilled to begin its season last Friday. After months of uncertainty, the Eagles were just happy to have football back. On the other hand, this certainly wasn’t the debut they were looking for. Visiting Baraboo scored 14 fourth quarter points and pulled away for a 21-3 victory in the season-opener for both teams. “I thought we did some things well, but need to be more consistent,” Eagles coach Clay Iverson said. “Baraboo is pretty good so give them credit. “Second we have to improve and I have to do a better job coaching them.” A year ago, Sauk Prairie defeated Baraboo, 16-3. This year, though, the Eagles managed just seven first downs and 103 total yards. Sauk Prairie quarterback Ethan Gibbs completed 6-of-11 passes for 88 yards. But the Eagles managed just 15 rushing yards on 23 carries (0.7 average). Baraboo quarterback Luna Larson had a huge night, accounting for 230 total yards and two touchdowns. Larson ran for 174 yards on 17 carries (10.2) and had rushing scores of 54 and 4 yards. Larson had a 54-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter to give Baraboo a 7-0 lead. The Eagles pulled within 7-3 after a 35-yard field goal by Carson Brickl with 7:38 left in the second quarter. Sauk Prairie’s defense was stout, and the game remained tight until early into the fourth quarter. But Larson had a 4-yard touchdown run early in the final period, then senior Campbell Koseor had a 14-yard touchdown late in the game to ice things for the Thunderbirds. Baraboo finished the game with 280 rushing yards on 43 carries (6.5). “The first half set up the second half,” Baraboo coach Steve Turkington told Capital Newspapers. “We were running the ball a lot and it just wore them down in the fourth quarter. That’s kind of our game plan all along. We’ve got a pretty big offensive line so we can wear teams down like that.” Iverson thought his defense played well overall, and spotlighted the play of sophomore linebacker Nolan Vils and senior defensive back Owen Deihl. He also noted that sophomore kicker Carson Brickl had a strong night. Overall, though, Iverson knows his team has a long ways to go. “I thought defensively we played pretty well,” Iverson said. “We have to tackle a bit better and get off blocks, limit big plays but we battled and gave ourselves a chance. “We are just trying to get better. That is always our goal.” • On deck: Sauk Prairie is at Reedsburg Friday at 7 p.m. The Beavers dropped their season-opener at Portage, 13-7.   Sept. 25 BARABOO 21,  SAUK PRAIRIE 3 Baraboo ………7  0  0  14 — 21 Sauk Prairie …… 0  3  0  0 — 3 First quarter B: Larson 54 run (Burgess kick) Second quarter SP: Brickl 35 field goal, 7:38 Fourth quarter B: Larson 4 run (Burgess kick) B: Koseor 14 run (Burgess kick)   TEAM STATISTICS First downs — B 17, SP 7. Rushing (Att.-Yds.) — B 43-280; SP 23-15. Passing yards — B 46; SP 88. Passes (Comp.-Att.-Int.) — B 5-10-1; SP 6-11-0. Penalties-yards — B 6-27; SP 4-35. Fumbles-lost — B 0; SP 0.   INDIVIDUAL LEADERS Rushing — B: Larson 17-174. Passing — B: Larson 5-10; SP: Gibbs 6-11-0-88. Receiving — B: Nachtigal 1-20.