CommunityWatch

Blue Dukes lose overtime thriller to Waunakee

By Tom 'Sky' Skibosh

Nov. 10, 2012 7:35 p.m. | Perhaps Whitefish Bay senior quarterback Grant Menard summed it up best.

"I have no regrets; absolutely no regrets. We gave it our all,” he said following a thrilling, yet heartbreaking 35-28 loss to Waunakee on Saturday in a WIAA Level 4 Championship game at Wisconsin Lutheran College Stadium.

“Waunakee, they’re a fabulous team, outstanding. We played our hearts out. We could have won that game. But we left it all out on the field. And I have no regrets.”

Yes, Waunakee is an outstanding team. The Warriors tied the state record with their 48th straight victory.

Yes, Waunakee is an outstanding team. The Warriors have won the last three WIAA State D2 Championships.

But the fact of the matter is, coach Jim Tietjen’s Blue Dukes had them on the ropes early and then again in the final minutes of the game.

Whitefish Bay led 7-0 when Rashadeem Gray scored on a 17-yard run with 9 minutes, 59 seconds left in the first quarter. He had 118 yards rushing in the first half.

Waunakee tied the game on an 11-play, 80-yard drive, topped off by a 1-yard run by running back Tyler Reynolds with 4:49 left in the quarter.

Bay then went 66 yards in seven plays, getting the lead back on a quarterback sneak by Menard at the 11:57 mark of the second quarter.

But then the Warriors went 60 yards in 12 plays, the big play being a fake punt that the up-man Dalton Kind took and raced around left end 20 yards to set up a first down on the 25-yard line.

Finally on third and 16 the Warriors took a timeout and quarterback Will Decorah came out and lofted a 31-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Kruser in the right end zone. Two Blue Dukes were on the spot, but somehow Kruser came up with the football.

So with 15.6 seconds left in the half, Waunakee tied the game at 14-14.

In the second half, after a six-play drive which ended in a Bay punt, the Warriors went 61 yards in eight plays and scored on a quarterback sneak by Decorah to take a 21-14 lead at the 6:29 mark.

After Bay went 3-and-out on the next drive, Decorah tossed a 4-yard TD pass to Michael Meffert to end a 8-play 76-yard drive for a 28-14 lead with 48 seconds left in the third period.

Neither Teitjen nor Menard felt the devastating catch before the half hurt the Blue Dukes mentally or emotionally.

“I don’t think it took anything out of our kids, but they (Waunakee) came out and really went after it,” he said. “Our kids were playing hard. They (Waunakee) gave us a shot and we had to overcome it.”

With 5:15 left in the game, Menard then took over and worked his magic.

First he drove 53 yards in seven plays, tossing a 5-yard score to Darrein Walker to cut the lead to 28-21 with a 2:30 left to play.

On the second-last play of the drive, Menard rolled left was tackled and rolled his left ankle.

Tietjen then showed tremendous faith in his outstanding defense, when he kicked off to the Warriors, knowing one first down would spell doom for his ballclub.

Led by linebacker Steven Baldwin and defensive lineman Trenton Triggs, the Blue Dukes held Reynolds to one, zero and two yards and forced a punt.

With the line of scrimmage the 19-yard line, Waunakee’s Troy Laufenberg then shanked a punt to the right, which hit on about the 30-yard line and bounced back down the left sideline, before the Warriors could stop it on the 13-yard line.

The ball traveled a minus-6 yards.

“I didn’t realize how close we were,” Menard said. “I was sitting on the bench having my ankle looked at. I looked over at the ball and we had it at the 13-yard line. I said ‘Let’s go, we got this’ and we punched another one in.

It took only three plays for Menard, playing in the shotgun because he had no mobility to hand the ball off, to rifle a pass to tight end Jackson Weber, who made an amazing catch to tie the game at 28-28 with 32.9 seconds left to play.

“This is my senior season. I’m going to battle until I die for these boys,” Menard said. “I just had to fight through it. I didn’t have any other choice.”

Menard’s gutsy play didn’t surprise Teitjen.

“He’s been our leader all year,” the veteran coach said. “There’s not much we can say about it. He does a great job; made some throws when we needed it, He’s carried us all year, against Homestead and whoever else.”

Unfortunately, the overtime ended quickly, following a Decorah 15-yard TD pass to Kruser, Menard was intercepted in the end zone to end the game.

Tietjen then talked about his troops afterward.

“I expect them to play hard,” he said. “They scrapped, made some mistakes, but came back and that was where we wanted to be.”

Homestead football team routs Marshfield, makes it back to state finals

By Steven L. Tietz

Nov. 10, 2012 5:49 p.m. | Fritz Rauch is as cerebral and smart as they come in his role of the Homestead football team's defensive coordinator.

But he can be blunt as heck too.

"Luck is for losers," he said following the Highlanders' stunning, near-perfect, 49-8 demolition of Marshfield in the WIAA D2 state semifinals Saturday afternoon in Oshkosh.

"We talk about it all the time: Great personnel, great preparation, great performance. That's how you win games."

His boss, Highlander head coach Dave Keel agreed as the Highlanders (11-1) earned their first trip back to the WIAA state finals this coming Friday at Camp Randall since the D1 title year of 2008.

» Read Full Article

Shorewood girls swim team wins seventh WIAA State D2 title

By Steven L. Tietz

Nov. 09, 2012 9:35 p.m. | Behind four individual first place finishes, including record-setting efforts from junior Kristin Malone and sophomore Rachel Munson, the Shorewood girls swim team won its seventh WIAA State D2 title Friday night at the Natatorium in Madison.

The Greyhounds, who last won a championship in 2003, scored 255 points as 2011 champ Milton was second with 217 and Grafton third with 193.

Malone set broke a three-year old mark in the 200 free with a clocking of 1:48.83 and then cracked a five-year record in defending her title in the 100 free (50.28).

Senior Ellen Stello won her first individual state title in the 500 free by four seconds with a 4:58.34 effort.

Munson also got into the record-books when she claimed the 100 breaststroke with a clocking of 1:01.37, taking down the year-old mark by close to two seconds.

» Read Full Article

Glendale nursing home sold for $6.7 million

By Tom Daykin of the Journal Sentinel

Nov. 08, 2012 7:00 a.m. | Seven Oaks, a 94-bed nursing home in Glendale, has been sold for $6.7 million, according to documents filed with the Milwaukee County Register of Deeds.

The property, at 6263 N. Green Bay Ave., was sold to Glendale NH Property LLC, an investment group affiliated with Chicago-based Aviv REIT Inc., by a local partnership, led by John Sauer.

Indulgence Chocolatiers opens in Shorewood

By Paul Gores of the Journal Sentinel

Nov. 06, 2012 11:06 a.m. | Indulgence Chocolatiers said its new chocolate boutique is now open at 4525 N. Oakland Ave. in Shorewood.

The store's hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

"Our hope is that chocolate enthusiasts all over the Milwaukee area will view us as a destination where they can learn about and enjoy all of the fine chocolate confections we handcraft in our local kitchen," sid Indulgence owner Julie Waterman.

As a grand opening promotion, Indulgence Chocolatiers is offering a $5 gift card for a future visit to customers who spend $25 or more. The promotion runs until Nov. 17.

Medical offices in Milwaukee, Mequon sold

By Tom Daykin of the Journal Sentinel

Nov. 05, 2012 7:00 a.m. | The Water Tower Medical Commons building, 2350 N. Lake Drive, Milwaukee, and the Seton Professional building, 13133 N. Port Washington Road, Mequon, are among 14 buildings in six states recently sold by Seavest Healthcare to Duke Realty, according to Xceligent real estate reporting service.

The 162,000-square-foot Water Tower Medical Commons sold for $40.9 million, and the the 72,822-square-foot Seton building sold for $11 million.

Indianapolis-based Duke Realty is one of the nation's largest owners of commercial real estate.

Archives: This Week | Week of (5/13/2013) | Week of (5/06/2013) | Week of (4/29/2013) | Week of (4/22/2013)

Blue Dukes lose overtime thriller to Waunakee

Homestead football team routs Marshfield, makes it back to state finals

Shorewood girls swim team wins seventh WIAA State D2 title

Glendale nursing home sold for $6.7 million

Indulgence Chocolatiers opens in Shorewood

Medical offices in Milwaukee, Mequon sold

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