Lake Mills junior quarterback Caden Belling throws on the run with Lakeside Lutheran senior linebacker Tyler Marty (42) in pursuit during the Slider Bowl at LLHS on Sept. 17. The L-Cats beat Walworth Big Foot 28-24 on Friday to become postseason eligible and Belling had four passing touchdowns.
Lake Mills junior quarterback Caden Belling throws on the run with Lakeside Lutheran senior linebacker Tyler Marty (42) in pursuit during the Slider Bowl at LLHS on Sept. 17. The L-Cats beat Walworth Big Foot 28-24 on Friday to become postseason eligible and Belling had four passing touchdowns.
WALWORTH — The L-Cats were down but far from out.
Now, they are in the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season.
Junior quarterback Caden Belling’s fourth touchdown pass of the night, a 31-yard throw to sophomore wide receiver Matthew Stenbroten with 31 seconds to play, gave the Lake Mills football team a 28-24 Capitol Conference victory over host Walworth Big Foot on Friday.
Stenbroten ran a go route, hauling in his second game-winning catch in four games after a double overtime reception versus Luther Prep in week four.
“Caden was flushed from the pocket,” Lake Mills football coach Tyler Huber said. “Matthew is a big, tall kid. We tell Caden that when in doubt to throw it up there and he’ll make a play. Matthew as a sophomore has stepped up for us in the last few weeks. He’s made some big-time plays for us.
“That drive was set up by senior Michael Stenbroten on a punt return inside the 30-yard line. Looked like he was going to break it and it was going to be the game right there. Cool to see those two guys who are brothers two years apart to be on the field together. Told them after the game to embrace that moment. To each be able to impact the game like that is a cool, special moment. Most brothers don’t get that chance.”
Belling also threw a 41-yard touchdown strike to Matthew Stenbroten on a fade with 4:14 to play, and the two scores allowed the L-Cats (5-2 overall, 4-1 Capitol) to wipe out Big Foot’s 24-14 lead.
“We knew coming in we were going to be able to throw on them a little bit,” Huber said. “Early in the game, we had receivers open but couldn’t connect. Later in the game, we made those plays.”
The L-Cats have won four straight games and are in a three-way tie for first place in the league with Lodi and Columbus with two regular-season games remaining. The Cardinals beat the Blue Devils 40-7 on Friday.
Faced with a two-score deficit late, Lake Mills showed its mettle and didn’t flinch.
“These guys have a never-quit attitude,” Huber said. “They work until the last whistle. There’s never a doubt at the end. With six minutes left, we are down 10 without the ball. From an outsider’s perspective, it doesn’t look good in the moment. Our defense then got some stops. We didn’t go a good job stopping the run at all. Got some stops though and got the ball back to our offense.
“Guys made plays there at the end. That was a tough environment to go into. Their student section was rocking with it being homecoming. To go into that atmosphere and be down 10 late, I’m extremely happy for this group.
“One of our goals we had was making the playoffs. Happy to see that goal reached. For some of the guys nicked up and injured to be able to prolong the season so they can play in one more game is cool. We talked about that last week.”
For Big Foot (3-5, 2-3), junior Jax Hertel rushed for touchdowns of 60, 12 and 31 yards and totaled 226 yards on 26 carries. Max Doubek kicked a 24-yard field goal for the Chiefs.
“Hertel runs hard,” Huber said. “He’s 6-foot-3, 210 pounds and an outstanding player. We have to do a better job of tackling. This week will be another challenge for us stopping the run.”
Belling also threw a 34-yard TD pass to junior wide receiver J.P. Rguig late in the first half on a go route, cutting the lead to 10-7, and a 3-yard scoring pass to junior wide receiver Liam Carrigan on an out route that made it 17-14 in the third. On the night, Belling completed 19 of 37 throws for 239 yards.
The L-Cats played just 13 guys and were without their entire running back contingent (senior Carson Lund and juniors Ben Buchholtz and Rex Cassady) due to injuries.
Huber credited junior wide receiver Trysten Theide for stepping in on short notice and contributing from the tailback spot, toting it 13 times for 72 yards.
“We had to move some pieces around,” Huber said. “We didn’t have any running backs available. On a weeks notice, Trysten learned the plays and what he needed to do at the RB position. To be able to average three yards a carry without having played the position before, I thought he did a tremendous job of stepping up.
“Being shorthanded, this win means even more. Most of our guys were on the field the entire game. We had guys stepping in different roles. Hats off to all those guys.”
Matthew Stenbroten, who had four catches totaling 84 yards, also blocked a punt and intercepted a pass by Basil Demco, who was 6-for-20 passing for only 34 yards. Carrigan had six catches for 61 yards and Rguig caught four balls for 59 yards.
Lake Mills hosts Lodi for Homecoming this week.
BF—Jax Hertel 60 run (Doubek kick).
BF—Max Doubek 24 field goal.
LM—JP Rguig 34 pass from Caden Belling (Hagedorn kick).
BF—Hertel 12 run (Doubek kick).
LM—Carrigan 3 pass from Belling (Hagedorn kick).
BF—Hertel 31 run (Doubek kick).
LM—Ma. Stenbroten 41 pass from Belling (Hagedorn kick).
LM—Ma. Stenbroten 31 pass from Belling (Hagedorn kick).
Rushes-yards—LM 22-67; WBF 37-303; Passing yards—LM 245; WBF 48; Passes (att.-comp-int.)—LM 38-18-0; WBF 17-6-1.
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