By John Kemmeter

Junior running back Luke Bembenek (20) follows senior left tackle Seth Tosseth (77) around the corner in SPASH’s 17-14 loss to Marshfield Friday, Sept. 15.
(John Kemmeter photo)

The Stevens Point Area Senior High School (SPASH) football team  lost 17-14 to Marshfield in the Blackout Cancer Game at Community Stadium at Goerke field Friday, Sept. 15.

Marshfield (3-2, 2-2) scored a touchdown on the final play of the first half of take a 7-0 lead into halftime, and with the Panthers (1-4, 0-4) down 10-7 in the closing minutes and needing a stop on third-down, Marshfield broke off a long touchdown run to go up 17-7 and held on for the 17-14 win.

“Right now, it’s a broken record, the last few weeks on a few plays away from a very different outcome,” said SPASH football head coach Pete McAdams. “We continue to take our hats off to opponent, Marshfield was better prepared for the game than we were, and the outcome was evident of that.”

SPASH junior defensive end Jack Kelly (44) and senior nose tackle Cole Wright (70) bring down Marshfield junior running back Brant Bohman during SPASH’s 17-14 loss.
(John Kemmeter photo)

The game was still tied 0-0 late in the second quarter, when Marshfield took over at its own 44-yard line with 1:02 to play in the half, and used three plays to go down to the SPASH two-yard line with five seconds left.

Marshfield elected to go for a touchdown, and on the final play of the first half, scored on a quarterback sneak for a two-yard touchdown run to take a 7-0 lead into halftime.

Marshfield added a 37-yard field goal with 51 seconds to go in the third quarter to extended its lead to 10-0, which it remained until senior running back Colton Kizewski scored on a 13-yard touchdown with 4:18 remaining in the fourth quarter, and sophomore Damien Bouchette kicked the extra point to make it 10-7.

SPASH senior defensive end/linebacker Parker De Roo (41) tackles Marshfield junior running back Brant Bohman behind the line of scrimmage during the Panthers’ 17-14 loss to Marshfield Friday, Sept. 15.
(John Kemmeter photo)

On the ensuing drive, Marshfield was faced with third-down-and-four from its own 44-yard line with 3:09 to play, when it broke free for a 56-yard touchdown run up the middle to take a 17-7 lead with 2:40 remaining.

The Panthers scored on a three-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Brett Ehr to sophomore running back/wide receiver Dayne Hoyord with two seconds to go to pull within 17-14, but Marshfield recovered the onside kick and took a knee on the next play to close out the win.

Kizewski rushed for 202 yards and one touchdown on 31 carries, Ehr completed 3-of-7 passes for 19 yards, with one touchdown and zero interceptions, and senior quarterback Brady Woyak completed 4-of-10 passes for 33 yards, with zero touchdowns and zero interceptions.

The Blackout Cancer Game helped raise funds for 4-year-old Carsyn Guyer of Stevens Point in his fight against Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, as he was honored during a ceremony at halftime.

“It was tremendous, and the weather was awesome,” said McAdams. “It was a great week and a busy week for our athletes.

4-year-old Carsyn Guyer of Stevens Point walks around on the field after he was honored during halftime of the Blackout Cancer Game at Community Stadium at Goerke Field Friday, Sept. 15.
(John Kemmeter photo)

“On Tuesday night we had several players that were at Culver’s on the east side of town, volunteering with (Youth Area Football) on a fundraiser for them, bussing tables and serving food,” he said. “On Thursday, we had 24 kids that went to all of the 4K schools and read to the 4-year-old kindergarten kids in pairs, so we had 12 different places that we were at with pairs of kids, and I’m proud of our kids for being able to be that servant leader.

“They’re growing, and I think they got an awful lot out of that experience as well,” he said. “And the reason it was a 4K, was because of Carsyn Guyer, so one of the schools was his school, and he was able to be there that day too.

“And then ultimately being able to spend a little bit of the pregame with Carsyn, I think was special too,” he said.