Franchise ResourcesSpartans prevail over Venom 27-26
Wauwatosa, WI – On a beautiful Memorial Day Saturday, the Wauwatosa Spartans played host to the Milwaukee Venom in the Spartans' home opener at Raabe Stadium. The Spartans came in licking their wounds after a loss to the Madison Mustangs in the season opener, and the Venom came in (1-0) after handling the Greendale Panthers at Hart Park in their season opener.
The game itself started in opposite directions for teams, as the Spartans' first two offensive series ended in turnovers, and the Venom were able to score on their first possession, making it 6-0. But the score remained 6-0 until half thanks to a pair of stingy defenses. The second half started much the same way, and the Venom took a 12-0 after scoring on its second possession of the half. The Venom would keep the lead well into the third quarter.
Finally, the Spartan offense came alive, when quarterback Tony Henner found wide receiver Raymon Porchia in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown, which narrowed the Venom lead to 12-7. But the Venom immediately struck back on a long pass of their own increasing their lead to 19-7. Henner then found wide receiver Chris Clarke in the end zone to cut the lead to 19-14. But after a defensive stand by the Spartan defense, another costly turnover gave the Venom a defensive touchdown on a long fumble return, and a seemingly insurmountable 26-14 lead late in the fourth quarter.
However, the Spartans finally gelled, albeit a little late, and took over. It started when Henner finished another drive with a pass to his brother, tight end Jim Henner for a score, and a 26-20 deficit. On the ensuing series, the Venom managed to drive into Spartan territory, but then Spartan cornerback Jaarel Bell stepped in front of a pass and returned it 60 yards to the Venom 3 yard line, with less than two minutes on the clock. From there, the Venom defense stiffened again and forced a 4th down and goal from the one yard line with less than 20 seconds remaining. After a timeout, running back Cedric McFadden ran wide left and straight into the end zone, giving the Spartans a one-point lead after a failed two-point conversion.
Spartans kicker Paul Schroeder attempted a squib kick, which was recovered by the Spartans. However, the play was brought back on an offside’s call, and the Spartans were forced to re-kick. This time, Schroeder kicked a line drive into the Venom front line, and the ball bounced off a Venom player, and went backwards where it was recovered by cornerback Mike Sewart to preserve the victory.
The Spartans moved to (1-1) and travel to Beloit for its first conference match-up against the Rock County Gladiators. The Venom fall to (1-1), and travel to Kettle Moraine Lutheran High School for a National Conference showdown against the West Bend Junkyard Dogs.
In recognition of Memorial Day, the Spartans partnered with the military charity, anysoldier.com, which provides care packages to our troops serving overseas. Proceeds from the gate, the sale of Support our Troops wristbands and 10 percent of the night's revenue at sponsor bar Brewski's Sports Club were all being collected for delivery to the charity.
