Pirates Hang on to Defeat Cadott

(KWMN)- The Cochrane-Fountain City Pirates’ defense came up clutch when it mattered to defeat Cadott 21-18.

Cochrane-Fountain City got punched in the mouth by the Cadott Hornets right out of the gate. The Pirates forced a 3-and-out for the punt, but were unable to secure a first down, punting themselves. The Hornets set up on their own 40-yard line, before Coy Ramseier took it 60-yards to the house on the second play from scrimmage. The Pirates then fumbled on the kick-return, which the Hornets turned into 6-more points, courtesy of a 3-yard Riley Winchell run, to take a 12-0 lead (did not convert the 2-point conversion either time).

After trading a few more punts and a turnover on downs, the Pirates took over on their own 20. On the second play of the drive, Parker Kujak found Ethan Holzer at mid-field at the 45. Holzer escaped a tackle and took it 80-yards to the house, to put the Pirates on the board in the 2nd quarter. After another Cadott punt, the Pirates got back to work, this time thanks to Aidan Lisowski. Lisowski had been limited on the ground, with ess than 18 first-half rushing yards, but started to contribute in receiving. He grabbed a pass from Kujak for 9-yards, and then later for 15 and the first down. After a few incompletions and penalties forced the pirates to a 4th and goal from the 13-yard line, Kujak once again found Holzer in the back corner for his second passing touchdown, and the Pirates took their first lead of the game, 14-12. With time running out in the half, Cadott drove down the field including a 28-yard reception from Max Schneider, but the Hornets ran out of time inside the 20, and Cochrane-Fountain City took the lead into half. Kujak had 128 total yards through the air with 2 passing touchdowns.

The Pirates took many penalties at the start of the second. They started their first drive at their own 20, but found themselves back at their own 5. They failed to pick up a first down, and were forced to punt. The punt put the Hornets at the Pirates’ 32, and just 4 plays later, Cadott punched it in from the 10-yard line thanks to Aiydan Sonnentag. Cadott retook the lead 18-14. Cochrane-Fountain City, needing a score, turned to Aidan Lisowski. Lisowski, after finishing with 18 first-half rushing yards, surged for over 55-yards on this drive alone, eventually punching it in from the 2-yard line for his first and only rushing touchdown. The Pirates jumped back ahead, 21-18.

After some back-and-forth, Cadott found themselves with the ball and under 4-minutes to work. They got to work, picking up 2-first downs on 3 plays. On the fourth play, the ball came free in the backfield, with the Pirates recovering. They successfully burned the clock and Cadott’s three timeouts, before taking victory formation to advance to Level 3 in the WIAA playoffs, 21-18 over Cadott.

Pirates Head Coach Jesse Cyrus joined the post-game show and shared some insights, which you can listen to here: