December 2021 Records Update

Since my last post, I’ve been spending time updating the state record book. I just sent it off and you should look at some of the new updates when it's released. I was looking into a story when I realized that I hadn’t given certain records their due so I spent a lot of time digging.

Making their Mark

Moving into 5th place in the single season scoring list is Simon Bauer of Durand who of course led the state in scoring as he scored 43 touchdowns and ran for 21 2-point conversions for 300 total points in 2021. He also ran for 2,805 yards, good for 8th best all-time and totaled 5,412 in his career (21st all-time).

Another player of note is Reed Breckheimer of Hilbert. The senior didn’t come close to beating Mile Firkus’ school rushing records (3rd all-time in the state at 6707) as he only gained 2,868 yards in four seasons but he did a lot of other things as he scored 53 career touchdowns and kicked 164 extra points and 4 field goals for a total of 494 points.

I admit that I don’t know many of the rules about 8-Player football but one of the 8-Player stars I wish I had had a chance to watch was Luck’s Wyatt Jensen. The speedy halfback led the 8-Player division with 2,453 rushing yards and 47 overall touchdowns along with 22 conversion runs. Luck lost to Wausau’s Newman Catholic in the state title game as Jensen didn’t play due an injury he suffered in the semi-final game against Wabeno/Laona. Who knows what would have happened if he had played as Luck lost to Newman Catholic 49-6. By missing the game Jensen came up short in single season scoring as he finished 2nd with 326 points compared to 2015’s Chris Pouliot, also of Luck, who had 328 points. But don’t feel too sorry for Wyatt as he set career records with 86 career touchdowns and 50 2-point conversions for 616 career points. That’s 100-points ahead of Chris Pouliot who had 516 career points. Jensen’s name is all over the records lists for rushing, scoring, kicking, returns and defensive stats.

Speaking of Newman Catholic, they could be a favorite next year to win back-to-back titles as star quarterback Conner Krach will be back after leading the 8-player division in passing with 2,396 yards and 39- touchdown’s

Finally, keep an eye on Blake Schraufnagel of Mayville next season. The junior ran for 2,421 yards and scored 39 touchdowns on the ground and caught 3 scores. He has 3,126 career rushing yards and 53 career touchdowns with a 2-point run. Standing 6’1, 180-pounds he can add his name to the 5000 yard club with a good season.

Trimming the Lists

The record book has to draw the line somewhere when it comes to listing the best seasons and career in state history and as more players add their names to those lists the threshold gets raised.

Single Season Passing Totals went from 2,825 yards to 2,900 minimum and that dropped a few players. Single Season Passing Touchdown Passes went from 32 to 34 and Career Touchdown Passes went from 61-64. Sorry to those who were “cut” from the leader lists.

Some people fell from the lists like in the category of Highest Yards Per Reception, Season…Min. 40 Receptions. Jake Giordiana of Hudson in 2013 caught 44 passes for 1,123 yards, a 25.5 average. He was replaced by Quinn Miskowski of La Crosse Aquinas who pulled in 40 receptions for 1,041 yards and a 26.0 average for the new record.

These were just a few examples. But some rushing stats grew. When I did the story a while back about Elk Mounds' Jim Morris and Owen-Withee’s Nate Harms and then the story on Mike Firkus of Hilbert I saw some glaring omissions. I hope I didn’t go overboard. I added a number of players to the lists of Most 100-yard rushing games in a season and a career, the number of 200-yard rushing games in a season, a career and consecutive games. I also added stats for those who rushed for 300 and 400 yards in a single game. In doing so I decided to look into more passing and receiving stats…most 200 yards receiving and games passing in a season and a career and expand the 300 yard passing game lists.

Upcoming Stories

Back in November Antigo’s Gordy Schofield passed away at age 90 and he was one of the all-time bests. I hope to talk to some of his former players about the coach.

Evan Wick at DeSoto is a coach I want to talk to about the challenges he faces, just as many small school coaches.

I’m working on a story about the 2007 Owen-Withee team that had two 2,000-yard rushers.

I have info on the great Auburndale win streak during 1968-71.

And finally, there are a few message that were sent to this web site that I need to answer but have been to busy. Sorry for the delay everyone.

There you have it. Enjoy the holidays and I will have another blog out soon. Thanks for reading.

The Elmwood Connections

Some players learn well from their former coaches. They may have had talent on the playing field but they were able to take the knowledge passed on to them and they could also become Hall of Fame coaches themselves. Though often, what worked for their teachers might not have worked for them so they had to look for other ways to win.

In 1958 the “Run and Shoot” offense was developed by Glenn “Tiger” Ellison who was the head coach of Mansfield High School in Ohio. A devotee of Ohio State’s Woody Hayes and his “Three-Yards and a Cloud of Dust” running attack, like most schools in America, Ellison found that things this season was not going well with the offensive attack. Faced with the school’s first losing season since 1911 and having a 0-4-1 record with five remaining games, Ellison looked to see what he could do to stop the mess. One day he noticed some grade school kids messing around and they were playing a game they called “aerial”. The quarterback would, after each snap, be scrambling around with the receivers running, zipping, cutting and making themselves open for the toss. They were having fun. His Mansfield Middies weren’t having fun and he designed what he called the “Lonesome Polecat”.

The Lonesome Polecat formation was similar to what was once known as “The Swinging Gate”. The quarterback and center are in the middle of the formation with one end on the right side and the other eight players bunched together on the left side. The formation could be flipped to have the strong side be on the right. The quarterback would run the ball but if the defense came up too quickly, he could throw it down the field. It caused disruption on the defense and they won their last five games to post a 5-4-1 record. It may have been considered sandlot football but it worked. Coach Ellison worked in the off season to refine the offense. He learned that constant motion from the quarterback and other skill players kept the defense off guard. Gang tackling, and double-covering a receiver was hard to do. The entire field had to be defended. The important thing was that his players were having fun and that created success. He came up with a total of 40-plays…20 passing and 20 running. There were two receivers split with the quarterback and a fullback behind him and two players in slot just off the heels of the tackles. One slotback would always be in motion. It was a Double Wing formation to primarily run but if the right quarterback was available, they would also pass a lot. Tiger let the receivers set the routs depending on how the defender was lining up on them. This was radical thinking for football in the era of the run first, then keep running mindset.

Ellison coached at Middleton from 1945-62 and compiled a 127-45-7 record and was named Ohio High School Football Coach of the Year in 1961. All his success led to a phone call in early 1963 who asked Ellison to join he staff as the Ohio State freshman coach. For those who don’t remember, college freshmen couldn’t play on the varsity (Except for the 1950-51 season because of the Korean War) until 1972. Ellison stayed at OSU until 1969 before returning to the high school ranks but he never changed the schools “Three Yards and a Cloud of Dust” offense. In 1965 he wrote a book entitled “Run and Shoot: The Offense of the Future”. Darrell “Mouse” Davis was the head coach at Portland State from 1975-80 who refined and popularized the concept to huge success, not only for colleges, the pro’s but also at the high school level.

After leading the Durand freshman team to an undefeated season in 1965 Tom Bauer stepped into the varsity starting spot the next season. With his ability and smarts there was no resentment by the older players. In 1966 Bauer was now under the tutelage of future WFCA Hall of Fame coach Pete Adler. His coach taught him well and he went on to become first team All-Northwest as accredited by the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram as well as honorable all-state in 1968. The 1967 Durand team was voted the #1 team in the Small School division of the UPI poll that season. Durand was undefeated all three years that Bauer was at the helm as he completed 163 career passes in 283 attempts for 2,759 yards and 45 touchdowns with only 10 interceptions. He also ran the ball 188 times for 1,088 yards and 28 touchdowns. He went on to play for another Hall of Fame coach, Link Walker at UW-Eau Claire. After starting for the Blugolds and becoming a success at the college level as a player he moved on to coach at Elmwood in 1976.

It was at Elmwood, one of the smallest schools in the Dunn-St. Croix Conference that Bauer found it hard to compete with the bigger schools of the conference. He began to look around for a way to make things better and more fun for the players. That’s when, in 1980 he found out about the Run and Shoot. But first, he had to find a quarterback who could execute the offense. That came in the form of freshman Tom Mountin who was first listed at 5’8, 145-pound but later 1980 editions of the Leader-Telegram reported that he was 5’10, 150, who could fling the ball well. He was smart and inventive but as some freshman often do, he made some mistakes. Not a gifted runner, Moutin left that to sophomore fullback Joe Wolf, a 5’9, 165- pound speedster. Along with sophomore receivers Jeff Brunner and Jeff Schoeder and junior Steve Hartung this young team limped through a 4-5 season. By the seventh game the team started only two seniors with four sophomores and the freshman, Mountin. Wolf was on the bench early but in game five, a 20-16 loss to Glenwood City, he came off the bench to help spark a near comeback when he gained 135 yards on 14 carries plus a touchdown. He started after that.

Mountin had some good days and some very bad days. In game three, a 26-14 win over Colfax he had his breakout passing event with 18 for 37, 205 yards and three touchdowns but he also threw three interceptions. Against Elk Mound, a 30-14 loss, he was 8-18 with 129 yards and a score in the second half after completing only two of 12 passes for 15 yards and three interceptions in the first half. In the season finale, a 60-14 smashing of Plum City, the Run and Shoot worked to perfection. Mountin was 11 of 20 for 144 yards and two touchdowns while Wolfe picked up 188 yards on 19 carries as he scored four times and added an extra point run. Mountin would end up with stats of 133 completions in 258 attempts, 10 interceptions, 1,477 yards along with 14 touchdowns and eight two-point completions. Wolf would gain 665 yards on the ground while scoring nine times and Brunner, Schoeder and Hartung all had around 30-35 catches each. Bauer had found the right formula for his team as they went 4-5. With all the experience they gained, 1981 looked bright.

Some of what Bauer had learned may have also come from hearing about the Chippewa Falls McDonell passing offense that was just beginning to take off at the same time. In 1980 McDonell’s junior quarterback, Dave Geissler tossed for 2,184 yards but he also tossed a lot of interceptions, 25 on the year. Geissler had to run for his life a lot of times as he had no real dependable running attack to help him. At least Elmwood had a back in Wolf to counterbalance the pass. Mountin’s 1,477 yards passing ranked as one of the top efforts for the year.

As a sophomore in 1981, Tom Mountin had grown to 5’11 and his weight was up to 160 pounds. The season went well overall as the team went 7-2 and the offense motored, scoring 316 points and the defense was strong allowing only 77. Mountin was the heart of the team but he had a lot of help end Jeff Schoeder earned second team All-Northwest as did Wolf and Mountin. Jeff Brunner was named to the honorable mention list as was end Steve Hartung and lineman Rocky Noard. Mountin had his best game against St. Croix Central with 14 completions in 24 attempts, 198 yards and five touchdowns with 3 extra point conversions. Another top performance was against Colfax as he was 19 of 27 for 224 yards and four conversions. The receiving corp was top notch with Schoeder, Brunner, Hartung and Wolf all catching between 22 and 38 passes. Wolf broke out rushing for 1,168 yards on 145 carries as he crossed the goal line 15 times. Mountin threw for 1,581 yards with 22 touchdowns and 10 pass conversions.

Over at McDonell, senior Dave Geissler threw 385 times and had 231 completions, 2,517 yards and 17 touchdowns, earning All-Northwest and All-State first team honors. The difference in the two offenses was Joe Wolf’s ability to pick-up a lot of rushing yards. Yes, McDonell also gained a 7-2 record but they really relied on Geissler who set four national passing records…most passes completed in a game with 41, highest average of pass attempts per game with 43, highest average completions per game with 26 and average plays per game with a 53 average. He was a drop back type passer while Mountin often ran the ball.

This is about Elmwood and their Run and Shoot offense and not McDonell’s but the Mack’s passing attack is just shown as a comparison of the two.

The 1981 season ending loss to Glenwood City was Bauer’s last game at Elmwood. In April, 1982 he moved on to take the head coaching job at Mondovi, a position he would stay at for 21 seasons. He had a 36-18 record at Elmwood and a 125-78 record at Mondovi before he retired because of health reasons at age 53. In March of 2004 it was announced that he was being inducted into the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Former assistant Curt Weber stepped in as the new coach and he retained, for the most part, the Run and Shoot. In the 1982 season opener, a 47-0 rout of Independence, Mountin was 23 of 27 for 269 yards and one score while Wolf rushed for 134 yards on 16 attempts and four touchdowns. The next week against Spring Valley Wolf rushed 36 times for 275 yards and one touchdown while Mountin passed for 139 and two touchdowns. The following week, game three, a 30-20 win over Prescott, Wolf hurt his shoulder but Mountin rose to the occasion as he passed 43 times with 25 completions and a career high 323 yards and four touchdowns and three conversions. Wolf came back for game four vs. Colfax as he scored twice. Mountin would have some very good games the rest of the season but the running wasn’t going well with Wolf often playing hurt. Luckily, he had a great group of receivers. Expectations had been strong for 1982 as the team had a lot of experienced players. The offense was able to keep some of the conference’s stronger/bigger teams at bay. Elmwood went undefeated during the regular season and earned a spot in the WIAA playoffs making it to the Division 5 semi-finals. After going 10-0, they lost to eventual champ Osseo-Fairchild.

Coach Weber had the team clicking despite losing Joe Wolf for several games due to his shoulder injury or defenses figuring out how to key on his running. But Tom Mountin and flanker Jeff Brunner didn’t disappoint with Mountain earning second team All-Northwest and Brunner first team. Jeff Schoeder and Joe Wolf were honorable mention. Mountin completed 166 of 287 passes for 2,366 yards and 21 touchdowns along with 21 conversions. (The totals are different than what was printed in the November 20, 1982 edition of the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram. They only had the regular season totals.) It was the same for Jeff Brunner as he posted 70 catches for 1,193 yards and 14 touchdowns with 14 conversion catches. His three-year totals read 146 receptions for 2,322 yards, 28 touchdowns and 22 conversion passes. The career receiving records as well as his 14 conversion catches in 1982 were state records and he led the state in receiving receptions, yards and td’s for the season. Brunner earned second team AP All-State. Wolf, despite being injured throughout the year finished with over 2,700 career yards and 33 touchdowns. Hartung and Schoeder each hauled in about 30 passes each that season.

Tom Mountin was on the brink of several national records and he was setting state career records. Most of his state career records would only last a few years because McDonell came up with a great sophomore quarterback, Ben Gardow, who would obliterate all competition for passing honors for many years. 1983 was a tough one as Mountin's three most experienced receivers were gone as well as his reliable fullback/receiver. Coach Weber had to come up with some replacements. He revised the offense a bit to be more of a pro-set attack, using the pass to set up the run but still incorporated the Run and Shoot formation when needed. The team would post a 6-3 record as Mountin rushed for 272 yards on the season with nine touchdowns on the ground. He did throw for 1,330 yards but only nine touchdowns. The main newcomers were junior fullback Jason Afdahl and senior slotback Peter Schwartz. Against St. Croix Central Mountin tossed for 235 yards, three touchdowns, two conversions and ran for three scores in a 44-27 win. Afdahl ran for117 yards while Schwartz countered with 110 rushing yards and caught 13 passes for 153 yards.

Now standing at 5’11 and weighing 165 pounds, Tom Mountin completed his career having thrown more passes (1,012) and more completions (553) than any high school passer in history. His 6,754 yards was fourth best and his 66 touchdowns earned him an eight spot on the national list. Paltry stats by today’s standards but outstanding for the era. On the basis of his record setting career, Mountin was named the All-Northwest Player-of-the Year. Schwartz, Afdahl, center Ron Wolf and tackle Joe Fesenmaier all earned honorable mention. Guard Nick Schoeder earned special mention.

Mountin started every game for all four seasons and teams stacked their defenses against him especially his senior year. His records were, for a short time, targets for others to shoot for.

Curt Weber did away with most of the Run and Shoot for his last season as head football coach in 1984, staying with the pro-set. He continued on for several years as the head basketball coach. As mentioned, Tom Bauer moved to Mondovi and produced some very good teams. But what of Tom Mountin? Tom passed up a chance to play college ball at any level. He went to work in the family business, Mountin Construction until he was diagnosed with Huntington’s Disease. He passed away in 2015 at age 49. Tom Bauer had noticed his ability to throw the ball as a seventh grader and worked the Red Raiders offense around him as a freshman. It proved to be the right move.

A Turkey Day Battle On the Mississippi River Banks

While today we end the football season the Thursday or Friday before Thanksgiving and the start of deer hunting season with the state title games, that wasn’t always the case. As I have mentioned in previous blogs and in my book, the season often ended with a championship match game on the late November holiday.

The story in the Milwaukee Sentinel on Tuesday, November 21, 1916 said it all. It admitted that the battle between Edgerton and La Crosse on Thanksgiving Day would be for the state championship. After a quarrel between Milwaukee East (also known as Riverside and the two names were interchanged by the press for many years) and La Crosse had not been settled in 1915 with both teams having legitimate claims to the crown. This year, the usual teams like Eau Claire, Madison and the Milwaukee public schools all had less than championship contending teams. Another contender was Oshkosh, who was undefeated but had several ties and played a limited number of games. More on them later. The turkey day game was to be a battle of David vs. Goliath. The newspaper said,

“After much wrangling, La Crosse high finally consented to meet Edgerton high in a football game on Thanksgiving Day at La Crosse, which will decide the state high championship. Both elevens are evenly matched as far as weight is concerned and judging by comparative scores, neither has the edge. Edgerton’s most notable victory is that over North Division high of Milwaukee and it’s win over Marquette academy. The La Crosse eleven boast’s victories over Riverside (East) high and Madison high gives them a right to battle for state honors. Neither team has suffered defeat this season”.

La Crosse had a proud sports program. The city had only one high school for the overall population of about 30,000 residents. Logan and Aquinas wouldn’t open until 1927. Edgerton had played some great football in the 1913-15 seasons against bigger schools but the “Tobacco City” had only a population of about 2,500. On Monday, November 20, in an effort to get a game with La Crosse, Marquette Academy, who had just lost to Edgerton, attempted to set up a meet for Saturday, November 25 but La Crosse already had a game for that day. It wouldn’t have been a championship game but just an added event. It wasn’t unusual for teams to setup games, sort of “on the fly”. Most teams had no real set regular schedule and especially towards the end of the season there was a mad scramble to lineup tough opponents. But, because of a previous commitment, Marquette lost out on a game against a tough team. So, La Crosse vs Edgerton was set to be a big battle of undefeated teams. That was when they agreed to meet as the details were settled on Monday, November 22.

La Crosse had not lost a game since Thanksgiving Day 3 years prior in1913 to Sparta, 13-10. Since then, they had reeled off a record of 19-0-1. 1914 had been a 7-0-0 season, in 1915 they went 6-0-1 (tying St. Paul Central 0-0) and now in 1916, they were 6-0-0 with a final tune up match with Central on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. That matchup in St. Paul was setup for Saturday, November 25. After several key fumbles and the inability of the defense to adjust properly to the baffling Minnesota shifts the La Crosse eleven lost 13-7. Since the start of 1914, La Crosse had given up only four touchdowns and four field goals. With extra points they had given up only 38 points in that timeframe while scoring 687 points. The loss didn’t diminish the outlook for the championship game. The two best teams in the state were set to battle it out.

On the same day that the results of the St. Paul Central game were printed in the La Crosse Tribune another story was listed. Edgerton fullback Marlon Ogden was ruled by the WIAA as being okay to play in the La Crosse game even though he had just turned 21 two weeks earlier. Supposedly La Crosse was fine with it as they wanted to see Edgerton in action in full strength. Also, in the same story it was mentioned that there was a special passenger train for Edgerton that will make three stops along the way to bring a brass band and about 150-200 hometown fans to the game and it would arrive in La Crosse the day of the game between 12 noon and 1pm in time for a 2:45pm start. The team had gone on ahead and was staying at a hotel in town. The fan train left Edgerton at 7:30am and was sent off by nearly 1,000 well-wishers. The price of the trip through the rolling countryside was was $6.35 round trip and a Thanksgiving dinner for two cost a whopping $.75!! Upon arrival Edgerton fans took the city by storm and racked up bets of over $1,000 in favor of their team.

Another note in the paper told fans not to worry about the game as if they normally eat Thanksgiving dinner around noon, they would have plenty of time to get to the game and it they could eat late as the game would be over by 5pm. The game was to played at Normal Field with the price of a ticket inside the 20-yard line costing $.75 and outside the 20 costing $.50. There would be no normal pricing for children. 3,000-5,000 spectators were expected to attend the game.

When the Edgerton fans and the brass band arrived, they began a march from the railroad station to the team’s hotel and then on to Normal Field where they serenaded many with songs and dance numbers and chanted a slogan “We’ll beat the ‘L’ out of La Crosse”. If you ever get a chance to look at the La Crosse Tribune in the days just prior to the game you will see that the paper printed poems and prayers on the front pages about the strength of the team and asking for divine guidance in the championship game. On Thanksgiving Day, the banner in the La Crosse Tribune read:

It was now 2:45pm and the combatants were on the field to start the battle. Now, the combatants:

Substitute members of the Edgerton team were: Back, Edward Short, lineman, Hurley Ford, lineman Rush Touton and end Chester Peters. Coach Lamereaux was assisted by A.J. Dexter.

NOTE #1: As you look at the lineup and the names in the photos you will notice that there is a lack of first names. The newspaper stories of the day as well as the school’s yearbooks didn’t often provide a player’s or the coach's first name. I, alas didn’t have access to the 1917 La Crosse yearbooks so the players first names came from the 1916 book. The La Crosse Tribune never mentioned coach Bell’s first name. The nickname for La Crosse wasn’t mentioned in the paper reports but the words “red and black” were often mentioned so that may have been what they were known as. No help from the yearbook.

NOTE #2: When I was writing my book, I was surprised that tobacco and rice were grown in this state. I had always thought of it as a southern crop. Edgerton was known as “Tobacco City” and the teams nickname was “The Tobacco Growers” long before they became the “Crimson Tide”.

Now, the game.

There were several standouts on both sides. Coming into the game the biggest star was Edgerton’s Rollie Williams, the team captain. After scoring nine touchdowns against Janesville, three on interception returns, he was well known around the state. A marked man, Williams would score 25 touchdowns on the season. It was no different in the title game. The two teams were evenly matched in terms of weight but Edgerton had speed and the backfield was well balanced. Williams hit the line hard and used his speed to pick up yards. The La Crosse Tribune declared that he was his team’s star. Also known as a great punter, he often outkicked his counterpart, LC’s Feinberg by 10-15 yards as the two teams made some gains to start the game but had to give up the ball on downs. Coach Bell’s team won the toss and chose to defend the south goal. Edgerton’s Rossebo kicked to Layman who returned the ball to the 32-yard line.

Now, I must admit I don’t know much about many of the early football offenses. I’m always finding some new wrinkles. After a few small gains LC’s left tackle, Rudolph “Rube” Blatter, La Crosse team captain, ran the ball for a 30-yard gain. I guess that he pulled when the ball was snapped and, with the backfield leading the blocking, took a pitch from Feinberg and slashed through the Tobacco Growers defense. Williams and Ogden hauled him down. After three plays that gained only one yard, Reget tried a drop-kick field goal. The snap was poor and he picked the ball up and ran around and eventually got the kick off but it went nowhere close to the goal posts. Edgerton got the ball back and gained 20-yards on line plunges before being forced to punt.

And, so it went as the two teams exchanged punts with Edgerton netting 10-15 yards after each kick. After an interception by the red and black’s Liscovec near their own 35-yard line. The quarter ended. In the second the two teams continued to exchange punts but then Edgerton was able to take the ball downfield on a series of passes. Clarke was given the ball and he went 15-yards around end to score but the referee ruled that Kepp had moved illegally. After losing five yards on the penalty, it was fourth down and the ball went nowhere so La Crosse took over on downs. They immediately punted and Edgerton got the ball back to their opponents 40-yard line. Two runs picked up three-yards then Williams passed to Ogden for thirty yards. On the next play Williams slashed into the endzone from the seven for the touchdown. Rossebo kicked the extra point and the score stood 7-0. There was a lot of excitement the rest of the half with La Crosse gaining some yards but failing on passing attempts to get the ball into the endzone.

In the second half Edgerton was satisfied to just play defense and they did it well keeping the red and black at bay. Williams was hurt at the end of the third quarter but he stayed in the game. He only carried the ball once after that. His punting wasn’t as good in the second half as it had been in the first. Edgerton nearly scored again as Rush Tiuton blocked a punt but a La Crosse player was able to recover it and thus kept his foes from advancing the ball at that time. Still, the Edgerton defense held up, even with Williams playing hurt and the score would end up 7-0 in favor of the Tobacco Growers. Rube Blatter was a demon all over the field for La Crosse. After the game Blatter, the 188-pound tackle had nothing but praise for Williams and Edgerton in general. As a blocker, a defender or as a runner he did it all. Even though he mainly played tackle he was his teams leading ground gainer with 86-yards on the day. The Janesville Gazette pointed out that Blatter, Reget and Layman were the stars for La Crosse and every one of the Edgerton team played well. I should make a note here that the statistical reports by both the Janesville Gazette and the La Crosse Tribune were well documented, unlike 99% of other game reports in that era. Frederick Layman added 44 yards rushing to the teams total of 222 yards on the ground. Edgerton’s Williams led all rushers with 102 yards while Norman Clarke had 53 yards and Marlon Ogden added 39 as they gained 238 total yards on the ground. The team passing stats read La Crosse was 3 of 10 for 46 yards and one interception. Edgerton was 4 of 10 for 53 yards but threw three interceptions. Each team was penalized 20 yards. And so, the banner in the La Crosse Tribune the next day read:

Edgerton’s great team, their fans and the brass band boarded the train for the return trip at 6pm and a chance to enjoy their turkey dinner. They stopped in Madison to go from the east to the west side depot with the fans and band leading the way. They were cheered on by many Madison well-wishers. It would be a wild time in the Tobacco City that weekend. David had beaten Goliath.

But there was some complaining in the La Crosse Tribune on the day the paper reported the game, Friday, December 1, 1916. I’ll add parts of the story:

“With no way to detract from the glory due a wonderful football machine of the Edgerton high school it was obvious to every one in the stands at the Thanksgiving Day game the Tobacco town boy’s got “the breaks”. It is It is one of the hazards of football, to be accepted as part of the game, that luck plays no part in the outcome of so many contests. Had fortune smiled on La Crosse, as she did on Edgerton, it is possible that the state title would have remained in this city.”

In the first series La Crosse’s Feinberg was” layed out” and played for much of the first half in a daze.

“His usual alert comprehension and quick analysis of difficult situations was not there. Moreover, he was so badly hurt that, Youngberg, who had not been kicking all year, had to take over the booting duties … and it was blocking Youngberg’s punt [this happened in the third quarter as Feinberg did the kicking duties in the half] which gave Edgerton its chance to score. Youngberg couldn’t get them away as quickly as Feinberg, and the second longer it took him to swing on the ball sufficed for the Edgerton lineman [Touton or Kellogg] to get in his path”

There was a complaint that a possible interception by La Crosse was caught too close to the ground and

not allowed but maybe should have been ruled in favor of the “Bellboys”.

“Also, it is worth noting that whenever La Crosse was near to threaten the Edgerton goal, the ball was so close to the sidelines that big “Wop” Blatter, the only consistent ground-gainer on the Red and Black team, couldn’t be used for one of his big tearing dashes around the right wing”.

And finally, the concession:

“All of which is “might have been” stuff. It was tough luck---but Edgerton was the fightin’est bunch of berserkers that has appeared here in the memory of the oldest inhabitant and it would have been anybody’s game if the breaks had been the other way”.

Note: I reprinted the story directly so some punctuation is incorrect. The nickname "Wop" was used several times to refer to Blatter and at least once to his younger brother as "Little Wop". It's unclear if this was a reference to the Italian slur or if the nickname was unrelated, particularly since his ancestry was Swiss German. The paper certainly wasn't using it as an insult when speaking of Blatter but if it was this is obviously unacceptable and sadly these types of pejoratives were all too common in the papers of the time.

Postscript

Both Green Bay East and Oshkosh claimed to be the state champions. East would post a 4-0-3 record. Oshkosh would post a 5-0-2 record. The two schools played to a 7-7 tie in early November. As was typical of the Oshkosh school and the city newspaper, The Northwestern, they twisted facts. They claimed that they had a better record than Edgerton (See Edgerton and La Crosse’s season records below). Oshkosh claimed in earlier seasons as being the state champions due to being undefeated. But they often had losses to college teams and only counted high school teams in their claims.

On the same day of the title game, a few schools also played games. Marquette Academy got a game with Wabasha (MN) and lost 14-7. Menominee (MI) beat rival Marinette 3-0. Horicon beat West Allis 37-0. Green Bay East beat an 8-2-0 Breen Bay West team 7-6. Finally, to add to their championship claim and an offer to play any other contender was Oshkosh who beat Evanston (IL) Academy 13-0. Evanston had beaten some good private schools and ended with a 4-1-0 record.

Rollie Williams was considered the best player in the state and he went on to earn more honors and awards at Wisconsin. He was the first athlete at Madison to earn nine letters playing football, basketball and baseball although others before him earned nine letters in a combination of different sports. He was an All-Big Ten as a football player playing halfback and fullback in 1922 while standing only 5’8 and 170-pounds. Rollie played freshman football in 1917 but left school, maybe to serve in the military, and then returned for the 1920-22 football seasons. He also earned All-Big Ten in the 1922-23 basketball season. After college he played one season of NFL football in 1923 for the Racine Legion. He then served as the head football, basketball and baseball coach for the 1923-24 seasons at Millkin University. He then spent 42 years as an assistant football coach, head basketball coach and assistant athletic director at Iowa. Williams was inducted into the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1960. He died in 1970.

In 1956 a 40-year reunion was held in Edgerton as another would be one held in 1961 and 1966, the 50th anniversary of winning the title. The first reunion drew 14 of the teams 15 players as well as their former coaches, Edison Lamereaux and his assistant A.J. Dexter. Missing was starting left halfback Norman Clarke who was killed in France in 1918 during World War I.

While most schools ended their seasons one or two weeks prior to Thanksgiving, some traditions were kept for teams like Marinette and Menominee and the two Green Bay schools. In fact, starting in 1905 and continuing through 1920 they played on each on Thanksgiving Day. The only exception was in 1918 when they played on December 7 after three postponements due to Spanish Flu concerns. After World War I, Thanksgiving Day games in Wisconsin seemed to flitter away as the big holiday for games became a November 11 Armistice Day (now known as Veterans Day). In some states the Thanksgiving Day game remained a tradition. Check out this link: American football on Thanksgiving - Wikipedia

Now, for some Thanksgiving trivia:

In 1541 Spanish explorer, Francisco Vasquez de Coronado and his troop of men stopped in Palo Duro Canyon (TX) to camp and Padre Fray Juan de Padilla called for a feast of prayer and thanksgiving.

There were other “first” claims. Spanish founders of St. Augustine (FL) in 1565 shared food with the Timucaun people. Or, in 1607 colonists at Fort St. George in Maine shared a harvest feast with the Adenaki Indian’s.

Traditionally we hold a feast as a remembrance of the December 11, 1621 Plymouth (MA) celebration.

There were several other days of thanksgiving before George Washington called for a Day of Thanksgiving on November 26, 1789.

Ben Franklin derided the Congress for naming the Eagle as America's national bird. He thought, and said so often that the national bird should be the turkey.

In November, 1846 Sarah Josepha Hale began a letter campaign to create a national Holiday. She sent a letter to Abraham Lincoln urging the holiday and on October 3, 1863 he declared the first official National Holiday of Thanksgiving.

On November 30, 1876 the first Thanksgiving Day football game occurred between Princeton and Yale. The idea of a football game on this day caught on and in 1893 40,000 fans showed up to see Princeton and Yale play in New York’s Manhattan Field.

Finally, with Thanksgiving set to fall on November 30, 1939 and thus leaving only 24 shopping days before Christmas, President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the date of celebration forward a week to November 23. Critics called it “Franksgiving” and congress officially moved the date back to the current spot, the fourth Thursday in November in 1941.

My Mistake: When I wrote my book, I had an error about this game. I mixed up Rube Blatter in my reports as I wrote him as part of Edgerton’s team. He would attend the University of Wisconsin where he competed in football and track and then on to Harvard to study architecture. Blatter and Williams played on the same freshman football team at Madison. Sorry for the mix-up.

This story was updated on 11/24/21 to include several selections from the La Crosse Tribune's contemporary account of the game.