Senior wide receiver Ethan Dombrowski runs down the sideline on a 27-yard reception in Amherst’s 44-0 win over Weyauwega-Fremont at Heartland Farms Field in Amherst Friday, Sept. 20. (John Kemmeter photo)

Portage County Gazette

By John Kemmeter

In front of a full house, the Amherst High School football team beat Weyauwega-Fremont in its first game at Heartland Farms Field in Amherst Friday, Sept. 20.

The second-ranked Falcons scored two touchdowns late in the second quarter to take a 35-0 lead into halftime, and went on to a 44-0 victory over Weyauwega (0-5, 0-3) to improve to 5-0 on the season and 3-0 in the Central Wisconsin Conference (CWC) Large.

“It was pretty electric,” said Amherst junior running back/linebacker Bryan Groshek. “The crowd was really into it, and our sideline was into it.

“We had a slow start, but we picked it up in the second quarter,” he said.

“It was exciting,” said Amherst football head coach Mark Lusic of the opener. “This is a credit to the community, it’s a great thing, and it’ll be great for the future generations.

“But overall, it was a great team effort tonight,” he said.

Amherst High School senior quarterback Lincoln Cullen runs through a tackle attempt during the Falcons’ 44-0 win over Weyauwega-Fremont at Heartland Farms Field Friday, Sept. 20. (John Kemmeter photo)

After having its first two scheduled home games moved to neutral sites while construction continued on Heartland Farms Field, Amherst opened at its new home Friday night.

Following a Weyauwega punt on the opening possession of the game, Groshek scored on a five-yard touchdown run for the first touchdown in Heartland Farms Field history, while senior Mason Czech kicked the extra point to give the Falcons a 7-0 lead with 7:10 left in the first quarter.

“It was pretty exciting,” said Groshek. “It was nice to punch the first one in there; I didn’t really know how to react.

“My teammates mobbed me before I could even get up,” he said.

Amherst senior Mason Czech kicks the first extra point in Heartland Farms Field history to give the Falcons a 7-0 lead in the first quarter of their 44-0 win over Weyauwega-Fremont Friday, Sept. 20. (John Kemmeter photo)

Amherst used a 27-yard pass from senior quarterback Lincoln Cullen to senior wide receiver Ethan Dombrowski to the one-yard line to set up a one-yard touchdown run from Groshek with 10:15 to go in the second quarter, and Groshek scored again on a three-yard touchdown run with 4:10 remaining in the second quarter to increase the lead to 21-0.

The Falcons struck again later in the half, as Cullen found sophomore wide receiver Ian Hall open in the end zone for a 29-yard touchdown pass with 2:03 to play in the second quarter to make it 28-0, while Cullen hit junior wide receiver Carmelo Aleman in the end zone for a 29-yard touchdown pass with 3.4 seconds left in the first half to give Amherst a 35-0 lead at intermission.

“We started fast,” said Lusic. “They gave us a look, they went man-to-man, and I thought we had better athletes.

“I liked our matchups against their matchups,” he said.

Sophomore wide receiver Ian Hall had four catches for 92 yards and one touchdown in the Amherst football team’s 44-0 win over Weyauwega-Fremont at Heartland Farms Field Friday, Sept. 20. (John Kemmeter photo)

Senior Cyle Zblewski returned the second half kickoff 73 yards to the Weyauwega four-yard line to set up a two-yard touchdown run from Groshek that pushed the lead to 42-0 with 8:45 to play in the third quarter.

It stayed that way until the fourth quarter, when an errant snap was picked up by Weyauwega sophomore punter John Mueller and run out of the back of the end zone for a safety with 7:14 remaining to cap the scoring on Amherst’s 44-0 victory.

A snap goes over the head of Weyauwega-Fremont punter John Mueller and into the end zone to lead to the first safety in Heartland Farms Field history, which closed out the scoring on the Amherst football team’s 44-0 win in the debut of its new home Friday, Sept. 20. (John Kemmeter photo)

Weyauwega ended up with 43 yards rushing on 23 carries and 79 yards of total offense, as senior linebacker Aidan Elwood finished with 12 tackles, and linebacker Ethan Dombrowski had five tackles, one sack and one interception to lead the Amherst defense.

“We’ve got work to put in, but now we’re on a good slope up, so that’s good,” said Elwood. “That’s what we expect, that’s what we want.

“But there’s always work that can be done, that’s for sure,” he said.

Amherst senior linebacker Nic Dombrowski takes Weyauweaga-Fremont quarterback Quinn Dittmann down as Dittmann releases a pass in the second-ranked Falcons’ 44-0 win over at Heartland Farms Field Friday, Sept. 20. (John Kemmeter photo)

Hall caught four passes for 92 yards and one touchdown, and Cullen rushed for 28 yards on seven carries and completed 9-of-17 passes for 174 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception, while Groshek rushed for 43 yards and four touchdowns on 10 carries.

“That was not the planned, actually,” said Lusic. “Aidan Elwood’s helmet was busted, and (Groshek) just went in there and I never took him out.

“They’re coming along, each guy’s trying to find their piece, and that’s the biggest thing,” he said. “We have 58 guys now in this program, it was down to 40-something in the summer, so now you’ve got to try to have everybody find their piece and find their niche, and tonight it was Groshek. But overall we played pretty well.”

Amherst High School junior running back Bryan Groshek scored four touchdowns in the Falcons’ 44-0 win over Weyauwega-Fremont in the first game at Heartland Farms Field Friday, Sept. 20. (John Kemmeter photo)