1966 LA CROSSE AQUINAS

October 7, 1966.  Halfback Steve Pelot of Wisconsin Rapids Assumption ran for 135 yards on 23 carries while scoring two rushing touchdowns and running for three extra point conversions in a 21-7 win.  Going into the game against La Crosse Aquinas, Assumption was ranked #6 in the AP press poll while Aquinas was ranked #5.  (In the UPI poll Aquinas was #6 and Assumption was #11).   While outgaining Assumption 264-235 in yardage, the Aquinas Blugolds turned the ball over four times, two that set up Royals touchdowns.  Another hero for Assumption was Dick Hyland, brother of future Fond du Lac St. Mary’s Springs coach, Bob Hyland.  Dick punted six times for a 48.6 average, including one of 78 yards.  A tight end, Dick also caught two passes for 42-yards including the first score of the game, a 29-yarder.  With the win Assumption moved up to the #3 position in the AP.  Aquinas dropped to the #16 spot.  The two schools would end up in the final AP statewide poll with Aquinas ranked #8 and Assumption #10 after they lost their final game.

The Central Wisconsin Catholic Conference in 1966 was a very tough league.  Early in the season Eau Claire Regis, Marshfield Columbus and Prairie du Chien Campion were all in the hunt for the conference title along with Aquinas and Assumption.  Hoping for their second unbeaten season in the school’s 15-year history, the Royals were denied that fete as they fell 14-7 in their final game against Columbus to finish 8-1-0.  The game featured a battle of minds by two HOF coaches…Walt Kroll of Columbus and Don Penza of Assumption.  Penza was successful at the Wisconsin Rapids school, then took time away to go into politics before moving to Illinois and becoming a HOF coach at Marion Central Catholic in Woodstock IL.  Kroll had a 219-99-2 career record and two WISAA titles.  Penza was 68-18-2 at Assumption and 90-18, including three Class 2A state titles at Marion. 

Why mention all this you may ask?  More on other coaches later but first, the head man at Aquinas and the rest of the season.

John Michuta was 150-86-11 in 33-years of coaching football (1940-71).  His final team was 10-1 and the WISAA state football runner-up.  In 1949 the Blugolds went 9-0-0 and tied with Racine St. Catherine’s for the state Catholic title.  John’s 1961 team was also undefeated posting a 7-0-1 record.  It was often said that Michuta’s football teams only had 10-plays and everybody knew them…players and opponents.  He would still beat an opponent because he drilled the basics into his men.  He was much like Green Bay packer coach Vince Lombardi.

As a basketball coach at Aquinas (1941-64), he was 327-200 with five state private school titles.  A rough and tumble man, Michuta was a champion boxer at Notre Dame and a starting tackle on the 1933-35 Irish football teams.   He coached football, first at West Bend in 1938-39 and then from 1940-71 at Aquinas.  John was honored as a member of the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1980.  1966 may have been Coach John Michuta’s best team although they weren’t undefeated.  At one time or another he coached just about every sport at Aquinas.  When he stepped down as head football coach in June of 1972 he stayed on as a biology teacher and golf coach. And yes, golf was a fall sort and at one time he split duties coaching both sports during the same season.

John Michuta…WFCA profile photo

The Blugolds opened the season with a convincing 47-6 win over Chippewa Falls McDonell. Quarterback John Pincsak was the star as he went 12-7-0-197-2 passing along with two rushing touchdowns.   Next was Prairie du Chien Campion who fell 34-0 and then a 26-6 victory over Marshfield Columbus.  All three opponents were good teams and injuries would take a toll on all of them but if they could just get things going, they could be contenders for the CWCC title.  After three weeks Aquinas was 3-0-0 and the other three schools were 2-1-0.  Then their seasons fell apart as they weren’t up to vying for the conference crown.

La Crosse Tribune, November 23, 1966

Next up was city foe La Crosse Logan who held Aquinas to 140points for the first three quarters before their offense exploded for three touchdowns.  In the 35-0 victory the Blugolds outgained Logan 524-yards to 123-yards.  Workhorse fullback Mike Weber gained 148-yards on 23-carries to lead the way before a crowd of nearly 5,000 fans.  The all-time series record moved to 16-16-1 with the Aquinas win.  Coming into the game the Logan Rangers were 1-1-1 having given up only four touchdowns on the year, so far.  Having gained 533, 478 and 326-yards in their first three games the Blugolds were a juggernaut on offense to be reckoned with.  And their defense was also tough. 

But now came the showdown with Assumption and the mistakes proved costly as noted above.

With the loss the team needed to regroup.  Their next foe was La Crosse Central for the city title.  If Aquinas won, it would be their 13tn in the city-series going back to 1934.  The game also featured an unusual situation.  Senior linebacker Dan Gordon would face his brother, junior guard/defensive end Duane now playing for Central after transferring following the previous year.  Three starters on defense were either out or were doubtful as to playing much for Aquinas.  The game was played on Saturday, but the Blugolds needed a win to keep pace any chance of coming back and tying Assumption for the SWCC title.  The Royals played Thursday night and beat Stevens Point Pacelli 40-7 to stay undefeated.  Aquinas was up to the task against Central, keyed by Mike Weber’s 140 rushing yards and three touchdowns in the 27-0 win.  Central fell to 1-5-0.  The Gordon’s each had six tackles.  Now 5-1-0 the Blugolds still had a chance for the CWCC title.

With three games left Aquinas was on a mission.  They wanted to make a statement to the conference and the state.  Next up was Wausau Newman and the Blugolds manhandled the Fighting Cardinals to the tune of 47-13.  Despite having 125-yards in penalties, 3 turnovers and three touchdowns called back, Aquinas picked up 347-yards rushing.  John Lynch returned one of three team passes that were intercepted for a 51-yard touchdown with just 19-seconds left on the clock.  Next up was Stevens Point Pacelli, and the game was the biggest blowout of the season, a school record 70-0 win.  Mike Weber was again the top scorer in the game as he gained 81-yards with three touchdowns.  Prior to 1969 non-kicking extra points were worth one-point.  Weber scored five extra points on runs.  At this time, as far as I can determine, this is a state record for one-point non-kicking conversions in a single game.

How strong was the Blugolds ground game against Pacelli?  Besides Weber’s 81-yards of the 439 rushing yards (Plus 103 yards passing, 542 total yards) the team gained, Tom Wuensch lead the way with 104-yards, followed by Dave Hyde gaining 88-yards, Dan Rathburn picked up 66-yards and Henry Funk chipped in with 63.  Greg Hilbert touched the ball six times with three of those carries as one point conversion runs.  The defense came through in a big way allowing three first downs on 75-yards rushing and zero passing.  Mike Cahill and Dan Stanek each blocked a punt as Pacelli averaged only 14-yards on seven punts.  The game was played on a Friday night.  Saturday Marshfield Columbus upset Wisconsin Rapids Assumption, 14-7 so Aquinas could clinch a tie for the SWSS title with a win the next week against Eau Claire Regis.  At this point Assumption ended the season with a 6-1-0 conference record while Aquinas had a 5-1-0 record going into the finale.

With all this offense so far could the Blugolds get better?  They could.  In the final win, a 48-0 blowout over Regis, the teams netted 609 total yards, an unhear- of total for this era.  The Ramblers could only muster 73 yards.  Mike Weber scored two touchdowns and three extra points to end the season with 121 total points scored, a new La Crosse City record.  His 86 conference points surpassed the 73 scored by Regis halfback Brad House.  Halfback Tom Wuensch scored twice, had another long run nullified by a clipping penalty and finished with 162yards on 12 carries plus scoring an extra point.  Halfback/receiver Dan Rathburn caught five passes for 112 yards and gained 77yards on the ground in 11 carries and an had a 14-yard touchdown run and an extra point.  Leading the team was quarterback John Pincsak whom was six for eight and 117 yards passing along with a TD pass.  In this game he set a school single season record, ending with 1,047 yards passing. 

As a team the Blugolds set school records with 3,017 yards on the ground, five-yards short of the school record.   They passed for a school record 1,069 yards for a total of 4.091 yards or a 454.56 average.  This was by far better than any team in the state that year.  The team was well rounded with seniors and juniors.  Senior John Pincsak only had a .376 completion percentage due to many dropped passes.  If you look at his first and final game totals the receivers held on to the ball much better.  If they had done so in the other games his and the team's offensive totals would have been even better, and they would have scored even more points.

This ends the long recap of Aquinas High School, 1966 but I promised more.

 Some of the other great coaches in the CWCC besides John Michuta, Walt Kroll and Don Penza in 1966 were:

As an assistant coach in 1966 for Stevens Point Pacilli, Bob Raczak was waiting his turn and in 1967 he moved up to the head coach position.  After a 19-game losing streak took the Cardinals to a 4-5-0 record in his first year.  He would enter the WFCA HOF with a career record of 248-128-2.  Bob’s Cardinal’s would earn 11 conference titles, two WISAA championships and be runner-up six times.

Bill Donahue at Eau Claire Regis went 5-3-1 in 1966 and 41-16-6 in 7-seasons before he left the coaching profession in 1967 to earn a master's and then a Doctorate degree at an out of state university.  If he had stayed on as the head coach of the Ramblers, he might have earned a spot on the HOF. 

At Prairie du Chien Campion, Louis G. Friedrichs was completing a 20+ distinguished coaching career.  L.G., after starting as a halfback at Oklahoma took the head coaching spot in 1941 at Milwaukee Marquette University High School and posted a 5-2-0 record.  After serving in the service during World War II he took the head coaching job in his hometown at New Orleans Holy Cross High (1945-48) going 31-4-0, then in 1949 he coached St. Louis (MO) University High accounting for a 7-2 record.  Fredrichs took the head coaching position at Omaha (NE) Creighton Prep where his team was the state champion (Press Poll) in 1953and 1954, earning a 26-8-0 record (1951-54).  He then moved to Davenport (IA) St. Ambrose College earing a 25-19-1 record.  He was at Campion 1961-67 with his record there was 40-22-1, 4-5-0 in 1966.  That’s a prep career coaching record of 109-36-1. A winner wherever he went.

It's hard to believe there was so much coaching talent in a seven-team conference in one season.

CASHTON…1978-81

Gary Hanson graduated from UW-La Crosse un 1967 and applied as a physical education teacher and football coach at Cashton High School.  With no previous coaching experience, he got the job and has never left town, even after 55-years.  Hanson had a slow start but in 29-years as the coach at Cashton he preached like Vince Lombardi and earned his player’s respect.  He posted 27 Winning seasons out of 29 with his worst losing single season being 5-4 in 1983.  In the years 1978-82 his Eagles posted a spectacular 41-2 record. 

1978

In 1978 they went 8-1 and lost in the semi-finals to Spring Valley.  With a lot of returning starters coming back the Eagles went 11-1, losing in the state finals to a great Cambridge squad.  1978 brought a strong team to the WIAA playoffs.  Only playing an eight-game regular season schedule due the season opener against Westby being cancelled.  An unfortunate accident by a Westby player, their starting center, dying in an accidental hunting accident due to gunshot wounds was the reason for the cancellation.  The Eagles polled well enough for the WIAA to award them a spot in the Division 5 playoffs.  In the semi-finals eventual champion Spring Valley defeated Cashton 26-6.  Coach Hanson thought that the stingy Spring Valley defense was the key to the game as three sure touchdown receptions were stripped away Cardinal defenders.  Another great play was a goal-line stop of Eagle star back Kevin Kirking, throwing him for a loss on the two -yard line.  Going into the semi-final Cashton had only given up 29 points and Spring Valley had allowed 53.  Kirking had 809-yards on the ground in only six games as he was injured for two.  The Cardinals held him to 51-yards.  Several stars, besides Kirking were Fred Von Ruden, Dennis Weibel, Tom Bahr, Marvin Hurtz, Jim Schaub and Mike Geier on defense.  Back Ken Schuttemeier and end Mitch Hundt on defense.  The last names of Von Ruden and Weibel will show up often throughout the years.  One other note is Westby, also with an eight-game regular season, made the playoffs and went on to win the Division 4 title.

1979

The 1979 team went undefeated and even played a 10th regular season game before they lost in the state final game to a very good Cambridge team.  After converting four Clear Lake turnovers in the semi-final 40-7 win into touchdowns the Eagles were primed for the championship showdown.  Still in those days only four teams from each division qualified for the playoffs.  Playing Cambridge on neutral turf in Sun Prairie it was a cold (20-degrees) but sunny Saturday.  Plagued by poor field position for most of the game, Cashton held a slim 7-3 lead with 1-minute to go.  A 24-yard pass to the one-yard line with next to no time left on the clock set up the winning touchdown run for Cambridge and the Bluejays beat the Eagles 10-7.  Five turnovers stymied the Cashton squad.  Kevin Kirkling set a school single season rushing record with 1,565 yards and earned a spot on the Wisconsin State Journal’s All-Area team.

The All-Scenic Conference squad was headed, again, by many Cashton players. 

Above I mentioned the last names of Von Ruden and Weibel.  Those last names showed up again in 1979.

Fred (A senior) and Dan (A junior) Von Ruden were brothers.  Rick (His name is mis-spelled in the Wisconsin State Journal story on the All-Conference team) was not related to the other two Von Ruden’s.

1980

In 1980 Brookwood, the smallest team in the Scenic Bluffs Conference was moved by the WIAA to another conference and because of how well Cashton had performed in the past they couldn’t get a non-conference opponent to fill their open game so they played only eight games.  As I wrote last time in the Belleville blog…BELLEVILLE 1980…NEAR PERFECTION,  the WIAA used a formula to pick most of the playoff teams that was controversial.  The 1980 Cashton team went undefeated, untied and unscored upon going 8-0. Their opponents poor season records hurt them in the WIAA choosing them to make the playoffs.  There was a lot of criticism in the press from around the southern and western areas of the state over the fact that Cashton (As well as Belleville) were not in the expanded playoffs.

Statistically, the Eagles were supremely dominate.  Another team was Belleville, an undefeated team that allowed only three points in 1980, was also denied a chance to compete under similar circumstances.  If I produced statistical records for the other eight teams that were awarded playoff berths, none could compare with Cashton or Belleville defensively and only a few could match Cashton’s offensive prowess.

The Eagles dominated the season ending player honors as out of the 24-players named to the All-Scenic Bluffs squad, 18 of those spots had a Cashton players named.

That’s 11 seniors and a total of six players named on both sides of the ball.  Notice the last name Von Ruden.  Rick and Dan Von Ruden earned all-conference honors as juniors in 1979.  In 1980, with 10 of the 12-players named to the first team defense Dan Von Ruden could only earn honorable mention.  Steve Koenen ran for 1,325 yards, averaging 7.2 yards a carry, in only eight games.

Another note here is that besides the 2019 Stratford team the 1980 Cashton squads were the last two undefeated, untied and unscored upon teams in a regular season (Before entering the playoffs).

1981

1981 arrived and the boys were ready to play.  Having lost 11 starters from the defense (10 first team All-Scenic Bluffs mentions plus Dan Van Ruden, Coach Hanson had to reload.  Plenty of his new starters saw considerable game time in 1980 and they were up to the task.  Plus, a key transfer showed up to direct the offense.  It must have been strange for new starting quarterback Eric Schwarz to line up in the semi-finals against his former teammates from Black Hawk.  The family moved from Black Hawk to the Cashton area during the summer and Eric stepped right in earning All-Conference and All-Area honors.

Eric Schwarz ran for 644 yards, passed for 578 and intercepted 7 passes.  In the state title game, he tossed for three scores, all to end Mile Hauser.  A leader on defense at the linebacker spot as well as a highly thought of receiver, Hauser caught only 16 passes in 1981 but gained 533-yards and scored seven times.  Bruce Hemmersbach was the big man in the running game as he carried 244 times for 1,356 yards, scoring 17 touchdowns and kicking 38 extra points plus three field goals for a total of 143 points.

Check out the seasonal stats.  The team went undefeated and untied but gave up one field goal while shutting out 10 opponents.  Unable to get any offense moving, Stratford had to settle for a 35-yard field goal.

Defensive back Chris Torkelson contributed 10 interceptions on the year.  Hauser earned first team all-State as an end.  Todd Von Ruden (OG), Todd Schreiner (LB) and Hemmersbach (RB) all earned second team all-State.

1982

The season was good but not up to recent standards with the Eagles going 7-2 and finishing in second place in the Scenic Bluffs.  Undefeated (In the regular season) was DeSoto, a team that was in and out of the Scenic over the years turned out to be the conference champs. Rick Von Ruden, star of the 1982 team had three brothers, Todd and Randy (Already mentioned) and Bruce who was a senior star on the 1984 team.

Coach Hanson had several other good teams moving forward, especially the 11-1 1994 squad that fell to Hilbert 26-14 in the semi-finals.  The next week Hilbert took the title.  Hanson decided after the 1995 season to retire from coaching.  He was only 51-years old and wanted to spend more time with the family.  He was elected that year to the WFCA Hall of Fame.  I talked to Don recently and it was an enjoyable discussion.  He left a lasting legacy on the Cashton football as well as the wrestling program he started in 1970.  Don guided that sport for 13-years, posting a 133-45-5 record.

My thanks go out to Scott Wall who put me in touch with Coach Hanson.

BELLEVILLE 1980…NEAR PERFECTION

When I wrote my last blog…STRATFORD…1986 vs. 2019…A COMPARISON I mentioned that I had problems finding stats on 1980-81 Cashton.  I wanted to compare Cashton with the 1986 Stratford team.  Since I couldn’t find the Cashton stats I chose to focus on “the other” undefeated team, Belleville.  This was a school that had given up only seven points on their 9-0 season and yet they also failed, like Cashton, to make the playoffs.   Here’s the lowdown:

THE STATELINE CONFERENCE:

Belleville was part of the Stateline Conference.  Not a real good name for this extinct collection of schools as few are actually close to the Wisconsin/Illinois border.  Belleville played 11-player football until 1930 then started with 6-plaqyer in 1941 until 1953. A six-team League, the Stateline switched to 8-player until 1962. Beginning in 1963 they went back to 11-player. In 1980 the members were Madison Holy Name (Yes, besides Edgewood there was a second Catholic high school in the area), Barneveld, Argyle, Pecatonica, New Glarus, Black Hawk (South Wayne, WI), Juda as well as Belleville.  This was all before the Black Hawk/ Warren (IL) co-op began, the Pecatonica/Argyle co-op, and the Brodhead/Juda co-op all began.  Most schools weren’t within 20-miles of the state line.

THE SCHEDULE AND TEAM STATS:

After posting a 7-2 record in 1979, finishing second in the Stateline, Belleville was picked by opponent coaches to win the conference title in 1980.  The Previous season they had held their opponents to 46 points while scoring 217.  They were returning eight offensive and seven defensive starters, several of whom played both ways. In their final two1979 game's they posted shutouts against Holy Name (40-0) and Barneveld (21-0). Belleville had two other shutouts earlier in 1979. The team would post another shutout in the 1981 season opener to give them 11 shutouts in 12-games.

This past June, assistant coach Tanner Wallom sent me a file on Belleville football history. While a lot of the early stats in Tanner's file are incomplete it is a fine project giving the program a great perspective. I used some of Tanner's info along with that of what I found in the Madison State Journal newspaper to record the team's individual game totals. As seen above the offense wasn’t overpowering but effective enough to win while the defense was outstanding. 

Belleville was not a large village with 1,302 residents.  The members of its conference were generally populated with between 900-1,400 people.  Their two non-conference opponents, Belmont and Verona, were quite different in size.  The Cashton Wildcats played tough against tiny Belmont (About 750 residents) and barely got past Verona, a then village of about 3,300 people. 

In game #2, Verona scored early on a 4-yard run in the first quarter.  The extra point was kicked and the Verona Wildcats led 7-0.  Stopped in the middle of the second, deep in their own territory, Verona punted, and Ron Gehin of Belleville took the ball to the house, 40-yards.  A few minutes later Ken Bartelt, after a Verona fumble, scored a second Belleville touchdown on a 20-yard run.  Bartelt kicked the extra point.  The score was 13-7.  That’s how the game ended, and the only points Belleville would give up in 1980.  Eight shutouts on the great season stood out and others took notice.

Seven players made the all-State Line team, two on both sides of the ball.  A basic running attack, good enough to eat up some of the clock, they did occasionally throw the ball.  Quarterback Brad Flannigan (6’3, 175) was 118-51-3-744 passing.  He threw only two touchdowns and one extra point conversion.  His completions set up a number of rushing scores and Finnigan was the team’s leading scorer, scoring 12 touchdowns.  Others making the all-conference squad were OT/DL Van Rear, 5’11, 170, DL Paul O’Connor, 5’11, 165, LB Ron Gehin, 5’10 and DB, Tim Stadelmann, 6’0,160.  Running back Ken Bartell, 5’9,155 scored five touchdowns and kicked 15 extra points.  Besides Van Rear, offensive guard/defensive lineman Robin Jaggi, 6’1, 175 was the other player to earn honors on both sides of the ball.  Jaggi earned a spot on the State Journal All-Area team.

Wisconsin State Journal, November 18, 1980, All-Area Team

THE WIAA PLAYOFFS...1980

1980 was again a sort of strange year for the WIAA in choosing what teams should be in the playoffs.  In D-1 it was clear that undefeated Superior, Racine Case, Kenosha Tremper and Wisconsin Rapids should be the four teams to represent the “big” schools.  Besides being the only four teams in D-1 they had the only opponents’ composite records over .500.  Tremper would win their second consecutive state title.  In the final D-2 poll Pulaski, Grafton, Whitewater, Sussex Hamilton and Oregon were ranked in that order.  However, Sussex had a lower opponent composite record than Oregon yet was rated higher because they were undefeated while Oregon’s opponents had a higher composite despite that school having lost a game.  The WIAA chose Oregon over Sussex to make the playoffs.  Oregon lost in the semi-finals to eventual champion Whitewater.

The next two divisions were pretty cut and dry as in D-3 the top four teams with winning opponents composite schedule made the cut…Little Chute, Two Rivers, Rice Lake and Edgerton.  Actually, Edgerton’s opponents composite was a losing one as was #5 Medford but just a hair better, so they made they got in, only to lose in OT to Rice Lake in the semis.  In D-4 there was another quirk in the polls.  Mosinee, DeForest, Coleman and Mayville were picked. #2 ranked DeForest had a losing opponent composite and would win in the semis but fall in the title game.  Mosinee, DeForest and Coleman were all undefeated going into the playoffs while Mayville, with a 8-1 record edged out five other one-loss teams by having a winning composite record.

Now we come to Division 5.  The final poll, dated October 23, 1980, in the Wisconsin State Journal shows:

What’s Missing? #17 Belleville with an 8-0 record and a .426 composite. #1 Augusta, the eventual state champion, had a .585 composite while #8 Shell Lake had a .442.  Somehow Belleville got left off the poll.  The WIAA decided, with so many (11) undefeated potential conference champions going into the final regular season weekend to expand the eight teams. Poynette beat Randolph in the season’s final game to win the conference title.  As listed above, Augusta, Cornell, Prescott, Cassville, Cambridge (The 1979 champion), Shiocton, Shell Lake and Poynette were awarded spots in the playoffs.  Shell Lake would be the 1980 champion.  #11 Black Hawk lost the conference title in the State Line final, 20-0 to Belleville.  If the WIAA posted an updated season final ranking I would imagine that Belleville wouldn’t have been overlooked.  They might not have made the playoffs but maybe the team would have been given some additional consideration.  Near-perfection might have helped.  This wasn’t the end a good offense/great defensive team deserved.  

Because of so many D-5 teams going undefeated the WIAA expanded in all divisions in 1981 to eight teams as well as adding a sixth division.  The playoffs went from 16 squads and four divisions in 1976 and 1977.  In 1978 it added a fifth division and 20-teams.   Further expansion in the number of eligible teams and a seventh division would come in later years.

THE STATS:

Knowing that the Wisconsin State Journal covered high schools around the Madison area as well the smaller schools in the southwestern part of the state I searched and found what I needed.  I knew that in the late 1960’s through the early 2000’s the newspaper covered game reports for a number of teams far and wide.  From as far northeast as North Fond du Lac, north to Tomah, northwest to Onalaska, southeast to Burlington and all of southwest of Madison.  In the end I had no idea that the paper covered 143 schools and 17 conferences in all.  I found that not only the Belleville game stats but Cashton as well.  That was a happy surprise as I will cover the Cashton 1980-81 teams in more depth next time.  Hopefully my readers like the season stats charts.  They make good comparisons. 

Special thanks to Tanner Wallom for some substantial details on Belleville's school's history.