MG Rolls Past Sun Prairie West 42–0 in Complete Week 7 Performance

mgfootball

Oct 4

6 min read

Five starting possessions. Five touchdowns. A 35–0 lead before halftime. A defense that allowed just 75 total yards.

Monona Grove left little doubt Friday night.

The Silver Eagles overwhelmed Sun Prairie West in every phase, scoring touchdowns on each of their first five possessions, triggering a running clock before the midpoint of the second quarter and finishing off a 42–0 road victory.

The final score was dominant. The way MG got there may have been even more encouraging. Veterans returning from injury immediately made an impact. Younger players stepped into new roles. Seven different receivers caught passes. Eight players carried the football. The defense produced five sacks, eight tackles for loss and an interception.

The reserves played most of the second half and preserved the shutout. It was not a night built around one or two players. Impact came from everywhere.

Five Possessions. Five Touchdowns.

Makai Fowler returned the opening kickoff, and MG immediately went to work. Jaxon Zukowski connected with Hunter Meyer on the first offensive play.

Carson Schoenherr carried on the second. From there, the Silver Eagles steadily marched down the field before Schoenherr finished the opening possession with a one-yard touchdown run at 8:59. Hans Haffele added the extra point and MG was ahead 7–0.

Even that opening drive showed some of the depth MG would rely on throughout the night. When starting guard Brody Thomsen was injured, junior Austin Stubblefield stepped in and took the first varsity snaps of his career with the first-team offense.

The offense never lost its rhythm.

There was another encouraging development on the second possession: Jay Ramsey was back. Ramsey entered the season as MG’s No. 1 running back but was injured on the first drive of Week 1, returned in Week 2 and was injured again on the opening kickoff. Against West, the senior finally returned to the rotation and immediately gave MG another combination of speed and quickness in the backfield. Ramsey finished with 35 yards on six carries, averaging 5.8 yards per attempt.

That second drive also showed how dangerous MG’s passing game can be when defenses have to account for everyone. Zukowski hit Nic Busalacchi on consecutive completions, moving the Silver Eagles all the way to the one-yard line. Zukowski finished the drive himself with his first rushing touchdown of the night. Busalacchi would finish with two receptions, but they went for 56 yards—an average of 28 yards per catch.

MG’s third possession provided another glimpse of a player becoming increasingly important as the season progresses.

Fowler caught a bubble pass as the Silver Eagles continued working the senior back into a larger role during his second week back from a preseason injury. Fowler, an All-Conference running back and defensive back last season, finished with three receptions and handled the opening kickoff return.

His return gives MG another explosive athlete who can affect the game in multiple phases.

Then Zukowski struck again, breaking loose for a 24-yard touchdown run.

His second rushing touchdown made it 21–0.

His third came soon after.

Zukowski scored from 13 yards out, and what had begun as a methodical opening drive had quickly become an avalanche.

Sun Prairie West went three-and-out again.

MG answered with its biggest offensive play of the night.

Zukowski dropped back and found senior Henry Parrott downfield for a 68-yard touchdown pass.

Haffele converted again, making it 35–0 with 9:44 still remaining in the second quarter. The running clock started. Five possessions. Five touchdowns. Thirty-five points.

A Dominant and Efficient Offense

MG’s offense was efficient from the opening possession and spread production throughout the lineup.

The Silver Eagles completed 11 of 14 passes to seven different receivers, while eight players carried the football. By the end of the night, MG had produced 397 yards of offense—202 passing and 195 rushing—while averaging 6.7 yards per rushing attempt.

Jaxon Zukowski completed 6 of 8 passes for 161 yards and a touchdown while adding 65 rushing yards and three scores on six carries.

Around him, the production came from everywhere. Henry Parrott turned his lone reception into a 68-yard touchdown, while Nic Busalacchi produced 56 yards on two catches. Hunter Meyer added two receptions for 27 yards, and Makai Fowler caught three passes as he continued working his way back into the offense.

Steven Brumm contributed an 18-yard run and a 12-yard reception, while Carson Bauler added a 23-yard catch. Carson Schoenherr scored the opening touchdown, and Jay Ramsey made a productive return to the backfield.

The offense continued moving after the starters came out.

Sophomore quarterback Bryson Halverson completed 5 of 6 passes for 41 yards and added 14 yards rushing, while Nysiah McKinney also received carries as MG continued spreading opportunities throughout the roster.

The result was an offense that did not rely on one player or one approach. MG moved the ball through the air, on the ground and with contributions from throughout the depth chart.

West Tries Something Different. MG Has the Answer.

Sun Prairie West came into the night with an unusual plan. The Wolves committed almost completely to the passing game, repeatedly using five-wide receiver sets. At times, they lined up four receivers to the wide side of the field and only one to the boundary/

West essentially abandoned its rushing attack altogether and finished with -3 rushing yards on the night. It didn't matter what formation they used. MG adjusted immediately.

Cole Kessenich set the tone on the first possession with a pass breakup and a third-down tackle, helping force a three-and-out.

On West’s next series, Colten Jenkins came on a blitz and generated enough pressure to force an intentional-grounding penalty. Deangelo “D-Lo” Clay followed with another negative play, eventually leaving West facing fourth-and-33 from near its own goal line.

Clay seemed to spend much of the night in the West backfield.

The senior finished with five tackles, four tackles for loss and two sacks, one of the most disruptive defensive stat lines of the season for MG.

Junior Santana Jackson was just as difficult to block.

He recorded five tackles, two tackles for loss and two sacks, including back-to-back sacks to finish the first half. Devaron Green added another sack and tackle for loss.

Altogether, the Silver Eagles piled up five sacks and eight tackles for loss.

And just like the offense, the defensive production came from throughout the roster.

Kessenich finished with four tackles and a tackle for loss. Jenkins recorded four tackles. Hunter Meyer added four tackles to everything he was already contributing on offense and special teams. Kyle Carey recorded three tackles.

Austin Donkersgoed, Gavin Weiss, Landry Ganshert, Aiden Dennis, Nysiah McKinney, Daniel Strohbusch, Dom Melone and Alonzo Garcia all appeared in the defensive stat sheet as MG continued rotating players.

By the time it was over, Sun Prairie West had completed only 10 of 25 passes for 81 yards. Even against an offense designed to spread the field, get the ball out and force defenders to make plays in space, MG never allowed West to establish any sustained rhythm.

And late in the game, the secondary added the takeaway. Senior Zander Vosberg intercepted a third-down pass with 6:43 remaining, putting another exclamation point on the shutout.

Vosberg also finished with three tackles.

Reserves Finish What the Starters Began

By the second half, the running clock was moving quickly and MG’s reserves were handling most of the work. Junior Kyle Carey scored from two yards out with 11:23 remaining in the fourth quarter, and Haffele converted his sixth extra point to produce the final 42–0 margin.

Carey finished with 29 yards and a touchdown on five carries, giving MG its fifth rushing touchdown of the night. Special teams quietly added another layer to the complete performance.

Haffele finished 6-for-6 on extra points. Diego Adame handled six kickoffs.

And Meyer was excellent in the return game, bringing back three punts for 57 yards, an average of 19 yards per return. That gave Meyer one of the broadest impact games of the night: two receptions for 27 yards, four tackles and 57 punt-return yards.

Impact Players Everywhere

The most encouraging part of Week 7 may not have been the 42-point margin.

It was the depth behind it. MG got contributions from throughout the roster, welcomed key players back into larger roles and continued functioning efficiently even after the starters left the field. On Friday night, it seemed like everyone got involved—and nearly everything worked.

The final numbers captured just how complete the night was:

397 yards of offense for Monona Grove.

75 total yards for Sun Prairie West.

Five sacks.

Eight tackles for loss.

One interception.

No turnovers.

Six touchdowns.

Zero points allowed.