Franchise ResourcesJunkyard dogs defeat Crusaders in a successful debut
West Bend, WI – On a sunny afternoon at Kettle Moraine Lutheran High School the West Bend Junkyard Dogs met the Fond Du Lac Crusaders in a National Conference showdown. The Crusaders were coming off of a tough loss the week prior, while West Bend was stepping onto the field for its first regular season Ironman Football League game, after a week 1 bye. Temperatures for the afternoon kickoff had soared into the upper 80’s. West Bend began the day’s contest by first recognizing and thanking veterans playing on each of the teams for their service, in honor of Memorial Day weekend.
Play commenced with a fumbled handoff exchange by Fond Du Lac. Junkyard Dog Defensive End Justin Stuebs recovered the fumble in the red zone, setting West Bend up with fantastic field position. After some tough running by #20 Mike Hill, West Bend Quarterback Mikey Bernal threw a ten yard strike to a diving Stu Johnson for the Dogs’ first points of the season.
Celebrating their 28th birthdays, West Bend OLB Jake Klipp and CB Mark Edmond made the stat sheet on the next series. Klipp’s strip-sack on the Fondy QB resulted in a 12 yard loss, and lead to a 3rd and long situation. Edmond read the next play perfectly, and broke to intercept a short pass. He returned the ball to the Fond Du Lac 10 yard line, setting up Bernal for another touchdown pass to Stu Johnson. West Bend Defensive End Danny Hamilton’s 3rd down sack forced Fondy to punt on the next series. The 1st quarter ended with the West Bend Junkyard Dogs leading the Fond Du Lac Crusaders 14-0.
At the beginning of the 2nd quarter, Bernal lead his offense on a 40 yard drive that stalled at the Fond Du Lac 20. After turning the ball over on downs, the first of two highlight reel catches for the Crusaders occurred when a pass intended for #87 Jonathan Kierzek was tipped into the air. Fondy TE Adam Posorkse demonstrated outstanding concentration and awareness, reeling the ball in for a big 23 yard gain. An extremely questionable Pass Interference call gave the Crusaders the ball at the West Bend 25 yard line. A pair of incomplete passes and a Justin Stuebs sack made it fourth down. Fond Du Lac decided to go for it and paid dearly when Jake Klipp notched his second sack of the game, stopping the first serious scoring threat West Bend’s defense had faced in the young season. Disaster struck when West Bend lined up to punt the ball away at the end of their next series. The snap sailed over the head of RB Chuckie McGwire, and into the end zone. The Crusaders pounced on it for a touchdown. The scoreboard read 14-7, in favor of West Bend with 7 minutes to go in the half.
On the ensuing drive, McGwire must have taken personal offense to the points scored on his team. He started off with a 25 yard run, bowling through defenders before being tripped up with nothing but open grass in front of him. Chuckie called for the ball on the next play, and proved to Head Coach Dan Greene that his faith was not misplaced when he broke through a pile of Fond Du Lac defenders and into open space. Crusader safety Shawn Anderson stepped forward and was met squarely by a running back on a mission. Chuckie smashed into the safety and planted him into the turf, then outraced #29 Chad Kollmann to cap his 35 yard jaunt with a touchdown.
The Junkyard Dogs would have the extra point blocked, making the score West Bend 20, Fond Du Lac 7. The next series would lead to yet another Crusader highlight-reel play. On a ball everyone on the field thought was overthrown, Fondy’s Jonathan Kierzek leapt above the defense and snagged the football with one outstretched hand. As he turned up-field after securing the catch, Kierzek was attacked from two sides by West Bend defensive backs Mike Harrison and Curtis Beals. The ball popped loose, and West Bend recovered. The half closed with Fond Du Lac intercepting Bernal, and Harrison intercepting the ball back on the next play. The scoreboard read 20-7, Junkyard Dogs at the half.
After a big kickoff return by Shannon King, Bernal found Mike Hicks in the middle of the field. Hicks broke the first tackle, and was finally brought down inside the Crusader 10. In conjunction with Zach Kuhn’s second personal foul for roughing the passer, the Dogs lined up at the 4 yard line. Bernal lofted a jump ball to Mike Hicks, who completed the scoring drive by out-leaping the Crusader CB for the score. When the snap on the extra-point attempt went high, Stu Johnson reeled it in and scampered through the defense for the 2-point conversion.
The Junkyard Dogs defense would start the second half hot when DE Courtney Bryan notched his first sack of the season. On the next play DE Dray Norwood sniffed out the QB option. He hit the QB to force the pitch and chases down the RB behind the line of scrimmage for a tackle for loss. The rest of the quarter was a defensive battle between the two teams, as each squad forced punts and gave no ground. West Bend LB Nathan Miner’s sack ended the quarter.
The 4th quarter showcased the defenses from each team, as neither was able to score. West Bend put together a long drive toward the end of the fourth quarter, riding the shoulders of Chuckie McGuire. He piled up 45 yards on 6 straight carries, and after another personal foul on Fond Du Lac’s Zach Kuhn, West Bend threatened to score again. Mike Hicks caught a pass and broke several tackles before lunging with the ball outstretched over the goal line. Video and photographic evidence indicate he may have scored, but when the ball was swatted out of his hands, the referees ruled it a fumble. The game ended with a final score of West Bend 28, Fond Du Lac 7.
Next week West Bend welcomes another conference showdown with the dangerous Milwaukee Venom at Kettle Moraine Lutheran on Saturday June 5 at 3:00pm, while the Crusaders host the Madison Mustangs in Fond Du Lac at 7:00pm.
