Franchise ResourcesJunkyard Dogs shut out Monarchs 26-0
West Bend, WI – Under blistering sunshine and battling oppressive heat, the Shorewood Monarchs travelled to Kettle Moraine Lutheran High School to take on the mighty Junkyard Dogs of West Bend in a 3pm nonconference game. Both teams are travelling toward the Ironman Football League playoffs, and a win for either squad would bode well for late season momentum.
The game began sloppy for both teams. On the opening offensive play the Monarchs attempted some trickeration. The quarterback took the ball to his right, and then handed off to his slot receiver on an end-around. The accelerating speedster was met and stood up at the line of scrimmage by FS Pat Casey. Legendary veteran DT Chris Thompson observed an unprotected pigskin and proceeded to strip the ball loose. He then pounced on it for his first forced fumble and fumble recovery of the season. The Dogs began with the rock deep in Shorewood territory, but on first down the comedy of errors continued. The snap exchange was fumbled and the Monarchs recovered the ball. The next play was a 10 yard Shorewood Monarch completion, spotting the ball at the Monarch 45. Shorewood then put the snap on the ground, and MLB Mike Porter of the Junkyard Dogs swooped in and covered it at the 40 yard line.
On first down QB Mikey Bernal found WR Eric Treske over the middle for a 10 yard gain. Slot WR Will Thomsen snagged a short pass for four yards on the next play. RB Chuck McGuire couldn’t find any room on an inside run, and was brought down after a yard. The Shorewood defense showed their determination and grit on third and five, catching Bernal in the backfield and bringing him down for an 11 yard loss. The sack dropped the Dogs out of field goal range, but kept them in that murky gray zone that was too close to punt from. Facing 4th and forever Head Coach Dan Greene and Offensive Assistant Tom Karthauser schemed up a pass play. Bernal booted left and, with defenders lunging for his shoelaces, lofted a deep ball to Will Thomsen. Thomsen made a spectacular leaping catch, and his 31 yard gain gave the Dogs a first down at the 5 yard line. Bernal found Treske diving for the front corner of the end zone, and after a missed point-after, the scoreboard read West Bend 6, Shorewood 0.
A monstrous kick return set the Monarch offense up at the West Bend 30 yard line, but on first down Chris “Legend” Thompson ripped his second fumble of the game loose. DE Danny Hamilton recovered the ball, giving the Dogs defense three takeaways in the first quarter. Two incompletions and a snuffed out screen forced West Bend to punt the ball away, spotting the Monarchs the ball at their own 28. The Shorewood drive began promising, with the first down completion going 13 yards and moving the sticks. On first down DE Justin Steubs and Chris Thompson combined for a vicious sack of the QB. Second down saw Steubs in on another sack, this time with a blitzing OLB Jake Klipp. On third and long the Monarchs went to their option attack, but Mike Porter forced the RB out of bounds for a loss. Shorewood’s punt would close out the quarter. The score: Dogs 6 – Monarchs 0.
Chuck McGuire took the first handoff of the second quarter off LT Ryan Kozey’s block for 15 yards. An 8 yard Bernal-Treske completion was negated by a phantom holding call. And incomplete pass on first and twenty put the Dogs in a bad spot. On second down a blitzing corner snuck up on Bernal and stripped the ball loose. Shorewood recovered it at the JYD 37 yard line. Diesel Dan Simniok overpowered the interior of the Shorewood offensive line and smothered an inside run on first down. Second down saw a West Bend 11-man team tackles for loss on a Monarch sweep. On third and long the Monarch QB was flushed from the pocket. Scrambling to keep the play alive, he gave his WR’s time to get open, and lobbed a pass 20 yards downfield for a first down at the 21. Shorewood looked to score, and a long pass into the end zone was swatted away by Pat Casey. The Shorewood QB booted left on second down. He couldn’t find an open man, so he tucked the ball and ran. Jake Klipp wrapped him up with a form tackle in the open field, making it third and 8 at the West Bend 19. Shorewood went to the air again, and the pass was defended in the end zone by all-star SS Curtis Beals, setting up 4th down. Another broken play, and another bit of sublime footwork by the Monarch QB lead to a completion at the 5 yard line, and a new set of downs.
On first down, under heavy pressure, the ball was thrown high out of the back of the end zone. Second down saw another incompletion. On third down the QB took the shotgun snap, saw all of his receivers covered, and sprinted for the corner of the end zone. He was met and tackled after a 2 yard gain by CB Alex Bernal, setting up another 4th down. Comfortable in the shotgun, the QB rolled left, then right. He planted his feet. Wound his arm back and fired a dart to a WR double-covered in the end zone. Curt Beals and Pat Casey converged, and both West Bend safeties demonstrated the logic-error in that decision by getting hands on the ball and swatting it to the ground. Although it won’t show up in the stat sheet, the next series was a fantastic one by Chuck McGuire. He began it with a 9 yard gain on a run behind RG Paul Jones and RT Warren Diedrich. On second down, the Monarchs blanketed the draw play, setting up 3rd down. The long pass over the middle from Bernal to Treske was tipped away, forcing the Dogs into their punt formation. McGuire surveyed the field, located an empty spot, and boomed a punt deep into Shorewood territory.
After the fortuitous West Bend bounce, the punted ball ended up travelling 66 yards, saving the West Bend defense from potentially dangerous field position. The first down slant completion went for four yards. An incompletion on second down was followed by a Monarch first down after a 9 yard catch over the middle. A FB run was stopped for a loss by Diesel Dan, Justin Steubs, and Jake Klipp. Shorewood’s second down pass attempt fell to the ground, and on third down the Monarch QB would be hit by Klipp as he was throwing, and his pass would fall harmlessly incomplete. At the end of two quarters the score remained 6-0 in favor of the Dogs.
The third quarter began with the West Bend Junkyard Dogs offense lining up at their own 40 yard line. Mike Hill took the handoff and hit the gap between C Scotty “Porch” Schreiner and Tristan “The Vanilla Gorilla” Manvilla. Hill churned his way through the teeth of the Monarch D, and broke free after shaking the linebackers loose. He had open field in front of him, but was caught by the speedy Shorewood CB after an inspiring 55 yard jaunt. Mikey Bernal’s pass to WR Stu Johnson would be caught in stride, and the Dogs were on the board again. After two off-sides penalties on the PAT, Bernal called his own number, and ran off-tackle for the two point conversion. The score was West Bend 14, Shorewood 0.
On the ensuing kickoff, CB Mike Harris stripped the ball loose, but during the scramble Shorewood scooped the fumble up and ran with it. The Monarchs were finally brought down in JYD territory at their 45 yard line. DE Dray Norwood notched a tackle for loss on a bubble screen to his side. Legend Thompson hunted down the QB and registered another violent sack on second down. Third down saw a scramble turn into a prayer as the QB lofted a deep ball. FS Pat Casey went airborne and knocked the pass away. A big punt return by the dangerous Ron Jones went from inside the 10 all the way back to the West Bend 40 yard line. Mike Hill’s 5 yard gain, combined with the 15 yards tacked on for a facemask penalty would be the final play of the epically short quarter of football. The West Bend Junkyard Dogs held a 14-0 lead.
Chuckie McGuire ran the ball on first down, and found daylight behind his massive and supremely talented line. He followed them for 24 yards, finally succumbing to the defenders draped all over him at the 16 yard line. Eric Treske caught a short 3 yard pass on first down, and caught another short one on second down. He broke through four different tacklers before being knocked out of bounds at the Shorewood 4. Bernal took four shots into the end zone, but his offense came away empty, as the drive stalled inside the Monarch 5 yard line. The Junkyard Dog defense came onto the field fired up, and determined to utilize the advantage they had with the Monarchs pinned against their own goal line. After a first down incompletion, OLB Jake Klipp blitzed from the edge, and combined with DE Justin Steubs to force the Monarch QB into a rushed throw. The ball hung up, and CB David Dykas zeroed in on it. He snagged his second interception in as many games, and gave the Dogs the ball at the Shorewood 41.
Mike Hill and Chuck McGuire each went for 8 yard runs to secure a first down. Will Thomsen reeled in a 10 yard catch, and then disaster struck. Bernal had a ball tipped at the line that was picked off by a Shorewood LB. The pass on first down bounced off of the knees of the Shorewood WR. A sweep was forced out of bounds after a 4 yard loss by Junkyard Dog Alex Bernal. On third down, the elusive QB tucked the ball and went 7 yards before being dropped by OLB Nathan Miner. On 4th down CB Anthoni Parr deflected the pass, giving the Dogs the ball back well into Shorewood territory. Smelling blood in the water, the Junkyard Dog offense started their run toward the end zone. McGuire ran the ball for 8 and 5 yards. Big Mike Hicks caught a 9 yard pass. Chuck ran the ball for 6 to the 6. On first and goal Mikey zipped one in to his TE, as Hicks caught his first score of the day. The PAT failed, and the score was 20-0 in favor of the Dogs.
On the ensuing kickoff, the return man started gambling and losing ground, hoping to find a seam to rip off a big gain. Curtis Beals wrangled the returner in, and the ball was spotted at the Shorewood 3 yard line. The Dogs came out primed again, but on first down the Monarchs got the breathing room they needed with a 21 yard completion. DE Danny Hamilton knocked down the ball on first down, and second down lead to an incomplete pass. A called draw on third down resulted in an 8 yard gain. On 4th and 2 the West Bend defensive backs shined. A long developing play came about as the Monarch QB scrambled around, trying to buy his WR’s precious seconds to get open. Eventually feeling pressure from Chris Thompson and Jake Klipp, the QB couldn’t find an open man, and was forced to wobble an incomplete pass to the turf, turning the ball over on downs. Two incompletions from the Shorewood 32 lead to a long pass from Bernal to his TE, who he found streaking into the end zone.
The Dogs fourth score of the day came on Mike Hicks’ second TD reception. The XP was blocked, and the score was 26-0. Shorewood took the ball over with less than 2 minutes to play. A 9 yard completion on first down started the drive off. On second down, Jake Klipp hit the QB as he threw, and the ball fell incomplete. Showing off his athleticism, the Monarch QB scrambled for a huge 25 yard gain on third down, but on the next play, he was strip-sacked by Dray Norwood. Danny Hamilton pounced on the ball, and the Dogs were able to kneel out the clock for the win. The final score: West Bend Junkyard Dogs 26 – Shorewood Monarchs 0.
