By RICK SOLEM
BANGOR, Wis. – Nobody told Pepin/Alma high schools’ football team it wasn’t supposed to win this game. Nobody told the Eagles that Bangor had only given up a touchdown in the first quarter all season. Nobody told them they were the underdog.
Pepin/Alma blew out Bangor on Friday, 42-13 in the WIAA Division 7 state quarterfinals.
The unbeaten Eagles (12-0) play Potosi (11-1) at 7 p.m. Friday in Viroqua, Wis. Pepin/Alma is now a game away from a state championship. It’s also the highest ranked team left in the division from the AP’s final poll. The Eagles are ranked 12th, while its opponent, Potosi is 19th (with one vote). The only other ranked team left in Division 7 is No. 18 Owen-Withee (11-1). It plays Almond-Bancroft (10-1) on the other side of the bracket.
While nobody was telling P/A about their status in the quarterfinals, nobody, all season, had told the Cardinals (11-1) how to come from behind. Because they had never trailed all season … not until 4 minutes, 17 seconds into this one.
That’s when Trevor Heit scored a 21-yard TD on the first possession for P/A.
The Eagles forced Bangor into a turnover on downs on its first drive, then Heit went 49 yards on the next play, setting up a Lance Johnson 12-yard TD and Bangor was down 14-0.
The Cardinals went from never trailing all season to being down two scores … then three, when Heit scored for a second time in the first quarter putting the Eagles up 20-0.
Heit finished with 101 yards on 13 carries with three rushing touchdowns. He sealed the game in the fourth with a 67-yard interception return for a touchdown.
PEPIN/ALMA 42, BANGOR 13
Pepin/Alma 20 0 8 14 — 42
Bangor 0 6 0 7 — 13
First quarter: PA—Trevor Heit 21 run (kick failed). PA—Lance Johnson 12 run (Heit run). PA—Heit 20 run (run failed).
Second quarter: B—Jack Reader 9 run (run failed).
Third quarter: PA—Heit 34 run (Johnson run).
Fourth quarter: PA—Heit 67 interception return (Johnson run). PA—Logan Carroll 40 run (kick failed). B—Andrew Piske 3 run (Reader kick).
Team Statistics
First downs: PA 12, B 17. Rushes-Yards: PA 34-281, B 68-296. Comp-Att-Int: PA 5-11-0, B 1-4-1. Passing yards: PA 97, B 2. Totals yards: PA 378, B 298. Penalties-yards: PA 4-30, B 4-25. Fumbles-lost: PA 3-0, B 1-0.
Individual Statistics
Rushing: PA—Lance Johnson 14-116, Trevor Heit 13-101. B—Jack Reader 18-117, Andrew Piske 27-100. Passing: PA—Dan Mueller 5-11-0-97. B—Sam Johnson 1-3-0-2 Receiving: PA—Hayden Haake 3-83. B—Jack Reader 1-2
Records: PA 12-0, B 11-1.