Game 3: Junior Blue Dukes Blue 14, Cedarburg Colts 8

The current 8th grade class of Junior Blue Dukes football players have accomplished many things since beginning play in the AAYFL in 5th grade.  Here's one of their proudest accomplishments: this grade of Junior Blue Dukes teams have defeated traditional rival Cedarburg four straight times.

These have been some of the tightest, hardest-fought games on our schedule, and Saturday's 14-8 victory over the Colts at Cedarburg was no exception.

After Bay’s opening drive fizzled, Cedarburg, employing its traditional tight formations disguised to hide the ball carrier, drove to the Bay 20. But safety Connor Kimple intercepted a Colts pass and returned it to the 30.

Cedarburg later intercepted a Bay sideline pass. Mixing runs and passes, Cedarburg scored on an inside run and kicked the 2-point conversion to take an 8-0 lead in the 2nd quarter.

Van Bassindale returned the ensuing kickoff to the Bay 38. With the offensive line opening holes, Bassindale ripped off several long runs to get Bay in scoring position. Then Kimple scored on a QB keeper with seconds left in the half, reaching the ball over the goal line. Kimple kicked the 2-point conversion for an 8-8 halftime tie.

Cedarburg returned Jonathan Downs’ 2nd half opening kickoff to midfield. Cedarburg drove to nearly the Bay 20, but on a 4th and 1 play, the Cedarburg back fumbled and Teddy Weber recovered for Bay.

On the ensuing drive, Kimple hit receiver Zach Casey in stride for a long gainer to the Cedarburg 30.

Unfortunately, the Bay drive petered out shortly after that, and the Colts took over on their own 29.

On 3rd down, Bassindale and Weber dropped a Cedarburg runner for a loss, forcing a punting situation. A high snap to the punter left him with no option but to go down with the ball, giving Bay prime field position at the Cedarburg 25. Kimple converted a 4th and 1 with a QB sneak, putting Bay on the 14. With less than 2 minutes left, Bassindale followed the block of Patrick Collins, plowing into the end zone for a touchdown. The conversion kick attempt was blocked. 14-8, Bay.

After the kickoff rolled out of bounds, Cedarburg started their final drive at their own 35. Cedarburg mostly threw. On one of the few well-placed passes, defensive back Matt Bernstein successfully pried the ball out of the receiver’s hands. Linebacker Alec Lindfors dumped a receiver who’d caught a pass in the flat. Justin Fisher and Evan Miller dropped the Cedarburg QB for a sack with 1:14 left on the clock, turning the ball over on downs. Bay ran out the clock and claimed victory.
Final score: Junior Blue Dukes Blue 14, Cedarburg Colts 8.

Game 3: Junior Blue Dukes GRAY 22, Whitnall 3

In a penalty-filled contest on a messy day, the Junior Blue Dukes Gray team punished the home team Whitnall Falcons for their mistakes more than the other way around. That accounts for Whitefish Bay's 22-3 victory in a lightning-shortened contest.
Whitnall took the opening kickoff and drove the ball down to 1st and goal at the 6, aided greatly by encroachment and personal foul penalties against WFB. But the Bay defense stiffened, holding Whitnall to a field goal. 3-0, Whitnall.
Bay came out in wildcat formation, with Macklin Kortebein and Nick Higgins taking direct snaps and running with the ball. On a 4th down play, QB Jake Fisher earned by a first down by drawing Whitnall offsides with his cadence. Whitnall had Bay stopped on 4th down at the 12, but a face-mask penalty on Whitnall gave Bay extended life. On 3rd and goal at the 10. Fisher hit Bailey Wieland in the end zone for a touchdown. (Bailey made a fine catch despite the Whitnall defender faceguarding him.) Higgins kicked the two-point conversion. Bay, 8-3.
After an exchange of punts, Whitnall had the ball with 2nd and 14 at their own 40. When the QB dropped back to pass, Bay defender Mark Mendoza pressured him. The QB's hasty pass landed in the arms of Kortebein, who took the interception back to the Whitnall 13. On 2nd and 7 at the 10, Fisher passed to Wieland for Bailey's 2nd touchdown of the day. The conversion kick was wide right. Bay, 14-3.
With time winding down in the first half, Higgins boomed a kickoff down to the Whitnall 15. It was returned to the 24, but a penalty of Whitnall pushed it back to the 12. The Bay defense forced a punt, which Kortebein returned to the 30 yard line. On the next play, Higgins took a handoff from Fisher, receiver Chris Siebert nailed his block to the ouside, and Higgins glided left for a 30-yard touchdown. The conversion kick was good. Bay 22-3.
Shortly after the 2nd half began, referees stopped the game because of lightning. After an interminable delay, victory was awarded to Bay.

Game 2: Junior Blue Dukes Gray 18, West Allis Wolverines 6

In a spirited battle Saturday afternoon at Lubar Stadium in Whitefish Bay, the big, tough West Allis Wolverines ran 13 plays on offense before the Junior Blue Dukes Gray team could run a play from scrimmage. The Wolverines forced three Bay turnovers, and made running up the middle extremely difficult.
But the Gray team, with its attacking defense, big-play offense and strong special teams, prevailed 18-6.
Give some credit to receiver Chris Siebert, who helped set up Bay's crucial second touchdown with his thinking. He spotted a mismatch in the secondary, and Bay switched receiver Carter Heston to that side. Heston beat his man deep for a 37-yard TD pass.
Bay kicked off to start the game and forced West Allis to punt. Unfortunately, Bay fumbled, giving the Wolverines a second chance. The Wolverines reeled off 9 plays in a row on offense, but Bay refused to yield anything big. After a face-mask penalty pushed them into 4th and long at the WFB 30, the Wolverines fumbled the center exchange, and Bay took over on downs.
QB Jake Fisher immediately shook up the WA sideline with a long pass completion down the middle to Nick Higgins. But Bay found it hard to run the ball inside against a strong Wolverines defense.
On 4th down, Higgins punted. A Wolverines player muffed the ball at his own 14. Macklin Kortebein pounced on the ball at 1-yard line for Bay. (Kortebein also led the defense on the day with 5.5 tackles.)
Two plays later, Fisher plunged into the end zone for a touchdown. Higgins kicked the 2-point conversion, 8-0, Bay.
That would be the only scoring in the first half, though Bay foreshadowed later events when Fisher hit Heston at the right sideline for a 24-yard gain.
Early in the second half, the Wolverines intercepted a Bay pass and returned it to the Bay 10 for first goal. On 4th down, the QB hit his tall receiver for a touchdown, but the Wolverines kicker missed the conversion attempt. 8-6, Bay.
Higgins returned the ensuing kickoff to the 35. Then Fisher completed consecutive passes of 27 and 37 yards to Heston, the second one resulting in a touchdown. Higgins kicked the two-point conversion. Bay, 16-6.
The two teams traded turnovers on the following series, with Mark Mendoza recovering a fumble for Bay and West Allis intercepting a pass. When West Allis later stymied the Bay offense, Higgins hit a punt to the West Allis 23, which then rolled to the 4-yard line, where Fisher downed it. On the following play, the Wolverines quarterback dropped back to pass. He did not reckon with the man-size fury of Andrew James, who walloped him in the end zone for a safety. Bay, 18-6.
Bay returned the ensuing free kick to the West Allis 45. Unfortunately, a promising drive ended with a fumble, recovered by West Allis on its own 17.
The Wolverines began their final drive, a 13-play marathon of throwing and scrambling that tested the skills and intensity of both sides. James and Mendoza both made big sacks that slowed the Wolverines' progress. Finally, on 3rd and long at the Bay 30, Mendoza sacked the Wolverines quarterback and forced a fumble, recovered by Will Alt. Bay used up most of the clock, and Higgins' final punt of the game rolled to a stop at the West Allis 21 as time expired.
The final score: Junior Blue Dukes 18, Wolverines 6.

Game 1: Junior Blue Dukes BLUE 30, Germantown Blue 0

The Junior Blue Dukes 8th grade Blue team enjoyed a successful home opener with a 30-0 victory over the Germantown Hawks at scenic Lubar Stadium.
Van Bassindale took the opening kickoff back 75 yards up the middle, untouched, for a touchdown. Connor Kimple kicked the two-point converstion. 8-0, Bay.
On third and long, Matt Bernstein picked off a Germantown pass to put the Blue squad at the Germantown 41. Four plays later, quarterback Kimple kept the ball and ran left for a 30-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion attempt was no good. 14-0, Bay.
On the next series, Seamus Floyd recovered a fumble to give Bay the ball at its own 44. The Blue team drove down to the Germantown 31, but turned the ball over on downs.
In the second quarter, Bassindale scored on a short run, with Kimple kicking the two-point conversion to make the score 22-0, Bay. Aided by a face-masking penalty on the Bay, Germantown drove into Bay territory near the end of the second quarter, but the Blue defense kept the Hawks out of the end zone.
The only scoring in the second half came when linebacker Alec Lindfors, the human pterodactyl, jumped a pass route and took the ball 30 yards for a touchdown, making a nifty cut to avoid a would-be tackler on the way. Kimple kicked the two-point conversion (from further than normal due to a penalty). 30-0, Bay.
Late in the half, Zach Casey took an inside handoff and ran 44 yards to the end zone. Unfortunately, it was nullified by a penalty. The final score was 30-0.

Game 1: Junior Blue Dukes GRAY 19, Cudahy 13

In their home and season opener, the 8th grade Junior Blue Dukes Gray team used a big first-quarter of offense and an opportunistic defense to defeat the visiting Cudahy Bulldogs, 19-13.
On the game's opening drive, a 12-yard run by Macklin Kortebein and long pass completions from quarterback Jake Fischer to Carter Heston and Nick Higgins left the Bay team with first and goal at the 4. Kortebein ran up the middle for the TD; Higgins kicked the 2-point conversion. 8-0, Bay.
A promising drive for Cudahy was snuffed out deep in Bay territory when Junior Blue Dukes player Paul Wilson recovered a fumble. Unfortunately, a later Bay fumble gave the ball back to Cudahy at their own 43. Bay defender Tony Schulz dropped a Cudahy runner for a big loss. Cudahy got a second chance because of a Bay penalty on a Cudahy punt, but Bay's Charlie Cohen recovered a fumble to give Bay the ball at its own 45. Four strong runs by Kortebein, threaded with a long Higgins run and a Fisher pass to Wieland put Bay back in first and goal territory. Receiver Carter Heston made a beautiful one-handed grab in the corner of the end zone for a Bay TD. Higgins kicked the two-point conversion. 16-0, Bay.
Bay held Cudahy and forced a punt, which Kortebein returned to the 2-yard goal. Hurt by a penalty, Bay was not able to punch it in, so Higgins kicked a 32-yard field goal for 3 points. 19-0, Bay, at halftime.
In the third quarter, a miscue led to Cudahy's first score. A pitch from the Bay QB to a running back was tipped by a defender, who recovered it in the end zone for a score. A run for the point after touchdown failed. 19-6, Bay.
With less than a minute in the game, Cudahy completed a 31-yard pass for a TD, and passed successfully for a one-point conversion, making the score 19-13, Bay. Cudahy recovered its onside kick attempt with 41 seconds left, but on the next play Jake Fisher intercepted a pass to effectively end the game.
In addition to the other turnovers mentioned, Chris Siebert recovered a fumble and intercepted a pass in the game.
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