2B Prep Football: Onalaska ‘scumbags’ smoke Newport in State opener

Family Tradition — Loggers put the hurt on Grizzlies in 60-8 win at home

Onalaska defenders bring down a ball carrier during the Loggers’ 60-8 win over Newport in the 2B State Football Tournament Round of 16 at Memorial Stadium on Friday, Nov. 15.— Kody Christen / The Chronicle

Jordan Nailon / blastzonenews@gmail.com

ONALASKA — The Loggers aren’t here to protect your feelings. They aren’t here to play nice. And they certainly aren’t here to make friends. Nope, the Onalaska football team suits up every week with the express intent to crack skulls and sing the fight song with their fans.

Somebody else can take names later.

That tactic worked to maximum effect Friday night at Onalaska Memorial Stadium as the Loggers rolled No. 13 Newport 60-8 in the opening round of the 2B state tournament.

The safety yellow grandstands of Memorial Stadium were half full on Friday night only because the other half of town stood on the track to be closer to the action. — Jordan Nailon, Blast Zone Media

Onalaska toted the rock 41 times for 456 yards and six touchdowns in the victory. That shakes out to 11.1 yards per carry and six more points every 6.5 touches. And just in case you’re new to the sport, those stats are not too shabby.

Couple those stats with some vicious hits and a few broken plays that had the Grizzlies bickering on their own sideline and watching the clock wind down, and it was enough to make for some hot heads at the end of a game played with a distinctive nip in the air. Specifically, it led at least one Newport coach to confront the Loggers’ braintrust at midfield after the game to let them know exactly how he felt by calling Onalaska a bunch of “scumbags.”

Did that hurt the Loggers’ feelings? Maybe a little bit. But not for long.

Onalaska’s Sam Pannkuk and head coach Mazen Saade celebrate a turnover during the Loggers’ 60-8 win over Newport to open the 2B State Football Tournament on their home turf at Memorial Stadium on Friday, Nov. 15. — Kody Christen / The Chronicle

“I learned a long time ago from my dad, you can’t spend a lot of time worrying about other people and what they think about you. That’s a them problem. Not an us problem,” Onalaska coach Mazen Saade said. “Our problem is Onalaska football. We’ve got things we need to clean up and get ready for the quarterfinals. If they think we’re scumbags and bad people, so be it. Enjoy turning your gear in.”

On the field, Rodrigo Rodguez led the Loggers with four touchdowns. He piled up 165 rushing yards and three touchdowns on a dozen carries. The senior got loose for scoring jaunts of 24, 45 and 61 yards, and also hauled in a seven-yard pass from Lane Gordon for a touchdown.

However, after his first score of the night (the 24-yard rush) put the Loggers ahead 22-0, something strange happened. Specifically, the Loggers allowed a touchdown, which hadn’t happened in four weeks.