Sparta and Tomah added another memorable chapter of 'The Battle for Monroe County' on the gridiron last week as the visiting Spartans rallied past a 21-point deficit to notch a 28-27 victory.
"Stay the course. No one is going to come save you. You have to finish this."
That was the message from Sparta head coach Nick Kingeter as his Spartans fell behind by three scores early on Thursday.
"Down 21-0 with four minutes left after a turnover, there was a lot of frustration on our sidelines," Kingeter admitted, "however we never wavered or turned on each other. They supported each other and were able to right the ship."
"We knew that if we could get a stop and score before the end of the half we could get some momentum with getting the ball after half. At halftime we just kept saying (there is) a lot of game left. There was plenty of time for us to comeback.
Tomah scored on its first three drives of the game which had been moved from Friday to Thursday, Sept. 17 due to weather predictions.
A 35 yard reception by Silas Cram and a pair of short runs by Kian Vernon had the home team eyeing its first win under first year head coach Collin Eswein.
Sparta was ready with a comeback punch, though.
After two punts and an interception, the Spartans' offense finally put together a scoring drive just ahead of halftime. Everett Laufenberg connected with Easton Berg for an 18-yard score with three minutes to go.
Sparta went to work trimming its disadvantage futher on its first drive in the second half. A 54-yard pass by Laufenberg to Jaylen Kikkert set the stage for a second score - this time on a four-yard dash by Hunter Huntington.
Sparta's defensive schemes shifted in the second half as Kingeter looked for ways to limit the long reach of the receiver, Cram. The changes seemed to work, but the 6'5 athlete still kept Tomah's offense productive.
On Tomah's next drive, Cram caught another pass for a score, but the extra point was blocked as THS moved ahead 27-14.
Sparta returned with a 10-play drive that was capped by an eight-yard scoring run by Simon Schmitz.
In the fourth quarter, the Sparta defense forced a stop on its own 32-yard line, giving the visiting team a chance at finishing the comeback.
A heavy dose of Huntington and Schmitz put Sparta in position to take its first lead of the game. The pair chewed up 52 yards on the field before Huntington broke loose for a 16-yard scamper to tie the game.
The extra point by Luis Mendoza-Gonzalez gave SHS its first lead of the night.
Tomah's final drive stalled just inside Sparta territory as the visitors held on for a 28-17 win.
"We were in complete control, no penalties, managing the clock. (We were) starting to overwhelm them," said Kingeter about his team's last scoring drive. "We had complete confidence we were going to go down and score. Now we have to use that experience to replicate it as we move forward in the MVC."
"This sounds cliche but this is a game where you can throw the records out," said Sparta head coach Nick Kingeter.
"We've been on both sides. The last five years we've had three games (with Tomah) within one point. It felt great. We have been preaching about finishing, and we were able to finish that game."
