HILLTOPPERS VS CRUSADERS…1980’S… PART 2

Moving on from last time.

1986

The two teams met up for two very outstanding games in 1986.  The conference season opener was played at Waukesha South Stadium.  The week before the two met, each played interesting opponents.  Marquette went to Marshfield in a matchup of two of the decade’s best teams.  Columbus was the WISAA champion in 1980 and the game was billed as a matchup of two 1980’s powerhouses.  Fans attending were not disappointed as Marshfield won in overtime 27-24 in a game that saw the lead change hands several times.  Waukesha faced a good Mukwonago team that shot itself in the foot by fumbling six times, losing four as well as tossing two interceptions as Memorial pulled out a 28-20 victory

Game one between Marquette and Memorial was another matchup of a team having a lead only to lose it and then comeback to seal the victory.  Marquette scored on a 36-yard interception return and a 2-yard run for a 13-0 halftime lead.  Then, Memorial scored twice on a 1-yard run and an 80-yard interception touchdown return by Chip Wall (With 1:55 left in the game).  A two-point conversion gave the Crusaders the 14-13 lead.  Following the Memorial interception score, a Hilltopper 31-yard kickoff return followed by a 46-yard drive on eight plays ended with a 13-yard touchdown pass and a Marquette 20-14 victory with just 21-seconds remaining.

Six games later, they met again.  Marquette was the Metro champion and Memorial had placed second.  Both had been 1-1 when they first met and now Marquette was 8-1 and Memorial was 7-2.  The two schools were then facing each other in the first round of the playoffs on the Hilltoppers home field, Hart Park in Wauwatosa.  Both coaches thought their team had improved.  Marquette was playing better defense, and their passing game had improved.  It was the same for Memorial as they had changed starting quarterbacks, and the defense had been “shored up”.  As it turned out, the Crusaders defense was better, as they turned back the Hilltoppers, 10-7.  A first quarter 1-yard run and a fourth quarter 35-yard field goal gave Memorial a 10-0 lead but an 80-yard punt return put Marquette on the board but that was it for them as the game ended 10-7.  Memorial would win the next week 21-7 against Fond du Lac St. Mary’s Springs.  However, their season would end in the WISAA finals with a 13-3 loss to Stevens Point Pacelli.

1987

It was the sixth game of the season for Marquette, and it was Memorials fifth game and each was undefeated. On October 3 they met at Waukesha South Stadium and like in 1986, it ended as a heartbreaker for the Crusaders.  Offensively, the two teams were fairly equal in yards gained but it was the turnovers committed by Memorial that did them in, tossing three interceptions and losing a fumble while Marquette who did fumble twice but they recovered each of them.  Catholic Memorial scored in the first quarter for a 7-0 lead.  The Fighting Hilltoppers scored a touchdown and an extra point in each of the second and third quarters to take a 14-7 lead.  With 7:20 left in the game the Crusaders pulled even after a 51-yard drive on an 11-yard keeper by quarterback Chris Fox and a kick by Mark Pollnow.  Fox had a bad game in the air, 4-13-3-39 but was the team leader on the ground, with 94 yards on 16 attempts.  Following the Memorial score each teams traded the ball and then Marquette mounted a 10-play, 70-yard drive that took just 1:59 to set up an Andy DiPiazza 25-yard field goal and the 17-14 win.

Six weeks later the two met in the second round of the WISAA playoffs and this time it was in the friendly confines, for Marquette, at Wauwatosa Hart Park.  This was the eighth time in 1987 that the Fighting Hilltoppers played at their “home field”.  Memorial finished second in the Metro Conference as Marquette was still undefeated and the conference champs.  Last season Memorial stunned Marquette in the quarterfinals 10-7. After their earlier season loss, the Crusaders were geared to beat their conference foe.  In their past 13 meetings neither team had been able to score more than 21 points except for the 27-0 1985 win by Marquette.  Dick Basham felt that he was expecting a typical tight game for each while Bill young thought this might be the game things would be more of a wide-open affair.  As it turned out it was Marquette’s bigger offensive/defensive lines that wore Memorials defense down as they outgained the Crusaders 265 -178 yards.  It was two drives that were capped by running back Kevin Reilly scoring on runs of 1 and 2 yards in the second quarter leading to a narrow 14-0 win. The shutout was only the third time in the Bill Young era that his team had been shutout.  Memorial’s season ended with a 10-2 record while Marquette would play Chippewa Falls McDonell for the WISAA title, winning 26-21 and earning am undefeated 12-0 record. I ranked Marquette as the #3 team of the decade in my story on the 1980’s.

1988

It was another shutout for Marquette over Catholic Memorial (The fourth in the Bill Young era) as the Crusaders fumbled four times, losing all of them and passing for only 39 yards on 6-15-1 stats.  The Fighting Hilltoppers fumbled six times but recovered all six. They outgained Memorial on the ground, 139-70.  It was the passing of quarterback Jeff Jarecki, the Metro Conference Co-Offensive Player-of-the Year who was 8-16-1-156-2 and led the Hilltoppers.  The two teams had very good punting in the game.  Memorial had five punts for a 41.8 average.  But Marquette’s Brian Kelly was better, kicking three times for a 46.7 average.  Outgaining the Crusaders 295-109, Marquette scored early and won the battle.

Six weeks later on November 8th the two again met in the WISSA semi-finals at Hart Park.  Memorial was 7-3 at the time and Marquette, with an opening season 28-21 loss to De Pere Abbott Pennings was 10-1.  The matchup would be the highest scoring affair of the decade.  Marquette’s offense showed up and even though Memorials, didn’t, the Crusaders made the most of things.  Led again by Jeff Jarecki who was 12-16-1-134-2 passing and 46 yards rushing with a 27-yard scamper for a score.  The Fighting Hilltoppers led 34-6 at halftime and then coasted to a 42-22 victory.  Defensive back Todd Belardi contributed with an 86-yard interception touchdown in the second quarter.  Memorial only had 42-yards rushing and 114-yards passing for a total of 156 yards.  They didn’t fumble but threw three interceptions.  Conversely, besides Jarecki’s 134 passing yards the ground game came up with 213 yards. Bill Young said that the team just fell apart in the first half and couldn’t come back.  Dick Basham was, for the most part, satisfied with the win.  The 42 points was the second most that Catholic Memorial had allowed in the school’s history, behind a 49-0 loss to Marquette Academy in 1958.  The 64 total points was the highest total in the Marquette-Catholic Memorial series that dated back to 1952.

Marquette would finish the season 12-1 four days later in Oshkosh as they defeated La Crosse Aquinas 7-0 for their fourth WISAA title in the decade.

1989

The Fighting Hilltoppers opened the season with three shutout victories against non-conference opponents.  The Crusaders were 1-1 in non-conference play as the two teams were lining up on September 16 at Hart Park.  Led by first team all-conference linebacker who was also a second team all-conference fullback, 6-4, 240 Greg Mc Thomas, Marquette was on a role.  But Bill Young almost got what he wanted, which was a victory.  However, Dick Basham’s team denied Young with a 13-10 win.  The game was quite even with Marquette leading at halftime 6-0.  Memorials Rick Ritter put his team on the board in the third period with a 35-yard field goal but a fourth quarter 1-yard touchdown run by Mc Thomas kept the Highlanders ahead, 13-3.  Memorial marched 76 yards in three minutes, despite two penalties on one play.  One was a 15-yarder on a clipping penalty and a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct call on the same play made things interesting.  On a third-and-32 Chris Chudzik hauled in a 33-yard pass to set up what eventually was the team’s second score.  After the extra point conversion, the Crusaders failed to convert on an onside kick with 1:35 left on the clock and Marquette ran out the clock for the 13-10 victory.

The two met again on November 11 in the WISAA semifinals.  Marquette was undefeated, 11-0, and Memorial was 8-3.  It was another showdown at Hart Park. For the fifth time in the past five years the two schools were meeting in the playoffs.  Marquette had come out on top in three of the four previous battles.  At stake was a trip to play for the state title.  Running back Doug Inda, a 1,000+ yard rusher had been injured in the opening round of the playoffs and had to sit out that game so his teammates had to do their best without him.   The Crusaders had to rally from 20-points down to pull out a 21-20 win.  It was an upset, or was it?  When these two schools play each-other anything can happen.  Looking at the stats it would seem that Marquette should have dominated.  They did, in the first half.  The final stats showed Marquette with a 23-14 advantage in first downs, 242-135 advantage on the ground, a 184-115 lead in passing and an overall 426-250 total yards.  The key to the loss was, despite a team passing statistical efficiency of 13-19 was the two interceptions that were thrown. A lost fumble also proved to be the difference maker.  Memorial only had one turnover, an interception.  Mc Thomas led Marquette with an 18-yard option pass for the first score and then scored on runs of 28 and 53-yards.  It was on this last score that the extra point was blocked.  Up 20-0 at halftime, the Crusaders were able to put some drives together in the second half, scoring three touchdowns and all three of the extra-point kicks and that was the difference.  They did it without Inda who was doubtful for the state finals against Fond du Lac St. Mary’s Springs.

Marquette ended as the Metro Conference Champions and a 11-1 record.  As it turned out Doug Inda would return to the field four days later at Camp Randall to rush for 157-yards on 20 carries and three touchdowns on runs of 2, 56 and 23.  The Crusaders won 28-6 over Springs (9-4 season record) and they, Memorial, ended with a 9-3 record of their own.

Hopefully you will agree that these games between conference rivals were the best of the decade.  There might have been a game or two, played by other schools but compared to the 16-games Milwaukee Marquette Academy and Waukesha Catholic Memorial played this was the best series.

The 1980’s Top Coaches:

I searched for the best records by a coach during the 1980’s and I found 11 that made my list.  Both Dick Basham and Bill Young easily made the list.  Like Basham and Young, the other nine coaches have been honored by the WFCA as Hall of Fame.  The ranking is based first on the number of state titles won and not overall wins.  At the bottom of the list, I include the two coaches for De Soto who, as a team combined for the second most wins (93) of the 1980’s.

As a note, Bob Schulz had coached De Soto for 16 seasons (1971-86), posting an outstanding 141-24-1.  His teams won the first WIAA Class C title in 1976.  He followed this with Division 6 titles in 1983 and 1984.  De Soto won 12 conference championships under his leadership.  All this before taking a head coaching position at Menasha in 1987.  Things didn’t go as well there as Menasha was the smallest school in their conference, but he still earned a place in the WFCA Coaches Hall of Fame. 

So, I think, for a while, this concludes my stories on the 1980’s.