Bay advances into state playoffs with 35-6 win over Nicolet

Whitefish Bay's 35-6 win over border rival Nicolet last Friday night served almost all its functions.

With the win, the Blue Dukes (5-4) secured their fifth straight trip to the WIAA state playoffs, where they will take on Bradley Tech (6-3) in a level I Division 2 playoff game at 7 p.m. Friday at South Stadium.

If Bay wins that game, it will meet the winner of Greendale (8-1) vs. Brookfield East (6-3) in a level 2 game Oct. 28 or 29.

"We started a little slow," said Bay coach Jim Tietjen, "and we left some points on the field. Some penalty miscues hurt us. But we had a good game defensively and 'Rah Rah' (Rashadeem Gray) had some good carries and Grant (quarterback Menard) had a nice game, too."

The other purpose it served was for the Knights (3-6) to finish the season with a degree of dignity, as they were able to score a late TD despite the fact that quarterback and star Brandon Kappel was reduced to kicking and punting duties because of a hard hit incurred in the previous week's Germantown contest.

"We honestly weren't ready to play in the first half," said Nicolet coach Brad Kozaczuk, "but in the second half, we were able to find our rhythm. We came back a little and I liked what I saw."

He said the medical staff had cleared Kappel to play, but since he hadn't practiced at quarterback all week, they decided to play things cautiously and go with Gabe Kinzer instead.

"It was still nice to get him (Kappel) in his last game as a senior," said Kozaczuk. "The doctor said he was fit to go and we wanted him to be a part of it."

The Blue Dukes took the lead for good with a 5-yard run by Deontaye Brown late in the first quarter and then got rolling in the second quarter, scoring four TDs: Brown had a one-yard run, Gray, one-yard and nine-yard efforts, and Menard a 58-yard pass to Darien Walker.

Gray would finish with 80 yards rushing on nine carries while Walker had a nice impact on the passing game with three catches for 95 yards. All told, Menard was five of eight for 109 yards, while Kinzer was six of 19 for 68 yards for the Knights.

Nicolet got on the board in the fourth quarter when a snap went over the Bay punter's head. Nicolet's Bryce Bowen chased him down, forced a fumble and Hunter Crass got on it. Four plays later, Treland Jenkins worked his way into the end zone from a yard out with just 31 seconds remaining.

Tietjen was also pleased with the effort of the Knights.

"On film, Nicolet was a pretty good team," he said. "We saw them on film a couple of times and they came out with some real intensity."