Abbotsford trounces Loyal
ABBOTSFORD - Ethan Kramas and Brock Halopka made sure the CloverWood Conference showdown between Abbotsford and Loyal was all about the Falcons.
Kramas scored on runs of 3, 9 and 18 yards, while Halopka reached the end zone twice on scampers of 38 and 59 yards to lead Abbotsford to a lopsided 43-16 victory over Loyal Friday night.
The Falcons remained unbeaten at 7-0 overall and in the league and have the inside track to their second straight CloverWood title, while Loyal slipped to 6-1.
“There was a lot of hype coming into this game,” Abbotsford coach Jake Knapmiller said. “There was talk of rankings, being undefeated and conference championships and you didn’t hear that from the kids. These guys were extremely level headed. They knew they had to play their best because Loyal is a good team. It was special watching them prepare this week.”
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With games against Athens and Gilman, the goal of not only repeating, but repeating as undefeated CloverWood champs is in reach now. The Falcons play Athens and Gilman in their final two games.
“There’s a chance of that happening and the kids believe we can do it.,” Knapmiller said. “That’s not arrogance or overconfidence. I really think the kids believe and trust in what we are doing and they come out each week and execute.”
Abbotsford executed on both side of the ball with an intensity that Loyal did not match.
The Falcons forced two turnovers on defense. Abbotsford turned a fumble recovery into seven points less than two minutes into the game.
Abbotsford rushed for 386 yards behind a line that made it easy for the running backs to do their jobs. Halopka had 10 touches for 152 yards, Kramas finished with 18 for 87 and quarterback Ean Raun ran 11 times for 78 yards.
“It’s awesome. I’m proud to be blocking for these guys. They’re great runners,” senior lineman Izza Garcia said. “We knew this was a big game and we prepared mentally and physically all week. We executed and played mistake free and we won.”
Abbotsford led 28-0 before Loyal was able to temporarily slow the Falcons’ momentum. Stetson Rueth scored on an 18-yard run to cut the gap to 28-8, with the two-point conversion run. Rueth led the Greyhounds rushing with 71 yards on 15 totes.
The Falcons got the running clock going at 5:03 of the third quarter on Kramas’ third TD of the game.
“They came out and played,” Loyal coach Chris Lindner said. “They took it to us. Congrats to Abbotsford, they beat us up. We have to lick our wounds and get back to work next week.”
Loyal hosts McDonell Central next Friday and closes out the regular season at Athens.
Loyal | 0 | 8 | 0 | 8 | — | 16 |
Abbotsford | 21 | 14 | 8 | 0 | — | 43 |
First quarter
A: Brock Halopka 38 run (Izzy Garcia kick), 10:53
A: Ean Rau 15 run (Garcia kick), 6:22
A: Ethan Kramas 3 run (Garcia kick), 1:49
Second quarter
A: Halopka 59 run (Garcia kick), 7:54
L: Stetson Rueth 18 run (Hunter Much run), 4:36
A: Kramas 10 run (Garcia kick), 1:21.
Third quarter
A: Kramas 18 run (Kramas run), 5:08.
Fourth quarter
L: Jordan Radue 5 pass from Riley Geiger (Rueth run), 10:51
Records: Abbotsford 7-0 overall and CloverWood; Loyal 6-1 overall and CloverWood.
Mark Massoglia: 715-424-7309 or mark.massoglia@gannettwisconsin.com; on Twitter @markmazzy.