Strong running game lifts Kimberly past Appleton North football
AppletonSportsPage.com
APPLETON – Kimberly racked up 421 yards of total offense, including 304 on the ground, and went on to defeat Appleton North 28-10 in a Fox Valley Association football game Friday night at Paul Engen Field at Appleton North High School.
With the win and Hortonville’s upset of Neenah, Kimberly (7-2, 6-1 FVA) ends up sharing the conference title with Neenah. Appleton North finishes the regular season with a 5-4 overall record and a 4-3 mark in the FVA, tying Kaukauna for third place.
After Khalier Chandavong kicked a 30-yard field goal on Appleton North’s opening possession, Kimberly shut out the Lightning offense the rest of the way.
Maddux Hermus had rushing touchdowns of 2 yards and 1 yard in the second quarter, and Kegan Pleau ripped off a 68-yard TD run on the first play of the third quarter to put the Papermakers up 21-3.
Dane Smith returned an interception 45 yards for a score to get the Lightning a bit closer, but Kimberly quickly responded and Hermus ran in from the 31 with 3:25 to go in the third to push its lead back to 18. Neither team scored in the fourth quarter.
The Lightning had their best passing output of the season as Grant Hardy completed 19 of 36 passes for 248 yards, and backup Owen Rein was 3-for-3 for 29 yards.
Keegan Muchow (78 yards) and Alijah Valeri (48 yards) each caught five passes for North.
Pleau led the Kimberly rushing attack with 159 yards on just 13 carries.
Appleton North will make its 23rd consecutive WIAA postseason appearance, excluding the 2020 season, and will compete in a Division 1 Level 1 game next Friday, Oct. 24. The brackets will be announced Saturday morning.
Papermakers 28, Lightning 10
Kimberly 0 14 14 0 – 28
Appleton North 3 0 7 0 – 10
First Quarter
AN – Khalier Chandavong 30 field goal, 9:29.
Second Quarter
K – Maddux Hermus 2 run (Hermus kick), 10:51.
K – Hermus 1 run (Hermus kick), 2:43.
Third Quarter
K – Kegan Pleau 68 run (Hermus kick), 11:41.
AN – Dane Smith 45 interception return (Chandavong kick), 7:49.
K – Hermus 31 run (Hermus kick), 3:25.
Team Statistics
First downs: K 17; AN 17.
Rushing (att-yards): K 40-304; AN 15-45.
Passing (comp-att-yards-int): K 11-14-117-1; AN 22-39-277-3.
Total yards: K 421; AN 322.
Penalties (no.-yards): K 3-18; AN 1-3.
Fumbles lost: K 1; AN 0.
Individual Statistics
Rushing: K, Kegan Pleau 13-159, Maddux Hermus 13-83, Brady Bell 12-62, Cam Wong 2-0. AN, Owen Rein 3-21, Grant Hardy 4-14, D.J. Wilson 8-10.
Passing: K, Wong 11-14-117-1. AN, Hardy 19-36-248-2, Rein 3-3-29-0.
Receiving: K, Alex Lom 5-88, Hermus 2-13, Jackson Diedrich 1-8, Bell 1-6, Noah Dorn 1-3, Pleau 1-minus. AN, Keegan Muchow 5-78, Alijah Valeri 5-48, Brock Struensee 4-44, Gabe Meitner 3-49, Anthony Reischl 3-48, Sam Schmalz 1-14.
Interceptions (defense): K, Brennen Resch 3. AN, Dane Smith.
Records: Kimberly 7-2, 6-1 Fox Valley Association; Appleton North 5-4, 4-3 Fox Valley Association.